 Your home should be a place of safe refuge, but every year 21 million injuries and 20,000 deaths occur unintentionally in our homes. Falls cause the most injuries by a wide margin. The very young and the very old are usually the greatest at risk. Make sure stairwells are well-lit, and for the elderly remove throw rugs or affix them with double-sided tape. The other most common danger is poisoning which affects 2.3 million people every year — half are children under 6. Using child resistant locks helps control access to dangerous products within a child’s reach.
- If your pool skimmer gets a hole in it, slip the leg of an old pair of stockings over the frame. This easy makeshift skimmer will hold until you can get a new one. Or keep it and change the netting easily and inexpensively at any time.
- The owner’s manuals for your major appliances are filled with valuable information for everyday operation and maintenance. If you can’t locate a manual, contact the manufacturer and ask the customer service department to send you one.
- Talcum powder works really well in quieting a squeaky floor. Sprinkle a generous amount wherever the floor makes noise and then work the powder into the joints and around exposed nail heads.
- Plan on spending 1% of the purchase price of your home on home maintenance each year.
- Relaxing in a warm, bubbling spa or hot tub can relieve sore muscles, invigorate the skin, and contribute to a sense of calm. Once only available at great expense, many manufacturers now offer kits for home use that are affordable, easy to install, and can be adapted to just about any home. Most spa and hot tub dealers will assist you with delivery and installation of the unit. In most cases, you just place the hot tub, fill it with a water hose, set the controls and you’re ready to go.
- Pictures and ornaments give traditional bathrooms an inviting feel, but make sure any treasured items will tolerate a steamy atmosphere. You can protect paintings or photos by framing them behind glass or Lucite.
- Check local retail stores for discount kitchen appliances. Major appliances will drop drastically in price as the specific model becomes out of date.
- Dust silk flowers by placing them in a laundry bag and tossing the bag into the clothes dryer on the no-heat cycle.
- Brick is one of the most durable siding materials: it doesn’t need to be painted, doesn’t rot, doesn’t fade, and weathers handsomely.
- A telescopic extension pole when painting high ceilings is an invaluable tool. Trying to balance yourself and a paint tray is a problem that gets eliminated when using this highly functional tool.
- Cooking with your kids can be a very scary thought for many parents. But, with a couple of tips it can be a memorable experience for all those involved. Tips for keeping it safe and fun include:
- Keep a sturdy stool nearby so kids can be a part of the action and aren’t reaching for a pan or utensils over their heads.
- Organize a “kid’s tools” drawer within their reach so the utensils aren’t too sharp. This allows them to take ownership and want to become a part of the cooking.
- When making a bed, the top sheet or flat sheet always goes the “wrong” side up. This way when you fold back the top of the sheet the decorative or printed side will be seen.
- Cold weather shouldn’t be an issue anymore with exterior painting, Most conventional paints need to be applied during temperatures 55 degrees or warmer. But cold weather paints are designed to resist moisture, frost and blisters in temperatures as low as 35 degrees. They are safe for most surfaces and can easily be applied with a roller or brush.
- Small details make big impressions when entertaining. Take cues from the season. Some creative and beautiful ideas for a place card when entertaining include a ripe pear or another fruit of the season, a pine cone or even beautiful fall leaves. Attach a paper name tag to the stem or on the plate beside the treasure and you’ll have a memorable reminder of the gathering.
- Bamboo is an environment-friendly choice of wood that grows fast and energetically. It makes terrific flooring as well as furniture. The planks have a high-gloss finish and are easy to keep clean.
- Whenever possible, use a ladder made of wood or fiberglass for outdoor work. Aluminum ladders could be dangerous around electrical lines. Also, stay away from the lines feeding power into your house.
- Plywood is a wonderful material, but the edges are unsightly. To hide them you can plan the project so the edges won’t show in the finished item. Cover them with thin wood strips, or with veneer tape — thin strips of wood in flexible rolls.
- Piles of comfy pillows on a bed look inviting, but often pose a problem for guests. Stick to a pair of pillows neatly arranged and stack extra quilts, pillows and blankets in the guest room closet.
- To avoid scuffing wood, vinyl or linoleum floors when rearranging furniture pieces, slide a folded towel under each side of the piece of furniture you wish to move. Not only does this avoid scratches and scrapes, but it tends to make moving the piece a lot easier.
- If a natural disaster should happen to occur causing damage to your home or possessions, homeowners should contact their insurance carrier as soon as possible to begin the claims process. However, keep in mind that standard homeowner policies do not cover flood damage so be sure to inquire about such coverage if you live in a flood prone area.
- Studies show a home near or on a park can increase the property value as much as 20%.
- The size of the American yard continues to shrink; currently it is only 9,000 square feet.
- 55 million people work from home in North America; 1/3 of them (18 million people) run home-based businesses.
- Wood for burning requires at least 6 to 12 months to dry thoroughly. In order to be sure your firewood is ready, look for cracks along the cross-sectioned surfaces.
- If you choose to store pictures outside of albums, never stack them on top of each other, as the weight can damage them. And if the weather is humid, they could stick together. File them in boxes and store them in a cool dry place.
- According to the Center for Disease Control, 40% of homes have some lead-based paint in them especially if the home was built before 1980.
- Wood flooring is no longer used solely in living and family rooms. Increasingly it is being used in high-traffic areas such as hallways and kitchens. If you choose to go this route, be sure to pick the right wood as some types are less likely to hold up in these locations. Avoid softwoods such as pine and spruce. Instead, look for species such as oak, maple, ash or even bamboo.
- For a stylish flower arrangement, pick flowers from your garden in the early morning or late evening. Place them in water immediately, or the stems will form an air-lock that prevents them from drinking.
- Flowers of one type in a vase will last longer than a bouquet of mixed varieties. Also, a single bloom will survive longer than many blossoms of the same type.
- Save your back when shoveling with proper technique. Bend at the knees when lifting a shovel full of any material, keeping your back straight, and tighten your stomach muscles as you lift with your legs. Use the momentum generated by the upward thrust of your legs to propel the shovel’s contents into a wheelbarrow or onto a tarp. Don’t overextend your arms though — the closer the load remains to your body, the lighter it feels. And don’t twist your back when shoveling: backbones aren’t designed to move that way.
- Pliers are some of the most common and useful tools around the house. Variety is necessary — a good toolbox should have a number of types, including the standard and needle-nose pliers.
- A variety of wrenches is a tool-box staple. The quality you pay for will be evident over the years: heavy, good-quality wrenches do not wear out. Cheap ones do, and can slip when in use, damaging the nut you are trying to loosen.
- A utility knife is one of the handiest tools to have around. Be sure to use sharp blades only; dull blades are inefficient and unsafe. Store with the blade retracted and hide it in your tool box to keep away from children.
- If you’re stuck without electricity for a long time, here’s what you should eat: first, perishable food from the refrigerator; second, foods from the freezer; third, crackers, cookies, snack foods; last, canned goods and non-perishables.
- Small packages of screws are much more expensive than boxes of 100. The traditional, plain wood screw is easily replaced by new, innovative designs with sharper, wider threads that resemble drywall screws.
- Duct tape is probably one of mankind’s most useful inventions. Keep at least two rolls on hand, but don’t skimp on quality. Inexpensive duct tape is not a good buy — the adhesive will be gummy and the tape may slip.
- If your washer and dryer are located in a place where you can’t hear the end of the cycle buzzer, set an alarm elsewhere in the house (like the timer on your microwave) to alert you of a finished load.
- Termites are the most destructive wood-destroying pest in the nation. At least 1% of housing in the United States each year requires treatment. Most termite species swarm in late summer or fall. The best way to determine is to look for evidence of tunneling in the wood. In most cases, it is best to hire a professional pest control company to carry out a routine regimen and keep the pests under control.
- Have you ever wondered how long perishable food items will keep in the refrigerator or freezer if you happen to lose electricity? Remember that items in a full freezer will stay frozen for about two days with the door kept closed and in a half-full freezer for about a day. Refrigerated foods can keep up to four hours. Discard any perishable refrigerated foods that have been above 40 degrees for more than two hours.
- An engineered roof truss system is two to three times stronger than conventional stick framing and will ensure that a house and its roof remain married throughout the most horrific storms.
- An all brick home has many advantages. While easy to maintain, it offers beauty and a variety of colors perfect for creative design choices while building.
- Applying caulk can be messy but, for best results start by practicing on a scrap of paper so you get used to how quick the caulk comes out of the tube. Smoothing the caulk is best done with a damp finger or rag.
- As building materials go, drywall is the same: one manufacturer’s product will be the same as another; there are no hidden defects. This material is either smooth and solid or it isn’t. If you see it on sale, buy it.
- If you don’t have a rubber mallet, cut a slit in an old tennis ball and put it on the head of any hammer. It will act as a buffer and protect your project.
- The common nail is used for general construction work and a wide variety of other purposes. When driving common nails with a hammer, try to snap your wrist rather than hitting the nail with arm power.
- Never stack terra-cotta flower pots vertically. Changes in temperature and humidity will make them swell causing them to stick together making them easy to crack when trying to pull apart.
- Ceramic tile made to look like real stone is a durable and affordable choice. It is easy to remove stains especially if you tint the grout to match the color of the stone.
- The claw hammer is the most common, standard hammer. The 16-oz. size is best for most carpentry, but the 20-oz. size is highly recommended for construction work. Quality hammers have heads with slightly beveled edges to avoid chipping.
- When packing breakable items, use towels and washcloths to wrap them in instead of newspaper. You won’t have to wash them when you unpack, and you don’t need an extra box to pack those towels.
|