Archives for January 2020

We don’t often think about how much we depend on our plumbing systems working without any issues. It is only when the tragedy strikes that we discover that when faced with some types of problems, we are helpless, and we need to contact the experts.

If everything is running smoothly, there’s no reason to check the condition of the pipes, or at least that’s what most of us are thinking. Unfortunately, it is often the case that much bigger issues could be avoided by dealing with them earlier. In a second, you’ll learn what are the most common plumbing myths. Let’s go!

Easy solutions exist!

We would expect that, given the fact that it is 2020 already, there would be an easier way to unclog your toilet, or fix the pipes. Though you may find products that, according to the label, should fix all of your problems, the reality may be more depressing. Sure, drain cleaners might help you several times before they destroy the pipes, leading to much more severe problems.

Knowing that you could fix your issues with an easy fix provides comfort, but sadly it is a false comfort. According to the experts at Plumbing Force, if you have doubts about whether the solution could potentially lead to a major catastrophe later on, it is better to let someone more experienced deal with it. In the long term, it will only save you some money.

Is it leaking? Not a big deal!

Many people are simply used to their faucets dripping, but you should remember that it is not a normal situation, and you should deal with it before it goes out of hand. The thing is, the leaking has to have some cause behind it, meaning that it is only a symptom of some other issue. If every part of your plumbing system is installed correctly, there shouldn’t be any leaks. It is better to contact an expert that will check what could be causing it. It will unnecessarily increase your water bills, which means that if you ignore the problem for long enough, you would have been better off financially contacting a plumber.

And think of the environment. Our impact on Mother Nature is increasingly more dire. Sure, if you’ll be the only person not wasting water, it won’t do much good, but let’s multiply this amount by the entire population of your country. Now it gets more serious, doesn’t it?

Is it working? If it does, there’s no problem!

It is often the case that we ignore issues that are not making it impossible to function. If it takes longer than usual for the water from your bath to drain, but it kind of works, then surely you could ignore it? Wrong! Similarly, as is the case with the faulty faucets, issues with bathtubs could be ignored if it weren’t for the fact that there must be something more serious that’s causing it.

If you don’t have much experience with the plumbing systems, your best bet is to contact a professional. Just because you don’t see any visible problems, it doesn’t mean that there is everything fine with your pipes.

There’s just not enough time!

Many of us live hectic lives, and regular maintenance of the plumbing system seems to be out of the question. We have so many responsibilities that we are afraid to neglect, so we have to prioritize. The threat of the pipes bursting due to pressure seems distant; we would rather worry about the fact that our neighbour is making more money than we do.

When the tragedy finally strikes, we are surprised and scared, because there wasn’t any way to foresee the incoming trouble. Wrong! Ironically, ignoring regular maintenance means that you’ll have to spend more time and money on fixing those issues. Unfortunately, when something is not imminent, we often choose to avoid taking any action. Ideally, you would regularly contact a plumber to check if everything is working just fine. If you don’t have much money to spare, you could even ask your friends whether they have any experience with plumbing.

Nothing could have prevented it!

Plumbing systems are a big mystery to many of us. Why does it run smoothly sometimes, while at other times no matter how much energy you’ve wasted, the water is still not draining? There is nothing wrong with the lack of knowledge – not everyone has extensive experience with plumbing. The essential part, though, is to know where to turn to experts for help.

We need water to survive. It is crucial for our hydration. If you want an unlimited supply of cool and fresh water, then you need buy a water dispenser. No matter where you put it, you can always count on it. Devices like that are always practical to have them around. You can use it in your home, office, the hospitals, or any other public places. This way, any time you are feeling thirsty, you can always use the dispenser for a glass or two.

Moreover, using this device will make your life much easier. Check out the link for more info https://mamabee.com/benefits-of-water-dispenser/. They are available in different shapes and sizes. Therefore, you have a variety of options to choose from. Some of them can even fit in your refrigerator. Which model you select depends on your preference and requirements. Make sure to pick the one that most suits you. You can place an order online or buy them from a local store that sells them. Either way, you are making a smart decision. There are actually a lot of benefits that come with using the dispenser. Here are just some of them:

Clean water

Once you put the liquid inside, the dispenser will keep it fresh and clean. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? No matter how many times you want to have a drink, you can always count on the water to be clean and fresh. This will help you to stay healthy. Don’t worry about bacteria and other contaminants. The dispenser won’t let that happen.

Once you empty the bottle, you can always refill it and repeat the procedure. If you end up buying one, you won’t be making a mistake. They are incredibly practical and efficient. Every household or commercial building needs to have them around. Make sure to check out the Brio water dispenser among others, for more helpful information.

Easy maintenance

They are incredibly easy to maintain. Some of them have self-cleaning systems installed. This way you won’t have to waste precious time trying to clean the dispenser properly. How amazing is that? Even if you want to clean it yourself, you can do it once a week. Nothing will stop it from functioning properly and optimally. Your entire family can enjoy fresh drinks of water.

Make sure to select the right one to place it wherever you need to. They are not so expensive either. Consider them as an investment. If you don’t like it, then stop using it altogether.

Easy to use

The dispenser is quite easy to use. Even a baby can figure it out. You just need to press a button and the device will pour you water. Whether you want it cold or hot, it doesn’t matter. With just a push of a button and your glass will be filled. That’s why people love them so much. They are not an inconvenience.

As mentioned above, the dispenser will eventually empty and you need to fill it once more. That can be easily done as well. Make sure to get one as soon as possible.

Cost-effective

Once you head to work, you won’t have to buy bottles of water constantly. You might not think that this costs you a lot of money at first, but if you add everything up, then you are definitely wasting money. If you have a dispenser in your building, you can quench your thirst any time you want. On the plus side, you won’t have to spend money.

You can always pitch this idea to your boss. They will certainly love it. These types of devices are perfect for places that have a lot of people constantly running back and forth. Read more on this page.

Cost-efficient

You should know that this device doesn’t use a lot of power to function optimally. This is an advantage because you won’t have to stress over the electric bill once it arrives. A lot of people get frustrated once they see how much electricity they spend on different things. You won’t have to worry about the dispenser. Just make sure to get one and you’ll see the difference.

The dust has always been an additional household member in any house. No matter how many strategies you apply to get rid of it, it keeps coming back. Honestly, no one likes dust on furniture, tables, and screens of electronics and it is really frustrating. However, if you are trying to get rid of it as soon as possible, you might have to understand it first.

Dust composes of particles like dead skin, pollens, sand, fibers and kitchen particles that stick to the surfaces. These specks of dust particles when enter the air streams and the nostrils can cause serious allergies and asthma issues. To say the worst, the dust also welcomes mites and other insects which is not fun. For the fact, it is the air that causes these dust particles to exist in your home. Equipment like an air purifier for dust can assist in improving the hygiene of the house. Moreover, electrical equipment like a vacuum cleaner can also make a dust cleaning job easy. But still, the vacuuming and just wiping off the dust cannot fix the problem and requires special precautions. For that, let’s discuss some tips to get rid of dust at home.

• Removing Shoes

More than 80% of the dust that exists in the home arrives from the shoes. Shoes are the primary source of dust and it is impossible to avoid it. Also, it is not possible to clean your shoes every time before entering your home. Jokes aside, but removing shoes before entering the room or house sounds right for getting rid of dust.

In many countries like Japan, Korea, and China, people follow the activity of banishing the shoes before entering the house. For the shoes being the primary source of dust, removing shoes can significantly reduce the dust arrival in the home. In addition to banishing the shoes, using slipper socks at home can also improve the cleanliness and dust-free environment at home.

• Changing Bedding every week

Accept the bitter truth, your beddings are also a major source of dust that exists in your home. Not just that, this dust multiplies to further particles and therefore increasing the danger of spreading allergies. For that, changing the bed sheets every week reduces the harsh effects of dust and avoids its replication.

The least you can do to reduce the dust is by washing the pillow covers and sheets weekly. It’s not the fact that some items can never be machine washed. You can also dry clean these items and keep the dirt away as possible as you can. Beating the beds and sheets can also assist in getting rid of the dust that sticks inside the fabric.

• Changing Air Filters

If you have an air filtration system installed in your home, you can also clean the filter to ensure better air filtration. While cleaning, you might also find out how much dust your house has trapped in and what you can do to get rid of it. The HVAC system experts recommend cleaning the filters every month and changing and disposing of the filters every three months.

Moreover, vacuum cleaning the furnace and ventilation of your house is also a good point. The dust that stuck in the ducts pipes of ventilation can often prove dangerous for health.

• Using the right equipment

The main reason why we couldn’t identify the main sources of dust is that we are never cleaning it the right way. Feather dusters, for example, look neat and effective for cleaning and wiping properties but they are pretty worst for removing the dust. Even the tutorials of YouTube to tickle the duster rather than wiping has been proved failed to remove the dust off the surface.

For that, experts recommend using a vacuum rather than the cloths and fabric to wipe the dust off the surfaces. The vacuum with attachments like dusting microfiber increases the cleaning properties and ensures the cleaning without the dust return. Moreover using wet wipes to clean surfaces like tables, shelves and glass is also an effective strategy to get rid of the stickiest dust.

• Abolish Dust Mites

Dust mites exist in almost every house and proliferate in the fabrics and clothes. The reason for that is they like a warm environment and can replicate in hundreds easily. The main reason they are considered as the source of dust is that they chip in the dust with their waste which later results in serious allergies outbreak. If this is the reason they are the source of the dust, think about what would happen if they weren’t so tiny.

Vacuuming and wiping the clothes can work out in most cases but that doesn’t kill these small fiends. However, cleaning the clothes in high-temperature water of around 130 degrees can kill the mites instantly. Washing the bedding every weak to kill the dust mites in the warm water can assist in getting rid of the dust.

• Organize Clothes

Clothes always shred the fabrics and dust items that quickly adapt to your closet environment. As soon as you open the door of your closet it becomes part of the home. However, you cannot prevent the clothes from shredding the dusty fabrics. But keeping the clothes organized in the closet reduces the factor of an increase in the dust at home.

In addition to organizing, putting clothes in bags and boxes can cut the air supply and shredding of the clothes. The bags keep the dust trapped inside it, which in return significantly improves the dust-proof environment you always wanted.

• Unclutter your floors

Cluttered floors can also be the main cause of having a dusty environment at home. The object like shoes, toys, magazines, books, and electronics might look like small things. In fact, they are the second-to-none source of producing dust at home. However, cleaning these objects and arranging them on their required shelves ensures the organization and cleanliness of the home.

Unnecessary things always stick dust than the things that are used regularly. Moreover, putting covering clothes on cluttering things also protects them from being eaten up by dust.

The Final Words

In the end, removing the dust can never be possible if you haven’t identified its main sources. Getting rid of dust requires some research to identify the main sources and then performing the removal measures to get rid of them. Looking around the house enables you to perceive what things are cluttering the dust particles in your house. Using the services of air purification filters and vacuums reduces additional chores of rubbing out the dust.

Finally, it depends on the environment and the humidity level of your house. It is the common fact that dry environments are mostly the main cause of a dusty environment at home.

Pollution is often thought of as something that belongs to ‘the outside’; ozone depletion, UV rays, smoke, gases, haze, smog. Whereas the air inside your house or office building might contain way more pollution than the air outside. There way too many pollutants that sneak into the indoor to name them, formaldehyde, lead, radon and even combustible chemicals of volatile nature. Besides, the air indoors is also rich in microscopic living, yes living such as dust mites, molds, and pet dander.

These pollutants are brought into the indoor air in a number of ways. Most of them are transported through the breeze that comes in. While some of them sneak in through your clothing (this includes pet dander, which can be found in every home and workplace, even if it doesn’t have a pet). Some pollutants originate from inside your homes such as smoke, pet dander (if you own a pet) and molds.

Keeping indoor air is quite a challenge in itself. Here is a checklist you can follow to help you choose the best air purifiers.

Keep the Floors Clean

Floors provide a ground for air-pollutants to settle down. The air pollutants are either roaming around in the air or sitting on the floor mingled in the dust, waiting for the next gust of wind to lift them up.

The first step to clean up your floors is to vacuum. Allergens and chemicals are gathered in dust in houses for decades. These little dudes (bacteria and viruses) have been chilling in your home for years, traveling from one corner to another. What ensures these free-loaders’ stay at your place is improper cleaning of the house. By using vacuums that come with HEPA filters can drive the pollutants out by sucking them up. Vacuums ensure proper dust removal from the corners and under the furniture, places that are otherwise impossible to clean properly, with its strong suction and rotating brushes.

Another step is to mop the floor. Moping makes sure the stubborn guys of the pollutant clan are wiped off the floor as well. You can mope with just plain water or an anti-bacterial solution.

Keep Moisture Levels in Check

Most pollutants especially mites and moles love humidity. Keeping moisture levels around 30% to 50% can help keep such pollutants and allergens under control. This can be done using an air humidifier or air-conditioner. They help reduce moisture levels in indoor air, inhibiting the growth of dust mites, molds, certain types of alga and fungi, etc. Air conditioners also help decrease the levels of pollen in the air. Some other ways to dehumidify the indoor air are using an exhaust fan, opening windows, working with water and not overusing house-plants.

Keep Out the Smoke

While keeping the smoke out of your indoor air is not really in your hands, you do your part in reducing smoke levels by making your indoors are a no-smoking zone. Second-hand cigarette smoke is the most important aspect of indoor pollution. Cigarette smoke has nearly 4000 chemicals and over 200 bacteria. Besides the obvious lung and heart diseases, it contributes to, second-hand smoke is also highly dangerous for children especially infants and leads to growth inhibition or SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. If you or someone inside your indoor space smokes, seek help. Try support groups or replacement therapies, these can work.

Another way to reduce smoke levels is to set up a separate room for smoking, either in your home or workplace to avoid the smoke from mingling in all the air in the space. Make sure to opt for a room with good ventilation. An open window or a good vent and exhaust fan would suck out all the smoke, while an air purifier can work by removing the remaining smoke particles from the air before they escape the particular room and spread around.

Test for Radon

Radon is an odorless and colorful gas. Whether you have an old or a new house, you could still have a radon problem. This invisible gas is one of the most dangerous components of polluted air. After smoking, radon is the second biggest cause of lung diseases. If the indoor air is always reeking of cigarette smoke and you haven’t kept the radon levels in check, the chances of developing lung cancers increase. It is a radioactive gas and comes from the natural decomposition of uranium found in soils. Radon enters indoor air through holes and cracks in the walls. Old houses especially have high radon levels because of their crumbling foundations. It doesn’t matter whether you have a drafty home, a home without a basement, or air-tight home, radon can be found lurking in all indoor airs. Besides cracking foundations, granite countertops also emit radon, though not on levels high enough to be carcinogenic.

Radon testing is convenient and inexpensive. It only takes a couple of minutes to discover the radon problem. Once you have found out about the radon level in the indoor air, there are simple methods to reduce even high levels of the radioactive gas.

Don’t Let the Pleasant Smells Fool You

Everyone likes the piney or citrusy smells that come from laundry or clean kitchen. But synthetic scents from air fresheners or laundry contain dozens of chemicals and emit them into the air. The name of these harmful chemicals are not mentioned on the labels, but conventional detergents, air-fresheners, sprays and oils, all of them emit these gases. Studies show that a plug-in air freshener emits around 20 different volatile organic gases, including 7 highly toxic compounds.

Most scents come from petroleum products and aren’t generally tested for any hazardous substances that can adversely affect human health. The only test performed is for skin-irritation. A group of chemicals called phthalates – also used to soften plastic – present in the fragrances disrupt hormones in human beings.

You can free the air from such hazardous chemicals by adopting a number of precautionary measures. Always buy laundry products that are scent-free. Avoid using hair-sprays or artificial fragrances, especially in confined spaces. Besides hazardous substances, hair sprays and perfumes also contain volatile components.

Conclusion

Interestingly, the indoor atmosphere can be unhealthier than the outside. Not only does it bring in all the pollution from outside, but it also more hazardous substances originating from the indoor space. Indoor air pollution severely damages the health and property. Reducing air pollution becomes easy when you put in the effort and target the sources of pollution. Adopting precautionary measures to reduce pollutants from the indoor will pay off in increased health and pleasant indoor environment. Moreover, another subtle yet effective way to reduce indoor air pollution is to add little greenery by adding indoor plants in your living space.