Do You Wear Safety Glasses?

Do you wear safety glasses? Eye protection is a must in any home repair project where chemicals are used or where there is any chance of debris flying or falling in your eye. 
Chemical splashes, flying wood chips from saws, falling rust or dirt all can cause serious damage to your eyes. Always wear safety glasses or safety goggles when doing projects or repairs around the home.
Safety glasses and goggles are available in many styles and many models are designed for comfort as well as protection. No matter what your budget may be, you will find safety glasses or goggles that are affordable.

Protect Your Home From Deadly Radon Gas

EPA estimates that about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related. Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. Radon is a form of ionizing radiation and a proven carcinogen. Lung cancer is the only known effect on human health from exposure to radon in air. Thus far, there is no evidence that children are at greater risk of lung cancer than are adults.

NATURAL HOUSEHOLD CLEANSERS

More and more people today are concerned about the effects of commercial cleaners on our health as well as on the environment. Many are looking at the natural cleaners our grandparents and great grandparents used. Going green can contribute to going healthy.

Favorite Natural Household Cleansers:

White Vinegar and Baking Soda is great for cleaning and deodorizing drains. Pour a cup of baking soda into the sink drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. The mixture will fizz and bubble for a few minutes. Now flush the drain with a gallon of hot water. Your drain will be clean and fresh.

White Vinegar is an acid with mild germicidal properties. White vinegar can be used to get rid of mold and mildew. It can be used to clean glass and cut grease. The vinegar will have an odor but the odor will dissipate quickly. Put 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle and add water to fill the bottle.

Baking Soda is a mild abrasive that doesn’t scratch surfaces the way rougher scouring powders do. Baking soda is also an effective deodorizer. Make a paste with baking soda and water for cleaning. For a more effective cleaner use vinegar instead of water.

Salt cleans copper pots and pans. Use an equal amount of salt and vinegar and then rinse. Salt is also great for cleaning silver. Put a teaspoon of salt in about 3 inches of water and add a sheet of aluminum foil. Add your silverware and boil for a couple of minutes. Remove the silverware, let it cool and wipe with a clean cloth.

Olive oil can make your wood furniture shine. Use a half teaspoon of olive oil in a quarter cup of vinegar or lemon juice.

Rubbing alcohol mixed with water and white vinegar makes a great glass cleaner.  Simply mix 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

Cornstarch can be used to clean and shine windows and mirrors. Simply mix 2 quarts of warm water with ½ cup of cornstarch. Apply the mixture with a sponge and buff dry for a sparkling shine.

Club Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide can be used to shine up a scuffed stainless steel sink. Buff the sink with a cloth dampened with club soda. Wipe the sink dry with another clean dry cloth.

Tea can be used to scour your rusty garden tools. Brew a few pots of strong black tea. When the tea cools pour it into a bucket. Soak your tools for a few hours and wipe them dry with a cloth. Be sure to wear rubber gloves to prevent staining your hands.

Rice is great for cleaning the inside of a vase or bottle. Fill three quarters of the vase or bottle with water and add a tablespoon of uncooked rice. Place your hand over the opening, shake vigorously and rinse.

Oatmeal can make a good hand cleaner. Make a thick paste of oatmeal and water. Scrub your hands with mixture and rinse with water.

White bread is good for removing dust from oil paintings. Gently dab a slice of white bread over the surface to pick up dust and grime.

Ketchup will remove tarnish from brass and copper cookware. Put ketchup onto a cloth and rub pots and pans. The copper color should return in minutes. Rinse with warm water and towel dry.

What is Plumb and Level

Plumb and Level

During my years as a home builder I noticed even experienced carpenters misusing the terms plumb and level. With that being the case, it is no wonder that there is confusion among typical homeowners.

In simple terms, level means horizontal and plumb means vertical. When constructing a building, the floor should be perfectly horizontal (level) and the walls should be perfectly vertical (plumb).

Typical Level can be used to check both level and plumb.

DIY Tips and Ideas E-Book

My new DIY Tips and Ideas E-book is now available on Amazon. This book is filled with great tips and ideas for the homeowner handyman and handy woman.
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DIY Tips and Ideas E-book

Household Burglary Prevention

Household Burglary Prevention

Summertime often means vacation time! But while you are away, is your house safe and secure from burglary? According to the Insurance Information Institute, there are more than 2.15 million burglaries each year, over 65 percent of which are residential break-ins, with the majority occurring in the peak vacation months of July and August.

So how can you make sure your home is protected while you are off enjoying your summertime plans? Here are a few household burglary prevention tips that can help:

• Because social media are so widely used these days, I HAVE to mention this first! NEVER share your vacation plans online. Of course, we would never post, "Rob me please," online, but we have no problem sharing our "countdown to vacation" with everyone. You might not even realize it while you are excitedly telling people about your up-coming plans, but you are advertising to friends, friends of friends and possibly strangers that your home will be unattended. Instead, enjoy sharing all about your vacation when you get home.
• Back in the day (before we had the ability to check messages remotely), I remember actually doing this, but don't leave vacation messages on phones or emails. Simply state that you are "away from your desk" for your work email and phone, and leave a typical away message for personal phones or emails. Don't leave messages on your door (like for a delivery person) that you are away from home either.
• Use motion sensor lights on the exterior of your home.
• Double check that all outside doors and windows are locked when leaving your home.
• Keep your garage door closed and locked at all times.
• Trim all bushes and trees around your home to prevent hiding places for intruders.
• Install solid, sturdy doors with deadbolts on the exterior of your home, and install quality locks on windows. Thieves are not looking for a challenge. Anything that slows them down,will increase the chances of them giving up.
• Do not keep large amounts of cash, valuables or jewelry lying around the house. Especially within view from the windows.
• Change locks if your keys have been lost or stolen.
• Lock garden shed doors and store lawn mowers, barbecues, bicycles, etc. out of sight.
• Use curtains on garage door windows and basement windows.
• Never hide keys under doormats, flower pots, etc. Burglars know where to look for hidden keys.
• Get to know your neighbors. Watch out for suspicious people or vehicles at each others homes.
• Engrave all valuables with your driver's license number or other personal id number.
• Video record or photograph the contents of your home with serial and identification numbers. This also helps in the event of fire. Your insurance company may recommend you record the value, purchase date, serial number, etc. to identify property.
• Use timers for your interior lights to come on in the evening and shut off during the day. (Simply leaving lots of lights on is not a great idea. It will definitely look strange come midnight, and wastes energy too).
• Arrange for the Post Office to hold your mail, or for someone to pick up mail and newspapers while you are gone.
• Have someone mow your lawn while you are away.
• Leave a car in the driveway.
• Make breaking into your home noisy. Consider installing an alarm system.

Article courtesy of U.S. Inspect.

How to Determine Direction to Tighten or Loosen Screws, Nuts, and Bolts

Simply remember righty tighty, lefty loosey. When you are looking at the head of the screw, nut or bolt, turn to the right to tighten and turn to the left to loosen. Right is tight and left is loose.

 The exceptions to this rule are saw blades, and other things that spin. Screws, bolts or nuts come off spinning things in the same direction as the blade spins or the teeth point.