Samuels Musings

Flooded Basement Cleanup Quakertown PA - Carpet Water Extraction - Wet Basement Repair

http://fastwaterremoval.com/areas/wat...

Flooded Basement Cleanup Quakertown PA - Carpet Water Extraction - Wet Basement Repair

See the complete video at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXgfI...

Follow us

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIc2...

https://twitter.com/eliterestorati1

https://plus.google.com/u/0/112348402...

https://www.facebook.com/philadelphia...

https://www.pinterest.com/waterdamagepa/

Water Damage & Flood Clean-up - Flooded Basement Cleanup Quakertown PA

Our Accredited Technicians are on phone call 24/7, geared up with fully packed emergency units, all set to take care of all sort of jobs whenever of the day for Wet Basement Repair.

We will certainly show up within 45 minutes to start instantly with water extraction, to make it possible for dry out of the affected location as well as stay clear of additional damages.

We realize that immediate and professional interest requirements to be given to leak as well as overruns from water heaters, dishwashing machines, refrigerators, cleaning machines, roofing systems and also sewage system backups.

Wet basement repair issues can occur if the drying out of water is not handled in the proper way. If the ideal procedure is not performed correctly the restoration of your home or company will take longer as well as be a lot more pricey than you anticipated.

Free Estimations, Ensured job, Affordable as well as Trustworthy

Sewage Cleanup & Removal - Flooded Basement Cleanup Quakertown PA

Have you seasoned or are you experiencing drain damages?

Carpet Water Extraction can be very hard - especially if the drainage is leaking right into your office or home structure.

We have Accredited wet basement repair Professionals on telephone call 24/7, 365 days a year, furnished with fully loaded emergency units, all set to manage any sewage backup as well as make certain that every little thing is cleared out properly, decontaminated as well as deodorized. It is necessary that all of the contaminated areas are addressed, whether it be floorboards, carpetings, walls or furnishings.

Anything that has actually been contaminated necessaries immediate focus to avoid the spread of biography- pollutants consisting of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Sewage backups produce a severe carcinogen. The longer the contamination procedure lingers, the better the possibility for germs development & development that could bring about some serious illness. Our group takes the essential steps in order to make the environment of your home or business clean, healthy, as well as enjoyable.

See other related ressources

See this video on Storify

https://storify.com/EliteWater/wet-ba...

See this video on Scoop.it

http://www.scoop.it/t/water-damage-re...

Related searches to find this video online.

water cleanup

wet basement cleanup

flooded basement cleanup cost

flooded basement cleanup carpet

flooded basement cleanup sewage damage cleanup

flooded basement cleanup tips

flooded basement cleanup companies

flooded basement cleanup service

Flooded Basement Cleanup Quakertown PA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXgfI_rMdIY&feature=youtube_gdata

Red Hook Residents Survey Flood Damage, Begin Cleanup (PHOTOS)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- In the end, the sandbags were no match for Sandy.

Red Hook resident Ethan Fugate, 41, and his girlfriend were eating dinner Monday night when they noticed that their residential street was flooding with water from nearby New York harbor. When the water topped the handlebars of the bicycle chained to a pole on the street outside, they began to reconsider their decision to ride out the storm.

"Our friends were begging us to come stay with them, but we have pets and had stocked up on food, so figured we were fine," he said.

Then the fireworks started -- transformers, all over the neighborhood, exploding like Roman Candles. "It was like the Fourth of July," Fugate said.

Fugate, like dozens of residents of this eclectic neighborhood in a corner of Brooklyn known for its do-it-yourself ethos, emerged from his home on Tuesday morning to survey the damage from Hurricane Sandy, the superstorm that pounded the East Coast yesterday and all last night. What they found was disheartening.

The floodwaters had receded from most streets, but one end of the main business strip, near the giant Fairway grocery store, was still submerged. The cobblestones on the side streets were slick with goo, left behind by retreating waters.

Wooden pallets, potted plants and giant wooden beams were left in yards and in the middle of streets, carried by the flowing water and then dropped when the water retreated. The sandbags that some homes and businesses had placed around basements and in front of doors were no more effective than a pebble in stopping the water from rushing in.

Enormous trees were uprooted. Cars that had begun to float last night were left abandoned in intersections. Power lines were down everywhere, but did not pose an immediate threat: the power was out and is likely to remain so for days to come.

Fugate and his girlfriend were fortunate: the water invaded the first floor of their two-family home, but they live on the top floor and stayed dry. Their less-fortunate downstairs neighbors, they think, left before the storm hit.

Jeremy and Maria Armstrong evacuated on Monday with their two children to higher ground in nearby Fort Greene, but were in constant contact with their next-door neighbors in Red Hook, who gave them updates on the water flooding the home they built a few years ago.

Anticipating the possibility of flooding, the Armstrongs had built the first floor of their house a few feet above ground level. But water nevertheless seeped in, pooling around the family piano. The most damage is likely in the garage, said Maria, who took a reporter on a tour.

"Our boiler, the hot water heater, all the electrical controls were underwater," she said.

Outside, her husband fired up a gas powered generator to begin pumping out the water.

On Van Brunt Street, the main business strip, Ron Kyle and his daughter Polly stood in the doorway of the wine and liquor store they opened three years ago and tried to figure out what to do next.

Like many business owners in the neighborhood, they live here, too. They have three feet of stinking water in their basement, Kyle said.

Here, in their store, cardboard boxes and bottles of booze lay strewn about the floor. The high-water mark was about four feet off the floor.

"We lost at least 150 cases," Kyle said. "Our inventory was floating around in sewage water. We didn't expect it would be this bad."

He estimates about $50,000 in lost inventory. The name of the store: Dry Dock.

"I get the irony of it," Kyle said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/30/red-hook-hurricane-sandy_n_2043391.html

How does one become a water restoration tech?

I've been a residential carpenter for 25 years but do to the housing crash I'm now thinking about working as a WRT.

I'm running into the usual paradox, you need experience, but you can't get hired without the IICRC certifications, it cost about 400 bucks for cert. but should you pay for class and hope you find a job?

If there's any one who's in this line of work that can give some advice I would be very grateful

thanks.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111011232214AAict2p

UPDATE 2-Power outages in Calgary could last for months after floods

Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38pm EDT

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, June 23 (Reuters) - Power outages in the Canadian oil capital of Calgary could last for weeks or even months, city authorities said on Sunday, as record breaking flood waters moved downstream to threaten smaller communities in southeastern Alberta.

Even as officials told 65,000 Calgary residents they could start returning to their water-damaged homes, 10,000 people in were evacuated in Medicine Hat, where the South Saskatchewan River is expected to burst its banks.

CF Industries said it was temporarily halting production at its Medicine Hat facility, Canada's largest nitrogen fertilizer complex, as a precautionary measure in view of the flooding.

The floods have closed key transit arteries, including some rail lines and the east-west TransCanada Highway, and displaced more than 100,000 people.

The floods already look significantly worse than those of 2005, which caused C$400 million ($383 million) in damage.

Three people have been confirmed dead.

But officials say it is too early to put a figure on the damage in the Western Canadian province and in Calgary, its largest city, with a population of 1.1 million.

"It will certainly be at least the middle of the week before people will be going back to work. There are some pockets of downtown where normality will not return for weeks," Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi told a news conference.

"We have turned a corner. We are still in a state of emergency, but our hearts and thoughts and prayers are now with our colleagues downstream."

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said it could take days, weeks or perhaps even months to restore all power in the downtown core, where many of Canada's oil companies have their headquarters.

Many of the companies were making plans for employees to work from home.

Heavy rains were blamed for 750 barrels of synthetic oil spilling from a pipeline approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of the oil town of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta, early on Saturday.

Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline company, said the cause of the spill was still under investigation but unusually heavy rain may have resulted in ground movements that impacted the pipeline.

The oilfields were not threatened by the floods.

Enbridge also has shut down two other major oil pipelines serving Canada's oil sands region as a precaution. Canada is the biggest supplier of energy to the United States.

There was little, if any, trade in Canadian crude oil on Friday, after the evacuations started in Calgary. Net Energy Inc, one of the two main Calgary crude brokers, said it would be open for business this week with brokers working remotely.

INSURANCE GAPS

Jeff Burke, president and CEO of insurers Western Financial Group, said many Canadian homeowners would not be covered for damages resulting from groundwater flooding.

"There is no flood insurance in Canada, so people do not have coverage for this. Where there's some coverage in some cases is if they have sewer back-up cover," Burke said.

"Just looking at water levels, what we have experienced and the destruction is much more severe now than in 2005."

The company is headquartered in High River, one of the communities worst affected by the flooding, and the site of the three deaths recorded so far.

The floods followed 36 hours of unusually heavy rain that pushed the volume of water in rivers to record levels. Some communities received six months of their normal rainfall in fewer than two days.

Evacuations started on Thursday and utility Enmax switched off power to central Calgary on Friday afternoon to avoid water damage to its downtown facilities.

Troops have been helping evacuate residents and throw up sand or earth barriers to protect low-lying communities.

Soldiers on Sunday helped shore up the east bank of the Bow River in Calgary and ensure the stability of an substation belonging to utility Enmax.

City authorities said 24,000 Enmax customers were still without power.

Link this

Share this

Digg this

Email

Print

Reprints

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/23/canada-floods-calgary-idUSL2N0EZ06M20130623

Sia and Shia LaBeouf's Pedophilia Nontroversy Over 'Elastic Heart'

Sia and Shia LaBeouf's Pedophilia Nontroversy Over 'Elastic Heart' - The Daily Beast

As people around the world stand in solidarity with the slain free speech crusaders of Charlie Hebdo, circulating the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie on social media and passionately defending their right to publish any cartoon they damn well please, a new, decidedly dafter controversy has erupted over the bounds of artistic expression.

On Wednesday, the Australian singer-songwriter Sia dropped the music video for her latest single, "Elastic Heart," off her bestselling Grammy-nominated album, 1000 Forms of Fear. The video is a spiritual sister to her mesmerizing viral clip for "Chandelier," which featured 12-year-old dance prodigy Maggie Ziegler dressed in a flesh-colored leotard busting jerky, Black Swan-like interpretive dance moves. It was widely lauded as one of the best music videos in years and got more than 435 million YouTube views (and counting), a Grammy nod for Best Music Video, and even a late-night performance boasting a gyrating Lena Dunham.

The "Elastic Heart," video, on the other hand, has had a decidedly more negative reception, with hordes of quasi-anonymous Twitter trolls claiming it promotes "pedophilia" and one unhinged stage parent from the reality show Dance Moms, where Ziegler cut her teeth, accusing it of being "vile" and near pedophilia.

In "Elastic Heart," it's not just Lil' Sia battling her inner demons but also LaBeouf, frantically chasing after his lost youth.

For the uninitiated, the video for "Elastic Heart," directed by Sia and Daniel Askill, depicts actor/plagiarist/performance artist Shia LaBeouf, who recently claimed he was a victim of rape, dressed in a flesh-colored loincloth, sporting hand wraps, and caked in dirt like a cage fighter. The 28-year-old faces off in a giant birdcage against 12-year-old Ziegler, once again serving as Sia's miniature stand-in--blond bob, leotard, and all.

The lopsided adversaries stalk the edges of the cage, sending feral dance-messages back and forth before slowly crawling on the ground toward each other. Then Ziegler tosses the buff LaBeouf around like a rag doll. She jumps on his back, mock-choking him and covering his eyes. At the throwdown's midway point, they reach an impasse and let their respective guards down. LaBeouf approaches Ziegler, caressing her hair, before he's scared off by her savage, hissing and roaring response. Later, they reenact a famous sequence from Dirty Dancing, with LaBeouf hoisting Ziegler up into the air by her hips before the mini-Sia lures him to the edge of the cage and exits--leaving her more robust foe stranded.



Late Wednesday, Sia addressed the "pedophilia" criticisms in a series of tweets, closing with: "I apologize to those who feel triggered by #ElasticHeart. My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody."

I anticipated some 'pedophelia!!!' Cries for this video. All I can say is Maddie and Shia are two of the only actors I felt could play

-- sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015

These two warring 'sia' self states.

-- sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015

I apologize to those who feel triggered by #ElasticHeart My intention was to create some emotional content, not to upset anybody. ?

-- sia (@Sia) January 8, 2015

In the video for "Elastic Heart," which features very difficult interpretive dance moves courtesy of choreographer Ryan Heffington, Ziegler, like Dunham before her, is standing in for the notoriously press-averse Sia, who regularly performs with her back to live audiences. She even penned an "Anti-Fame Manifesto," stating: "Imagine the stereotypical highly opinionated, completely uninformed mother-in-law character and apply it to every teenager with a computer in the entire world. Then add in all bored people, as well as people whose job it is to report on celebrities. Then, picture that creature, that force, criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day."

In the image that acommpanies the manifesto, Sia is depicted with a bag over her head--a look LaBeouf tried out just four months later on the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival premiere of his movie Nymphomaniac, adorned with the message "I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE." He wore another bag at his L.A. art project #IAMSORRY, where he allowed visitors to sit across from him in a room and do whatever they pleased (our reporter removed the bag to reveal a weeping LaBeouf).

The two artists' complex relationships with fame aside, the pitting of LaBeouf against a tiny adversary has added resonance for the actor, who had a famously troubled past. This is a young man who was raised by a hippie mother and whose father, a heroin addict, subjected him to regular verbal abuse, pressured him into smoking marijuana when he was 10, and even once pointed a gun at him during a Vietnam War flashback. Before LaBeouf reached his teens, he was performing stand-up comedy at clubs, he posed as his own manager over the phone, and he tricked an agent into representing him. The rest, as they say, is history. So in "Elastic Heart," it's not just Lil' Sia battling her inner demons but also LaBeouf, frantically chasing after his lost youth.

The video is, most of all, a thing of ethereal beauty; a purely artistic expression. As for those making claims of "pedophilia," their panicked rush to project base motives onto an elegant, multifaceted dance routine says more about them than it does about the artists themselves. It's like reading the surrogate father-daughter dynamic in The Professional--between another 12-year-old, played by Natalie Portman, and her assassin/protector (Jean Reno)--as "pedophilic" when it's anything but.

This head-scratching imbroglio is, above all else, an assault on artistic license; a mind-set not unlike those critical of the satirical stylings of Seth Rogen's The Interview or Charlie Hebdo. And that is the real travesty.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/08/sia-and-shia-labeouf-s-pedophilia-nontroversy-over-elastic-heart.html

New Water Removal Service and Flood Repair in Chalfont and Bristol PA

Philadelphia, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/14/2014 -- Waterremovalandcleanup.com, a Water Removal Company, announces their services are now available in both Chalfont and Bristol, in Bucks County. Damage caused by floods, broken pipes or damaged appliances can cost untold amounts of money if not dealt with quickly. Water that is left standing can quickly destroy buildings and foundations.

Anyone who has ever had to experience a flood knows that time is of the essence once the flood waters recede. The mud and debris left behind are a nightmare to deal with unless there are experts close by, waiting to tackle the cleanup. Waterremovalandcleanup.com provides 24 hour/7 days a week emergency response for those times when quick cleanup can mean the difference between an inconvenience and total loss. Their certified technicians can frequently have the job quickly completed and save home and business owners the heartache of rebuilding.

When water damages property, mold is not far behind. An inconvenience can quickly become a health hazard if not cleaned up almost immediately. It requires special techniques to clean up mold and prevent the spores from freely dispersing and causing further damage and health issues. Waterremovalandcleanup.com provides mold cleanup that will not only get rid of the existing mold but prevent its spread to undamaged surfaces. Sewer damage can also cause health hazards if not dealt with efficiently and Waterremovalandcleanup.com can also deal with this problem before it becomes a nightmare issue.

Waterremovalandcleanup.com provides fire and smoke restoration, as well. Their conscientious, highly trained technicians are quick, knowledgeable, reliable and understand that dealing with smoke and fire damage can be an overwhelming experience. Fast, efficient cleanup after a fire or any kind of emergency that can cause untold damage to buildings can mean getting back in the home or resuming business in record time.

Residents in Chalfont and Bristol, PA can rest easier knowing that waterremovalandcleanup.com is now available in their communities. With 24 hour, 7 days a week emergency response that is certified and accepted by most insurance companies, help is only a phone call or click away. Visit their website soon; don’t wait for an emergency. Being familiar with the services available can help to get the cleanup started in record time. When time is critical and experts are needed, it is vital to know that reliable, experienced help is close by.

For more information, visit waterremovalandcleanup.com

http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/new-water-removal-service-and-flood-repair-in-chalfont-and-bristol-pa-552907.htm

How to Determine if Your House Has Lead Paint

    First Page

   page  1 of  50    

How to Determine if Your House Has Lead Paint

By: Danny Lipford

Using a DIY home test kit to test paint for lead.

Ingesting or breathing dust from lead paint or fumes from burning materials that contain lead paint can result in lead poisoning and cause serious health problems.

Lead additive was banned from paint in the U.S. in 1978, so paint manufactured after that time should be lead free.

Paint made between 1960 and 1978 may contain low levels of lead, and paint before 1960 can have high levels of lead.

If you think the paint in your house may contain lead, you can test it using a DIY lead test kit which can be purchased at home centers and used to tell if the paint in your house contains lead.

If your house does have lead paint, you can paint over it as long as you don’t disturb the paint by sanding, scraping, or cutting.

Watch this video to find out more.

Further Information

Please Leave a Comment

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

Danny Lipford: When people are fixing up older homes, they often want to know, “How can I tell if my house has lead paint?”

The first clue is the specific age of the house. If it was built in 1979 and later, there should be no lead paint in it at all.

Homes built between 1960 and 1978 may have low levels of lead in the paint, and those built before 1960 often have large amounts if the original paint is still in place.

The best way to know for sure is to test it yourself with a lead test kit that’s available from your local home center. The instructions will show you how to use it and interpret the results to determine if lead is present.

It’s very important not to disturb it. The chief danger is the dust generated from cutting, sanding, or scraping the paint. Lead paint can be encapsulated or painted over as long as it isn’t disturbed in those ways.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/danny-lipford/~3/iaP1x1hwOH0/

Zinsser Mold Killing Paint Primer

Zinsser Mold Killing Paint Primer

By: Jodi Marks

Zinsser Mold Killing Paint Primer.

Zinsser Mold Killing Primer is an interior/exterior primer that contains an antimicrobial fungicide to kill existing mold, mildew, or odor causing bacteria and prevent growth in the future. It dries to touch in 30 minutes and can be topcoated in one hour.

Zinsser Mold Killing Primer is available at The Home Depot. Watch this video to find out more.

Further Information

Please Leave a Comment

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

Jodi Marks: I think the reason why painting projects get voted the number one DIY project—especially for beginners—is it is so easy to do, you get instant results, and you don’t have to have elaborate tools to get those beautiful results. But you want to make sure that you get your surface prepped properly so that you get a nice finish.

Now, sometimes, you might run into problems like mold. Well, what do you do? This is what you do. Here’s the answer to it. You get a mold-killing primer, and this is one by Zinsser.

It’s very easy to use. It’s a water base, but it does have an anti-microbial formula in there so that it kills the mold and the mildew on contact.

So, that means that if you’ve got drywall or you’ve got a ceiling that has moisture that is creating this mold and the mildew, you don’t have to destroy that first and then prime over it.

All you got to do is use this primer. Go right over it. It will kill it, and then it will coat it, and then you can put on your beautiful top coat and change the look of that room in no time.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/danny-lipford/~3/DLIO2QINa30/

DryMax, Palm Beach Gardens water restoration company goes green - West Palm Beach Green Living

DryMax Inc of Palm Beach Gardens is a local water restoration company. They are licensed plumbers as well as restoration experts. When your home suffers water damage, fire damage or mold problems, they are the first ones you should call to bring your home back to normal. If water leaks are to blame, as licensed plumbers, DryMax gets the job done right the first time since they are able to fix the source of the problem first. Anytime water floods the home fast action is required especially in the heat and humidity of Palm Beach County. Mold sets in very quickly and as the flood spreads it settles into places you can't see and that is where the problems can begin. Each situation is a little bit different but DryMax has many options for you to get the job done quickly and efficiently. That is the benefit of calling the professionals, they have high grade equipment, dehumidifiesr, fans and more that will dry the areas fast and then the clean up can really begin.



DryMax has a green option for those individuals who prefer to only use all natural cleaners without any chemicals. These green cleaners will leave your home smelling fresh with the scent of lavender, eucalyptus and citrus. Vinegar, tea tree oil and grapefruit see extract are among the top natural ingredients to kill mold and mildew. It is important for the health of your family to not allow mold or mildew to move in. Living with mold is not good for your health even if you are not allergic, it can cause breathing problems, depression, exhaustion and other health issues. The DryMax Green Restoration package also incorporates live houseplants to help purify and clean the air. It is a good practice to keep houseplants to improve indoor air quality in your home. If you live a green lifestyle and suffer from a flooded home or other water, fire or mold damage call DryMax and ask about their green restoration package.

You can call DryMax at 561-627-2244 or go to their website www.drymaxfl.com.

Palmolive Sponge Fresh Dish Soap Reviews & Experiences

Palmolive Dish & Sponge Fresh Dish Liquid Review

by Taylor



I've gotten lots of comments recently from readers about Dawn dish soap causing smelly sponges and dishrags so when I saw this Palmolive version in the store recently, designed to keep your sponges fresh smelling, I just knew I needed to give it a try for everyone.

Stinky sponges can be a big problem, and there are some ways to combat it like always wringing out your sponge thoroughly after each wash to let it air dry, and also cleaning your sponges regularly.

However, if you've ever picked up a nasty smelling sponge you know it can be gross. Real gross. The smell gets all over your hands and won't go away, plus who wants to wash dishes with that, and smear who knows what all over your supposedly clean dishes?

I think Palmolive saw a need here and tried to fill it.

I will confess that I don't really suffer too much from stinky sponges myself, doing the things I mentioned above regularly to combat the problem. However, my (wonderful) husband doesn't always remember to wring out the sponge and often leaves it laying at the bottom of the sink to stay nice and moist, the perfect breeding ground for odors (and germs).

That's why I gave him the job of testing out this dish liquid and reporting how it worked for him. What follows is his opinions about the product, which I've summarized and added.

First, in regard to the smell, he liked it, it smelled kind of sweet or like candy, although not an identifiable scent. It was not too strong, and not unpleasant.

Next, in regard to washing dishes it appears to work as well as other Palmolive products for cleaning and removing grease and food particles from pots, pans and dishes.

Finally, and most importantly how does it work to prevent stinky sponges? Pretty well, actually. Although he left the sponge wet and sometimes even with unrinsed food particles on it it didn't have that stink to it that it would most likely have developed otherwise.

I (Taylor) am still personally squicked out by this though, since even though you can't necessarily smell the yuckies in the sponge with this stuff, I don't know that they're not there!

So I will now resume dishwashing duty more regularly, and keep my sponge rinse out and then dried out regularly, as well as cleaning it periodically to clean and sanitize it.

The bottom line, however, is that if you suffer from stinky smelly sponges and it makes dishwashing unpleasant for you, this may be a good soap for you to try. It seems to work well for dish cleaning and if it gets rid of an offensive odor at the same time, it seems like a win-win.

Has anyone else used this product? If so, I'd love to hear what you thought of it as well. You can share your review here of this or any other brand or type, telling me how it worked for you.

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to dishwashing soap.

I Actually Thought It Made My Sponges Smell Worse!

by Stacey



I like using the soap filled dish wands with replaceable sponge heads.

I learned long ago sponges have to be kept in a dry place when not in use, no matter what soap you use or they'll get grosser faster.

I have personally never had that problem with any of the Dawns...yet.

I will at time use Palmolive but one of them that I found was nasty from the get go was the one they specifically advertise for sponge odor. Lol, kind of ironic.

It smelled like beer while using it and then all my brand new sponges STUNK AWFUL!

Click here to post comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to dishwashing soap.

Love It But Hard To Find In Stores These Days

by Sparkle

(Bayonne, NJ)



Sparkle says:

I love this product. It is the only dish detergent that doesn't make the sponge or dishcloth smell.

The only thing is that I can't find it in any store. That includes Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, etc.

Where can I find it?

This is the only dish wash detergent I will use.

I recently bought the new one called Dish & Sink. It smells nice but my sponge and dishcloth smell horrible after one day.

Believe me, I clean the sponge, etc. all the time. Tell me how I can get this Dish & Sponge Fresh.

Taylor says:

I hadn't realized it until you sent in this review Sparkle, but it appears this product has been discontinued.

As you say, now Palmolive has a new Dish + Sink soap, but it isn't designed to deal with stinky sponges, but instead stinky dish drains so it is unsurprising that it doesn't work as well for your sponges as the previous variety.

That stinks, literally in this instance!

Ah well, such is life! They discontinue products all the time. Nothing we can do. So tell me in the comments which soaps you use that you find don't make your sponges stink so quickly, so those that had been using this variety can switch to something else.

You can also share your dish soap review here for this brand, or another, and I'll add it to the site.

Taylor says: Here are links to buy this or related products. If you make a purchase I receive a small commission which helps support this site and my family.





Related Pages You May Enjoy

I - Q Household Cleaners Reviews

Go From Palmolive Dish & Sponge Fresh Dish Soap Review To Home Page

There are affiliate links on this page, and if you purchase a product through them I receive a small commission. Purchasing through my links costs you nothing extra, but helps support the free information provided on this site and my family. To learn more please see my product review disclosure statement.







Thanks For Visiting My Website



Hi, I'm Taylor, a busy mom with 3 kids, so I have lots of hands on experience with house cleaning, laundry and my fair share of spots, spills and other messy catastrophes. Thanks for visiting my site.

I update the website all the time with tips, tutorials, cleaning recipes, reviews of products from readers like you, and tests I've done on various cleaners, removers and laundry supplies.

I'd love for you to keep in touch with me, and I've created a couple of free resources for you when you do!

If you subscribe by email to get my weekly newsletter you will get a free laundry stain removal chart!

In addition, if you "like" the site on Facebook you'll receive a free 40 page housekeeping checklist e-book.

I hope you enjoy these gifts, and stop by again soon!

CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StainRemovalBlog/~3/P05ABfTaCH0/palmolive-sponge-fresh.html

Mold Removal - House Mold Remediation - Water Damage Restoration

Molds appear mostly in the outdoor environment. They however reproduce rapidly the moment mold spores land on a damp surface indoors. It can be a leaky roof, a burst pipe or a typhoon which leaves you a flooded basement or a damped living room, turning your house a breeding ground for house mold. It is recommended that you hire a handyman to fix your household problem before any home mold is found. If the basement water is extracted or the damped area in the house is dried within 24-48 hours, there will not be any mold detection for most cases. What if there is a household mold problem for you already?

Act promptly to remove mold and mildew

Once you spot a house mold and mildew problem, there is no way you should put off the mold removal action as you are competing with the fast growth rate of the mold. Since moisture is a key factor for the mold to reproduce, the first thing you should do is to cut the water supply of your home mold. You then remove the mold with detergent and water and keep the place dry afterwards. You also have to repair the broken pipe or the leaky roof to stop the source of excess moisture. For a water damaged carpet, you have no choice but to throw it away. If the work of removing mold seems to be too tedious or hard for you, you can always find a mold remediation company to do the mold removal job.

Mold allergy and asthma attack

Mold and mildew can pose health problems on human beings such as mold allergy and asthma attack. Like pollen allergy (hay fever) or other allergies, mold allergic reactions occur when an individual overreacts to a particular material which is mold spore in the case of mold allergy. Mold allergy symptoms are similar to that of many common allergies which include itchy eyes, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose (nasal congestion) and skin rashes. For sensitive individuals, house mold can also trigger asthma attack.



When should I contact a mold removal company?

Before using a water damage restoration service, it is wise to try cleaning the home water damage yourself. You may also buy a mold test kit to understand your household mold and mildew condition. The above house mold removal methods would surely be helpful for mold abatement. And when black mold removal is your concern, it is time for you to look for a mold remediation company. If you do not feel like doing the mold cleanup yourself or after you have taken the above mold remediation steps, the house water damage still persists, it would be time for you to give a mold removal company a call.

What can mold remediation companies do for me?

You may think that you can handle the disaster restoration on your own. This may be the case if the water damage is of small amount. Otherwise, I suggest that you seek the help from water damage restoration companies to do the house mold and mildew removal. They would be able to help you fix the flooded basement by extracting the basement water, remove the water damaged carpet, do a mold test and remove the mold, which will save you from searching how to get rid of mold information on the internet and the headache, of course, especially when you are dealing with black mold removal.

Even when the house mold remediation is finished, you should always keep the house dry as a mean of mold prevention measure.

You may be interested in the following informative articles:

Internet Privacy Policy - Protect yourself from Reverse Phone Number Lookup

Swine Flu - Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment



Three Common Allergies - Skin Allergy, Eye Allergy and Nose Allergy

DIY Spooky Halloween Decorations: Secrets from a Hollywood Designer

Hand it to a Hollywood production designer to know exactly how to turn his front yard into a creepy– seriously creepy– Halloween display. We’re talking about Johnny Love, who has a growing following of fans for his annual Love Manor Halloween house, his amazingly elaborate tribute to the macabre.

He’s shown us how he turned his fireplace into a faux stone hearth suitable for a horror movie. He also shared his expert techniques in creating a eerie ghost paintings and haunted house lighting. 

And now, his newest contribution to our Halloween Style Challenge series. We send mystery boxes of Home Depot Halloween decorations to some of the most talented designers and DIY bloggers on the internet, and step back to let them come up with their special takes on Halloween. 

Johnny Love shows us how he created a very spooky Halloween decorations–a flying Grim Reaper figure, along with hanging jack-o-lanterns and faux tomb stones– all made from materials found at The Home Depot.

When asked this year to venture outside and create a visual Halloween focal point I was pretty excited. I’ve always found with outdoor spaces you can utilize such a natural environment to create something frightening. That being said, I wanted to create something extra frightening… a flying monster. However, rather than approach it from a shock value, I wanted to create something both artistic and macabre.

I remember when my school had dress up days for Halloween, my go to was always the Grim Reaper. I’d spend countless hours shredding away any black fabric I could get my hands on and then stitching it together. The way the different shades of darkness caught the wind’s hands was always very beautiful… and eerie. I think when wondering the aisles of Home Depot and stumbling upon some black weed block fabric all those memories came back to me. I knew I wanted to create the silhouette of a dark spirit flying over a graveyard.

The Flying Monster





I knew I needed to create something that was light wind and would “fly” easily over the yard. So I created a simple frame out of chicken wire held together with black zip ties.





Once the general shape of the figure was created, with the most important element being the hood, I placed an armature of PVC pipe and two elbows inside to create what would become ghoulish lengthy arms.





The most visual thing I wanted to create was lengthy hands. Using some pink foam core and a thin gauge wire did the trick! I used wire to attach it to a drilled hole within the PVC pipe and secured it with tape. Again, using all light weight elements to help this spirit take flight.







Now the fun part. I used drop cloth material to conceal the chicken wire form and help shape the figure. I simply used a thin gauge wire to “stitch” it onto the chicken wire below.



Once done with that, I applied several coats of black spray paint.



Since the drop cloth was more to create the general shape, I needed another fabric that would catch the wind. This is where the weed blocker fabric came in great use! Both light weight and easy to apply, it did the trick tremendously. I simply shred it into pieces and used wire to attach it to the drop cloth. Don’t be a perfectionist! The more raggedy the scarier.



For the arms we simply used black duck tape to conceal the PVC pipe. The texture and shine gave them a unique look.



The Graveyard





With the spirited figure drying, I moved onto what would be his setting. Foam insulation sheets from Home Depot is the perfect material to make tombstones. I found some terrific 2 ft. pieces of pink foam core that were perfect for what I needed. I simply measured out the shape of the stone and cut it out using a utility knife. Again, perfection is not needed when it comes to this. You want the stones to appear a little worn, as if they’ve been there for ages.



With that being said, I cutout some cracks and indents.



Now, time to paint. Using a mixture of three colors from Behr Paint did the trick– Mined Coal to create aging, and two grey colors– Broadway and  Wet Cement– for the overall color.





Once the base coat of grey was applied, I used a separate brush to blend in the black paint, running it down from the top to the base of the stone to create a mossy water effect.



Once ready to place, secure a heavy gage wire through the base and simply press down into the perfect area of your front yard. Use Spanish Moss to add character.

Pumpkin Buoys



I’ve always been fascinated by glass water buoys. I knew I could create something using pumpkins. The Home Depot sells a variety of ropes, so I went with the most rustic I could find. Within my mystery boxes were some foam pumpkins, which were the perfect candidate due to them being very, very light weight.





Simply create a rope harness for the pumpkin to sit in, and secure it from the top and bottom with a zip tie.

You can then use a smaller sized rope to wrap around the top to add a faux knot.





Once the three of these elements were brought together, it created one eerie and beautiful setting.

I incorporated a duo of bats I was pleased to find in my mystery boxes to accompany the flying spirit on his evening flight.



Johnny Love is the creative mastermind behind Love Manor, an annual haunted house in the Los Angeles area. See more Johnny’s spooky Halloween decorations on Love Manor. 

To create his Halloween haunted house, Johnny used the following products from The Home Depot:

For more DIY spooky Halloween decorations, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series here on The Home Depot Blog, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge pinboard on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decorations Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 



http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/diy-spooky-halloween-decorations-secrets-from-a-hollywood-designer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diy-spooky-halloween-decorations-secrets-from-a-hollywood-designer

Tennessee sludge spill runs over homes, water

(CNN) -- A wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from a coal plant in central Tennessee broke this week, spilling more than 500 million gallons of waste into the surrounding area.



Environmental Protection Agency officials are on the scene and expect the cleanup to to take four to six weeks.

The sludge, a byproduct of ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville, agency officials said.



The retention wall breached early Monday, sending the sludge downhill and damaging 15 homes. All the residents were evacuated, and three homes were deemed uninhabitable, a TVA spokesman told CNN.



The plant sits on a tributary of the Tennessee River called the Clinch River.

"We deeply regret that a retention wall for ash containment at our Kingston Fossil Plant failed, resulting in an ash slide and damage to nearby homes," TVA said in a statement released Tuesday.

TVA spokesman Gil Francis told CNN that up to 400 acres of land had been coated by the sludge, a bigger area than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Video footage showed sludge as high as 6 feet, burying porches and garage doors. The slide also downed nearby power lines, though the TVA said power had been restored to the area.

Francis said Environmental Protection Agency officials were on the scene and estimated the cleanup could take four to six weeks.

Some of the goop spilled into the tributary, but preliminary water quality tests show that the drinking water at a nearby treatment plant meets standards.

"I don't want to drink it. It doesn't look healthy to me," Jody Miles, who fishes in the Clinch River, told CNN affiliate WBIR. "Do you reckon they can bring all this life back that's going to die from all this mess?"

Still, there is the potential for more sludge to enter the water supply through waste runoff.

"We're taking steps to stabilize runoff from this incident," Francis said.

Although video from the scene shows dead fish on the banks of the tributary, he said that "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it toxic."

One environmental attorney called that statement "irresponsible." The ash that gives sludge its thick, pudding-like consistency in this case is known as fly ash, which results from the combustion of coal.

Fly ash contains concentrated amounts of mercury, arsenic and benzine, said Chandra Taylor, staff attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center.

"These things are naturally occurring, but they concentrate in the burning process and the residual is more toxic than it starts," she told CNN.

Appalachian environmentalists compared the mess with another spill eight years ago in eastern Kentucky, where the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy broke into an abandoned underground mine, oozing more than 300 million gallons of coal waste into tributaries.

The water supply for more than 25,000 residents was contaminated, and aquatic life in the area perished. It took months to clean up the spill.

"If the estimates are correct, this spill is one and a half times bigger," said Dave Cooper, an environmental advocate with the Mountaintop Removal Road Show, a traveling program that explains the effect of an extreme form of mining.

While the full scope of the TVA spill is being determined, coal critics are already concerned about its long-term effects.

Cleaning up the mess, which could fill nearly 800 Olympic-size swimming pools, could take months or years, Taylor said.

"We're very concerned about how long it's going to take" to clean the spill, she told CNN.

Cooper agreed, saying, "It's 4, 5 feet deep. How are you going to scoop it up? Where are you going to put it?"

All About Tennessee Valley Authority o Tennessee o U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

DIY Spooky Halloween Decorations: Secrets from a Hollywood Designer

Hand it to a Hollywood production designer to know exactly how to turn his front yard into a creepy– seriously creepy– Halloween display. We’re talking about Johnny Love, who has a growing following of fans for his annual Love Manor Halloween house, his amazingly elaborate tribute to the macabre.

He’s shown us how he turned his fireplace into a faux stone hearth suitable for a horror movie. He also shared his expert techniques in creating a eerie ghost paintings and haunted house lighting. 

And now, his newest contribution to our Halloween Style Challenge series. We send mystery boxes of Home Depot Halloween decorations to some of the most talented designers and DIY bloggers on the internet, and step back to let them come up with their special takes on Halloween. 

Johnny Love shows us how he created a very spooky Halloween decorations–a flying Grim Reaper figure, along with hanging jack-o-lanterns and faux tomb stones– all made from materials found at The Home Depot.

When asked this year to venture outside and create a visual Halloween focal point I was pretty excited. I’ve always found with outdoor spaces you can utilize such a natural environment to create something frightening. That being said, I wanted to create something extra frightening… a flying monster. However, rather than approach it from a shock value, I wanted to create something both artistic and macabre.

I remember when my school had dress up days for Halloween, my go to was always the Grim Reaper. I’d spend countless hours shredding away any black fabric I could get my hands on and then stitching it together. The way the different shades of darkness caught the wind’s hands was always very beautiful… and eerie. I think when wondering the aisles of Home Depot and stumbling upon some black weed block fabric all those memories came back to me. I knew I wanted to create the silhouette of a dark spirit flying over a graveyard.

The Flying Monster





I knew I needed to create something that was light wind and would “fly” easily over the yard. So I created a simple frame out of chicken wire held together with black zip ties.





Once the general shape of the figure was created, with the most important element being the hood, I placed an armature of PVC pipe and two elbows inside to create what would become ghoulish lengthy arms.





The most visual thing I wanted to create was lengthy hands. Using some pink foam core and a thin gauge wire did the trick! I used wire to attach it to a drilled hole within the PVC pipe and secured it with tape. Again, using all light weight elements to help this spirit take flight.







Now the fun part. I used drop cloth material to conceal the chicken wire form and help shape the figure. I simply used a thin gauge wire to “stitch” it onto the chicken wire below.



Once done with that, I applied several coats of black spray paint.



Since the drop cloth was more to create the general shape, I needed another fabric that would catch the wind. This is where the weed blocker fabric came in great use! Both light weight and easy to apply, it did the trick tremendously. I simply shred it into pieces and used wire to attach it to the drop cloth. Don’t be a perfectionist! The more raggedy the scarier.



For the arms we simply used black duck tape to conceal the PVC pipe. The texture and shine gave them a unique look.



The Graveyard





With the spirited figure drying, I moved onto what would be his setting. Foam insulation sheets from Home Depot is the perfect material to make tombstones. I found some terrific 2 ft. pieces of pink foam core that were perfect for what I needed. I simply measured out the shape of the stone and cut it out using a utility knife. Again, perfection is not needed when it comes to this. You want the stones to appear a little worn, as if they’ve been there for ages.



With that being said, I cutout some cracks and indents.



Now, time to paint. Using a mixture of three colors from Behr Paint did the trick– Mined Coal to create aging, and two grey colors– Broadway and  Wet Cement– for the overall color.





Once the base coat of grey was applied, I used a separate brush to blend in the black paint, running it down from the top to the base of the stone to create a mossy water effect.



Once ready to place, secure a heavy gage wire through the base and simply press down into the perfect area of your front yard. Use Spanish Moss to add character.

Pumpkin Buoys



I’ve always been fascinated by glass water buoys. I knew I could create something using pumpkins. The Home Depot sells a variety of ropes, so I went with the most rustic I could find. Within my mystery boxes were some foam pumpkins, which were the perfect candidate due to them being very, very light weight.





Simply create a rope harness for the pumpkin to sit in, and secure it from the top and bottom with a zip tie.

You can then use a smaller sized rope to wrap around the top to add a faux knot.





Once the three of these elements were brought together, it created one eerie and beautiful setting.

I incorporated a duo of bats I was pleased to find in my mystery boxes to accompany the flying spirit on his evening flight.



Johnny Love is the creative mastermind behind Love Manor, an annual haunted house in the Los Angeles area. See more Johnny’s spooky Halloween decorations on Love Manor. 

To create his Halloween haunted house, Johnny used the following products from The Home Depot:

For more DIY spooky Halloween decorations, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series here on The Home Depot Blog, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge pinboard on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decorations Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 



http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/diy-spooky-halloween-decorations-secrets-from-a-hollywood-designer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diy-spooky-halloween-decorations-secrets-from-a-hollywood-designer

What To Know About Water Damage Repair

There are many reasons your home may suffer from water damage and they can range from severe to mild. They fall into 3 broad categories of natural, plumbing, and appliances. Some examples of each include:

natural:

- floods

- condensation

- humidity

plumbing:

- burst pipes

- backed up sewer

- toilet overflow

- bathtub overflow

- condensation on pipes

appliances:

- leaking freezer

- refrigerator

- broken hose on the washing machine

- water heater leak/break

- leaking dishwasher

Depending upon the severity of water damage, it might be best to call in professional help for water damage repair. If the problem isn't dealt with correctly and thoroughly, you could leave yourself open for a world class mold invasion.

However, it not only depends upon the severity of the water damage, but also, maybe even more importantly, the type of water. Is it clean water damage, grey water, or black water?

Different Types of Water

There are three classes, or levels, of water types when accessing water damage: clean water, grey water, and black water.

Clean water, or level 1, is clear and odorless. This is usually caused by water supply lines to appliances in your house. There should be no debris of any kind in this water.

Grey water, or level 2, is mildly clear, but has some debris. This type of water needs to be handled with caution as it probably contains harmful bacteria. Grey water examples are when sump pumps fail or a toilet overflows.

Black water, or level 3, is not clear water and usually has a foul smell. It is full of harmful bacteria and mold. Anything damaged by black water needs to be removed from the house and thrown away. This type of water comes from broken sewer lines, floods, standing water, streams, rivers, and oceans.

Home Water Damage Repair

Home water damage repair consists of the following basic steps:

Correct water source problem - fix broken pipes, sewer problems, wait for flood waters to subside\

Remove water - wet-vacs and towels work best for this

Clean/disinfect area - use disinfectant product to help kill any bacteria that might be lurking

Completely dry out area - this may require multiple fans and dehumidifiers

In general, level 1 home water damage repair is the easiest in that you don't need to worry much about any harmful bacteria in the water - it should be fairly clean. But whether the water damage is a little bit, from condensation on a window for example, to a lot, from a busted pipe within your house, clean up needs to happen immediately.

If clean up does not happen quickly, mold will have a chance to germinate and start growing. It only takes 48 hours of continuous moisture for most mold species to start germinating. And mold removal is just another problem you don't want to have to deal with after cleaning up from water damage. Using a disinfectant is always advisable, but not necessary for clean water damage.

For level 2 water damage repair, disinfecting needs to be a priority along with clean up. Anyplace the water seeped now has the possibility of being contaminated. Disinfecting will depend on what it is that needs cleaning, as there are different products for floors, walls, appliances. A product like OdoBan is both a disinfectant and deodorizer and can be found at most home improvement stores.

Level 3 water damage repair should be performed by professionals. Anything contaminated by this water needs to be removed from the home and trashed. This water could be full of anything, and your house will become a big petri dish if items are not removed and fully replaced.

If anyone in your household starts suffering from classic mold symptoms after any type of water damage, take it seriously. It is telling you that you did not get your home completely dried out, and it will only get worse.

Ceiling Water Damage Repair

Ceiling water damage has many sources, from leaking roofs, to condensation dripping from pipes above, to pipe leaks/bursts on the floor above.

The first step in ceiling water damage repair would be to correct the water source problem. The trickiest of this is if it is from a leaky roof, as peaks and valleys in the roof have a way of redirecting the water flow from the roof. The leak is not always right above the spot on the ceiling, sometimes the water travels great distances before gravity brings it to the ceiling. Most other problems that cause ceiling water damage are easy to determine.

After fixing the water problem, you will need to remove the part of the ceiling that has damage. You should also remove 3 to 6 inches outside of the actual damaged piece, so as to ensure you remove all the moisture.

If there is any insulation above the ceiling, make sure you remove it as well and replace it, otherwise you can get a mold problem.

If at all possible, let the hole in your ceiling completely air dry for a day or two. Try tilting a fan up towards the ceiling will help air out any moisture still up there. Always be careful of any appliances in the house that have a pilot light when using a fan. There is the possibility of blowing out the pilot light and gas fumes building up in your home.

Repair the ceiling piece.

Drywall Water Damage Repair

Drywall water damage repair pretty much mimics the ceiling water damage repair. Find the water source and correct it. Cut out the damaged drywall and remove any insulation behind it. If the drywall is damaged at the bottom, you should also remove the bottom trim and check that for moisture as well. Replace the trim if necessary. If not, keep it off until after the wall is completely dry.

Use fans angled at 45 degrees to the wall, every 10 feet for a day or two. This air flow will help dry out the wall. Always be careful of any appliances in the house that have a pilot light when using a fan. There is the possibility of blowing out the pilot light and gas fumes building up in your home.

Repair the drywall and replace the trim.

Floor Water Damage Repair

Water damage to your floor can be very extensive.

If you have severe hard wood floor water damage, repair can be very costly. If there is any warping, you must remove the hardwood and replace it. If there are just water stains, you can sand the area of the staining, re-stain the wood if necessary, and reseal the wood.

Carpet water damage is virtually impossible to take care of by yourself if the entire carpet got flooded. If your wall-to-wall carpeting got completely soaked, you will probably be better off just completely removing it and replacing both the carpet and the padding, unless you hire professionals who can completely dry the carpet, padding, and sub-flooring.

It is actually the padding that causes the problems, as it is very difficult to dry out, while most carpeting will dry out quite well. If possible, you may be able to hire someone to just come and remove and replace the padding, but honestly, that sounds like more work and hassle. You will need to remove the padding, let your existing carpeting completely dry, then reinstall the padding.



If the water damage happened on concrete, tile, or laminate, a good disinfectant cleaning after fixing the water source and cleaning up the water is usually sufficient.

The Importance Of Cleanliness In The Machine Shop

Many people do not realize the importance of making sure the shop is always clean. After a good while, things begin to pile up and then there almost seems no point in cleaning up. However, if cleanliness is maintained from the very start, then it is easy to clean up from a job. Cleanliness involves much more than the floors. This would include the machines, accessories for the machines and seemingly insignificant areas such as the offices and bathrooms.

So, why should the shop always be clean? First, you will save a lot of money with your tools. Tools always operate a little bit better if they are clean and greased properly. Over a period of time, a build-up of dust and particles can bring a drill press to its knees. Particles and dust can cause a drill press or a lathe to overheat to the point that the motor will simply burn up. But, not just with the machines themselves, the accessories for the machines have to be cleaned as well. The perfect example of an accessory that needs maintenance is the step drill bit. The step drill bit, especially when used on wood, can become clogged up with particles that have seared or welded onto the bit itself. This makes the bit to be extremely inaccurate and causes the bit to dull and burn up. Many people will clean the floors of the shop and they also have clean bathrooms, but it is important not to forget the seemingly insignificant pieces that need a little tender loving care.

Another forgotten accessory is the annular cutter. This marvel of ingenuity can cut a hole so precise in a pipe or really anything. The problem is that the flutes on the side become clogged with particles and debris from the material being drilled. It is extremely important to clean these flutes as good as you can. It is recommended to use a cleaning agent of some kind that will not leave a scum or film on the tool. Many tools can be burned up or lose accuracy when cleaned over and over with a soap that leaves a scum.



Some have tried certain products, but the one that works the best for cleaning drill bits, such as the annular cutter and the step drill bit, is an automotive brake parts cleaner. This cleaner is very powerful and has the potential to cause damage to your skin and eyes, so do be careful with its use. First, just spray a little of this cleaner on your part and then quickly wipe the debris off with a clean rag. It is important not to let this cleaner sit on the tool for a long period of time, as this may cause a form of erosion on the tool itself.

So, the next time it comes to clean up the shop, make sure that everything is cleaned, because if you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you. You will not be buying these little items over and over again. This may not save you a lot of time right now, but it certainly will pay off in the future.

Is a flood a natural disaster?

Professionally Researched

This great answer was researched and sourced by a professional writer, as well as copy-edited and fact checked by a professional copy-editor. This isn't a replacement for the combined knowledge of our tremendous community - it's an addition! We hope you'll find these professionally researched answers useful, and it will encourage you to ask and answer even more!

Southern Romance Historic Home Renovation Project

Exterior of the historic Ford House in Mobile, Alabama.

Even though she lives and works in Canada, Esther de Wolde has had a longstanding fascination with the American South and a passion for historic homes.

Esther de Wolde at Ford home.

As one of the founders and CEO of Phantom Screens, de Wolde has worked with Danny Lipford many times over the years, so it was only natural that she should turn to him for advice to make her dream of Southern home ownership come true.

After looking at a number of houses in Mobile, Alabama, she found just what she was looking for in the heart of the city’s Oakleigh Garden Historic District.

Built in 1906, the Ford House had been badly neglected in recent years and was in need of extensive restoration to return it to its turn-of-the-century glory.

The home is an Arts and Crafts bungalow complete with a wide front porch and beautiful stained glass transom over the entry door. Inside, the house features 11’ high ceilings and a wide center hall that extends much of the length of the three bedroom home.

In renovating the house, de Wolde plans to retain as many of the home’s historic architectural elements as possible while incorporating a modern kitchen and bathrooms to make the house more livable. Danny Lipford’s remodeling company, Lipford Construction, will oversee the restoration of the home.

Front porch on the historic Ford house.

The Southern Romance historic renovation project will be chronicled in a monthly, 13-part series of videos on TodaysHomeowner.com starting in October 2014. Click on the links below to watch or find out more:

More information about the Southern Romance renovation project can be found at ExperiencePhantom.com.

Tags: , house renovation, Phantom Screens, renovation, Southern Romance Project

Please Leave a Comment

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/danny-lipford/~3/3Pz3nYUfTAo/

Trucks :: How to Avoid Danger When Operating a Vacuum Truck!

When operating any type of heavy-duty equipment, safety should always be a top priority, especially when the equipment being used is a massive extracting machine such as a vacuum truck. These vehicles are particularly useful since they are a very powerful machine that can remove just about any kind of debris. It must be noted that, while the ability to create a very powerful suction makes the job of an operator much faster, it also makes the job much more dangerous. One small error in the placement of the extraction hose can lead to serious work-related injuries.





Potential Injuries

In order to have a picture of how this equipment can become potentially lethal when misused, listed below are some real life stories of workers who encountered near-death experiences when operating this powerful vehicle:



Vacuumed Limb - A vacuum truck operator had already begun extracting debris when the hose encountered a blockage. The worker manually removed the blockage with his arm; however, he did not turn the equipment off while removing the obstruction. When the debris that was stuck dislodged, the pressure that had built up in the hose removed the worker's limb by the greater vacuum power before the worker could remove it.

Toxic Fume Mishap - Three vacuum truck workers were removing waste water from a well. The workers did not know that the storage tank of the truck contained sludge that did not mix well with water. As the workers extracted the waste water, it combined with the sludge inside the tank and caused a chemical reaction which generated toxic fumes. One of the crew members became disoriented while another completely passed out from the toxic gas. Thankfully one was able to seek medical assistance before something more serious happened.

These accidents were not caused by poor design. In fact, vacuum trucks are equipped with numerous safety features designed to protect the workers; however, accidents still occur due to the lack of knowledge on the part of operators regarding work-site safety hazards as well as a lack of proper implementation of safety features.

Important Safety Guidelines

Use Only Certified Vacuum Truck Operators - Due to the variety of liquids that vacuum trucks handle, every operator should know the proper way of handling various types of liquids in the safest manner possible. Only proper training and certification can provide these workers with the knowledge they need to operate the equipment safely and under all conditions.

Use Personal Protective Equipment - During training, some of the important knowledge that operators learn about is the proper way to use personal protective equipment such as personal alarms and air-supplied respirators. Workers must also learn the hazards involved in handling toxic fluids and the possibility of a gas explosion. Equally important, they need to learn how to respond if such an emergency should arise.



Conduct a Pre-Operation Inspection - Before taking the vehicle on the road, it is important for operators to conduct a thorough inspection of the vehicle to ensure that all of its components are in good operating condition. They should inspect every part of the equipment from top to bottom.

Carefully Check Vacuum Components - The vacuuming components of the vehicle should also be checked daily. Operators should be sure that: all removable components are in place; all water tanks are full; and no crack or puncture is present in the hose. The storage tank, filter bag house, and cyclone separators should be free from any substance that might react to the fluid to be extracted.

Conduct Site-Specific Orientation - Before starting the job, all employees should first be provided with specific information about the job site including the material to be handled. Workers should be informed about the risks involved and how the material should be handled in the safest manner. Employees should also be briefed on what to do in case an emergency arises.

Maintain a Log of Transported Fluids - Operators should always fill out a log for each vehicle regarding all fluids that were transported and it should always be readily available. Maintaining a log should help to prevent any chemical reactions from occurring by creating awareness of any previously transported fluids.

Operating a vacuum truck can be potentially dangerous, especially when handling various types of fluid on a regular basis. There is always a possibility of being exposed to toxic chemicals. These dangers can be avoided if workers have been properly trained on all safety guidelines when operating a vacuum truck and are aware of work-site safety hazards and how to avoid them!

Southern Romance Project Episode 1: Finding the Perfect House

Southern Romance Project Episode 1: Finding the Perfect House

By: Danny Lipford

Historic Ford home in the Oakleigh Garden District in Mobile, Alabama.

In this first episode of the Phantom Screens Southern Romance Project, company CEO Esther de Wolde, goes house hunting in Mobile Alabama where she finds and buys a 1906 home in the Oakleigh Garden Historic District with the help of Realtor Chris King and home improvement expert Danny Lipford.

Watch this video and visit ExperiencePhantom.com to find out more.

Please Leave a Comment

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

Esther de Wolde: So we ought to start with introductions. I’m Esther de Wolde, and I’m CEO of Phantom Screens. I’m one of the people who founded our company 20-odd years ago in Abbotsford, British Columbia in Canada.

You may well be wondering, “What in the world is a Canadian doing in Alabama anyways?” Truth is, I fell in love with the South many years ago—more years ago than I care to remember. The porches; the wide, oak-lined streets—it’s just a wonderful part of the world. And the people, the people are so friendly.

I had my dream. It was bucket list item number 67: to take a neglected Southern home and restore it to its former glory. To make a long story short, I reached out to my friend and corporate spokesperson, Danny Lipford, to see if I could make this dream come true. So here’s my story, the story of my Southern romance.

Esther de Wolde: It all started with just the crazy desire, passion, whatever you want to call it, to one day restore a home. And I have this fascination with old homes. The old architecture just draws me in. I’m forever tripping when I’m walking on sidewalks, cause I’m staring at the houses.

And so it’s one of those things when you have an item on your bucket list, and I guess you just keep dreaming about it. And I find with myself, if I dream about it long enough, I’ll find a way. I guess that’s the fun of dreaming, right? If you dream about it, you actually make a way to make it happen.

Like a street like this, this is perfect—picture perfect. I wanted the sidewalk, and then a strip of lawn, and lined with these gorgeous oak trees that drape over the street. I mean that’s just amazing. And every house here has that kind of Southern character I was looking for.

So what do you call this historical area again?

Chris King: This is the Oakleigh Garden District.

Esther de Wolde: OK.

Chris King: Most of these were built in the early 1900s.

Esther de Wolde: That first day when we went out and started looking at houses, we had lined up, I think it was six houses to come see. And I had a wish list ahead of time—it had to have two stories, a beautiful yard or at least potential of a yard for gardening for sure. And no stucco—that was a for sure—and high ceilings was another one.

And so when we began looking at these houses, some of the exteriors matched just perfectly—just love them—and then you’d go inside and you’d find out, oh, it only has a eight-foot ceiling. The upstairs might have 12 feet or something, but it just didn’t suit.

And then we’d go on to the next one. We’d pull up and have a beautiful floor plan inside, but it would be stucco. And I could not get around stucco, there is no way my brain could go there.

Chris King: Hey, Esther, this is probably the last house we’ll see today. And this isn’t currently on the market, but it is a true diamond in the rough. And you keep saying you want something from the deep South and a diamond in the rough, 257 Rapier might be it. This is a great, classic cottage for Mobile.

Danny Lipford: And this was what? What year is this?

Chris King: 1906.

Danny Lipford: 1906.

Chris King: And it’s owned by one family for decades. And I know you originally said you wanted the history—that you would like to find as close to the original owner as you can—and this has been in their family since I think the 20s.

Danny Lipford: Well, you wanted a nice Southern feel to a home, let’s check out the porch up here.

Esther de Wolde: Wow, look at this porch! You don’t have these in Canada.

Chris King: I’m telling you, this is another living room here.

Esther de Wolde: This is the biggest porch we’ve seen, from every house for sure.

Danny Lipford: Yeah, it’s pretty nice, though. I like the way it indents here, and the angles there. I don’t know, when you walk up to a house—especially a Southern home—you want to feel welcome. And it’s got a pretty cool little feeling right here.

Esther de Wolde: This one screams welcome.

Danny Lipford: And then the…. It’s funny, as simplistic as this house is, then you have some decorative elements, like the corbels up there.

Chris King: And that’s probably original stained glass above the front door.

Danny Lipford: Yeah, I would think so.

Chris King: Well, do ya’ll want to take a look at the inside?

Esther de Wolde: Sounds good to me.

Chris King: All right, as I told you, Esther, this was built in the early 1900s, and this is pretty close to original. You can see the plaster walls, and it is a true fixer-upper—a diamond in the rough.

Esther de Wolde: How tall did you say the ceilings were?

Chris King: About 11 feet.

Esther de Wolde: Man, it makes it look so grand.

Danny Lipford: Well, this is a good feel, though, I mean the original, this has to be the original molding included. It kind of has more of an, I don’t know, an upper scale look to it than you would think from the outside, because you would think these trim would be all smooth.

Esther de Wolde: Absolutely.

Chris King: You notice the transoms throughout the hallway for central hall for creating air flow.

Danny Lipford: Yeah, I love the whole dog run.

Esther de Wolde: Oh, and the double French and the dog run I wanted. It’s just gorgeous.

Chris King: This is a three bedroom, one bath. Your formal living area, dining room originally. Looks like original fireplaces.

Danny Lipford: Now, that’s a statement, isn’t it!

Chris King: Isn’t it.

Esther de Wolde: Wow, gorgeous.

Chris King: This house is really nice. And you’ve got these pocket doors, which everybody loves pocket doors. And they’re usually a little hard to open, so you’ll have to get Mr. Lipford there to fix that.

Danny Lipford: Yeah, I can fix that.

Esther de Wolde: No problem.

Chris King: You like that?

Danny Lipford: Easy, easy.

Chris King: The floor furnace would have been a source of heat at one time. In today’s time we wouldn’t have installed it there.

Danny Lipford: That has to go.

Esther de Wolde: Really? You can’t keep that for quaintness?

Danny Lipford: You can, but we have a different word for it down here. It’s kind of redneck. No, that has to go. There probably, if you decide to buy the house and depending on what you want to do on renovation, there’s bound to be a place where we can get a few of the original boards out of some of the other areas, lace them in here.

Chris King: And you weave them, and you won’t ever know it’s there.

Danny Lipford: OK, I see you looking at the antiques, quit looking.

Esther de Wolde: I know, I’m wondering what’s under here.

Chris King: They’re not for sale, just the house.

Esther de Wolde: So we meet Mr. Ford at the lawyer’s office. He was just telling his stories as Mr. Ford does, and they’re pretty funny. At one point he’s going on with his story, and he says, “Yeah, my Daddy always said, you can’t trust an Englishman or a woman.” And I think at that point he realizes Richard, my coworker, is from England; and I’m buying the house and I’m a woman. And he’s like, “But I’m sure you two are fine.”

And as we’re going through all the legal documents, suddenly thunder starts outside and lightning, and it begins to rain. And we’re from Vancouver of all things, where the rain rains; but I don’t know the last time I’ve ever heard rain pound that hard on a roof. We couldn’t even barely hear ourselves talk. And of course we’re making jokes about who’s going to get struck by lightning for saying the wrong thing.

It turned out to be this jovial afternoon in this lawyer’s office and one of those where you emerged from it and went, did that really just happen? First of all I just bought a house in Mobile, Alabama, and met the lawyer from the Andy Griffith show. It was just crazy. It was an awesome time and really enjoyed it and left the office a house owner.

Danny Lipford: Well, I’ll tell you what, the weather’s a lot different than it is in Vancouver. What do you think about it?

Esther de Wolde: Oh, I’m telling you I don’t mind the heat. I love the heat. But, oh, the mosquitoes. They make me madder than a wet hen!

I want to save one wall. I mean this wall here—pristine condition. Right?

Danny Lipford: Pristine, huh?

Esther de Wolde: Don’t touch that!

Danny Lipford: Oh, scared me.

Esther de Wolde: Thanks so much for watching. If you’d like to know more about the project, please visit us at ExperiencePhantom.com or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and my blog.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/danny-lipford/~3/Irb1J59mZRs/

How to Fix Water Damage

If you are planning on affecting the repair yourself, you need to assess how much damage is there and plan your materials list accordingly. Some types of water damage are relatively easy to repair. For example, if you had water damage in your basement that has a concrete floor then the only repairs you will probably need to make are to refurnish or repaint any existing baseboards, clean the concrete floor and treat it with an antimicrobial wash to prevent the development of molds.

If you have a carpet then it is a little more difficult but if you have indoor/outdoor carpeting with no padding then a commercial carpet cleaner with deodorizer and antimicrobial agents in the soap will do the job for you. If you have a padded carpet, you may need to remove the carpet and padding to make sure it is fully dry before cleaning. At times you may even need to make a full replacement of both padding and carpeting.

Whether you have homeowners insurance and have made a claim for water damage will affect how to fix your water damage. If you are making your own water damage repairs and have not made a claim I will go into other ways to repair your water damage. If you have baseboard and drywall damage where the baseboards are warped or damaged beyond refinishing (MDF does not do well in water), or your drywall is collapsed or warped then you will need to measure how many feet of baseboard and how many square feet of drywall you will need.



If the affected drywall is relatively small then you can cut out the affected area, cut a piece to fit, cover the seams with drywall tape, add drywall mud, sand it down and finally repaint to match the rest of the drywall. Baseboards are simple as long as you have the finish or paint to match the unaffected baseboards.

Fixing water damage on furniture is simple if the areas affected are only water stains on wood surfaces. If you have upholstered furniture that got wet or soaked along with any pillows for sofas then you will need to contact a water restoration specialist to make sure that you do not end up with molds in your furniture and to make sure that all odours and stains are removed.



If this case I would definitely make a claim on my homeowners insurance if the furniture was valuable enough to repair versus replace. If the water damage is only on the feet of wood furniture then you can use Murphy's Oil Soap to remove water marks and any brand of wood polish like Pledge to restore the shine.



If window treatments, bedding or other fabrics are affected by water damage then many times they can be easily fixed by washing thoroughly (unless dry clean only) a few times with a good detergent like All or Tide. If the upholstery fabric or window treatments are dry clean then only your regular dry cleaner can restore your items to original condition as long as you let them know what happened. They will only do a standard cleaning unless you tell them otherwise. Got any questions about how to fix water damage? Comment form is waiting for you!



In our next hub we shall discuss about carpet water damage.

Lawn Care Services for Beginners

Machines and microbes will clean up oil

A Louisiana heron takes flight in one of the state's sensitive marshes near the town of Venice.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Gulf Coast environments will require different cleanup methods, experts sayHeavy equipment can remove oily sand; microbes can digest oil in marshesBooms being strategically deployed to protect wildlife areasMississippi River used to push back against encroaching oil

(CNN) -- There's no way to stop oily water from reaching land along the Gulf Coast, but experts will use tools both massive and microscopic to clean it up.

Oil-soaked sand on beaches in the eastern Gulf Coast can be scooped up with heavy equipment, but the grassy marshes in the Mississippi Delta can't be handled that way, said Ralph Portier, a professor of environmental sciences at Louisiana State University.

Along the Louisiana and Mississippi coast, "you're talking about a sea of grass, if you will," similar to the Florida Everglades, Portier said. "When it gets oiled, if you try and remove some of this stuff, you're going to do more damage than good.

"In Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Destin, Florida, you can do that, but not here in what we like to call the Redneck Riviera," the southern Louisiana native said.

iReport: Watch BP workers gear up for spill duty

Tides, wind and rain will drive the oil deeper into the marsh, down into the vegetative mat, making it impossible for humans to go in and clean manually, he said. But once the flow of oil is stopped -- and no one knows when that will be -- scientists will spread fertilizer to boost several species of microscopic plants that degrade hydrocarbons such as oil.

In areas of especially heavy oiling, millions more of these microbes, grown in laboratories, could be brought in as reinforcements, Portier said. In warm spring and summer weather, the light, sweet crude "will degrade in weeks to months," he said.

Asphalt-like balls of petroleum embedded in the marshes "will be a little more complicated," he said.



"The microbial community will have to bite off little pieces and degrade them a bit at a time," he said.

There is no environmental concern with the technique because the microbes are not toxic and are native to the area, with different species thriving in fresh, brackish and salt water, Portier added.

"The question is what that long time frame will do to those plant species and what that will mean for habitat for seafood and migratory birds," he said. "Picture if the Everglades were being oiled, what a national tragedy that would be. And this area is even more fragile and productive."

The Gulf Coast is home to vast numbers of birds, animals and fish that need to be protected, said Tom MacKenzie of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Endangered sea turtles are due to come in to shore soon and lay eggs in the coastal sand.

"A whole generation could be affected," MacKenzie said.

Floating booms to block oil from coming in cannot protect the entire coast, he said, so crews are prioritizing sensitive wildlife areas, including nesting grounds for pelicans and butterfly migration areas.

"This has the potential to be truly devastating," he said.

iReport: Watch booms being set up in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

The oil spill response team has recovered 23,968 barrels (1,006,656 gallons) of an oil-water mix, according to the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center. Nearly 70 boats, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels, are being used to deploy booms and chemical dispersant, which makes the oil evaporate more readily.

Another powerful tool being used to fight the oil slick is the Mississippi River itself, Portier said.

Engineers opened floodgates on Friday to divert Mississippi water through parts of the marshlands. The force of the river water flowing toward the Gulf will help push back against the oily seawater, and later it will help flush the contamination out of the grasslands, he said.

The damage to the crawfish, shrimp and oyster populations -- and the economy that relies on them -- could be severe, Portier said. Scientists can help rebuild the aquatic species, but many businesses could be ruined by then, he said.

"This whole economic fabric could be ripped, and that in turn will affect the cultural fabric" of the Delta region, he said. Still, Portier remains optimistic.

"All of us Cajuns are tragically hopeful," he said. "My ancestors -- if you can survive yellow fever and all the other things that happened growing up in the swamps and bayous of southern Louisiana, you'd better have a smile on your face, because that's about all you have some days."

Halloween Decorating Ideas for Those Who Don’t Have a Mantel (or Do)

These whimsical, cute Halloween decorating ideas would work great on a fireplace mantel. There’s no reason to feel deprived, though, if your home doesn’t have a fireplace. Natalie Dalpias, the crafty mind behind The Creative Mom, is here to show you how to create a Halloween display without a mantel. 

This is her contribution to our Halloween Style Challenge. We send mystery shipments of Home Depot Halloween decorations to some especially talented bloggers to see what sort of decorating ideas they can come up with.

Natalie has some very practical Halloween ideas with a few of her own special DIYs to make her mantel-that’s-not-a-mantel burst with fun Halloween spirit.



I always love decorating for Halloween. I love that pretty much anything goes for this season and while things can be cute, you have more freedom to spook things up and add more fun touches than you usually can. With that being said, I will admit that I’m a HUGE wimp. I don’t really love scary things, and I didn’t want to scream with fright every time I walk into the room, so while I added some spooky things into my decor this year, I tried to keep it on the fun side… you know, for the kids *wink.



My assignment for this Style Challenge was to come up with Halloween decorating ideas for the mantle. Except I don’t have a fireplace, so therefore I have no mantle, which really isn’t a huge deal… except my kids no longer believe in Santa, and I don’t have a good place to decorate for all the different holidays. So I built these Cafe Shelves a while back, and I’ve loved having them to decorate each season. This is a PERFECT solution for homes that don’t have a mantle.



Probably my favorite part of the whole shelves are these apothecary jars. Each jar has something creepy on the label, and I just put some different things in each, like water with food coloring for the “witches brew”, noodles for the “bones of dragons”, and coarse salt for “crystallized bat droppings”.

My kids think this is hilarious, and who am I kidding? I do too.



I created these pedestal stands you see above from simple things I found at The Home Depot, like table legs and door knob stops.

I love that they add dimension to all the different items on the shelves. Oh, and that spider is a terra cotta pot coaster painted black with pipe cleaners and googly eyes.



This candle holder is another pedestal stand. I made it using a table leg and a post cap turned upside down. I used some books and  the carvable foam pumpkins to fill everything in.

And don’t you just LOOVE that spooky Halloween mirror? Except it’s not a mirror at all. It’s just an empty frame with some plywood spray painted silver and a spiderweb drawn on with a Sharpie. Looks kind of cool, right?



This chalk board printable above is available for free on my blog, and that cute little glass owl is probably staying up all year long because I just love him so much.



Since my shelves are in my dining room, I added some spooky touches to the table too. These huge spiders really add some oomph to the the space. I just zip tied them to the backs of some of our chairs, and my kids fight over who gets to sit in the spider chairs!



I used some burlap from the garden section at The Home Depot for my table runner. Then put this cute lantern and glitter votives on a silver tray for my centerpiece. So cute and simple.



I also hung a spider from our light, just for fun.



And then my wall needed a little something. So I built this pallet art- except I didn’t use a pallet at all. I used ceder fence pickets, cut in half, and attached them together for a pallet look, without all the work of ripping apart a pallet.

I’m really happy with how this space turned out. Having shelves like mine is such a great solution for houses without mantles.

Natalie Dalpais describes herself as “a crafting,  DIY-ing, decorating, Photoshopping, handy-woman.” Her blog The Creative Mom has tons of fun and useful tutorials and inspiration. Take a look at her tutorial for a DIY farmhouse bench here on The Home Depot Blog. 

The mystery shipment of Halloween decorations The Home Depot sent to Natalie included these items:

For more DIY Halloween decorating ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge pinboard on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Holiday Decorations Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 



http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/halloween-decorating-ideas-dont-have-a-mantel-or-do/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=halloween-decorating-ideas-dont-have-a-mantel-or-do

Dealing With Carpet Water Damage

Whether your home was flooded or you have an isolated area of carpet water damage, remediation needs to happen, and quickly. The padding beneath your carpet is like a big sponge, it makes it nice to walk on, but it also keeps all the moisture in. And if the moisture is kept in too long, it can become a breeding ground for mold.

Now if your sub-flooring is plywood, the padding will dry out a bit, but not enough to prevent mold growth if you don't intervene. If you sub-flooring is over concrete, it will not dry out without some help.

You need to make sure you get the carpet and sub-floor completely dry - you don't want to deal with the hassles of mold removal later on. Actually, this is the type of mold growth that goes more unnoticed, as the mold usually grows underneath the carpet. Then, every time someone steps on the affected carpet, mold spores are released. If you or your family start experiencing mold symptoms, then the carpet water damage may not have been thoroughly dried.



Types of Water Damage

Before any repair/remediation begins, you need to determine the type of water damage. There are different categories of water damage, depending upon the type of water that caused the damage. There is clear water, grey water, and black water. Each type is treated a little differently.

Clear water is from supply lines to the house. This is uncontaminated water. There should be no debris in the water and it is relatively safe, at least for a couple of hours. As long as the water damage is not too extensive, repair of this type of damage is fairly straight-forward.

Grey water is relatively see-through, however there may be particulates in the water. Bacteria is a very good possibility in this type of water and care needs to be taken when dealing with grey water. All items touched by grey water needs to be disinfected. Grey water is common from toilet overflows or a failed sump pump. Carpet can be cleaned and disinfected from grey water damage, however, padding should be disposed of.



Black water is a condition that should be treated by professionals. The probability of dangerous bacteria and mold in this type of water is very high. This type of water comes from flooding of rivers, oceans, sewers overflowing, and standing water. The water is not clear at all. Any carpeting/pad that comes in contact with black water needs to be removed and trashed as soon as possible.

ISIS Reportedly In Possession Of Chemical Weapons Following Alleged Sulfur Assault On Kobani

ISIS Reportedly In Possession Of Chemical Weapons Following Alleged Sulfur Assault On Kobani

According to a recent report, which surfaced as ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, heavily assault the Kurdish rebels of Kobani, the Jihadist group are in possession of chemical weapons which they are not scared of using.

Research found that chemical munitions may have been used against Kurdish forces since July, as three Kurds were confirmed dead as the result of a chemical attack.

The report, published by GLORIA, The Global Research in International Affairs Center, noted that there is clear evidence and photographs, taken by Kurds, which prove that at least some of their forces were killed by some type of chemical weapon.

An expert who examined the photos of the deceased Kurds discovered that they died as a result of toxic gas attack, most likely sulfur mustard.

"At least in one incident, the Islamic State used chemical weapons against the Syrian Kurds in Kobani," the report said.



It has also been widely reported that the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS have stepped up their airstrikes against the militants, and over the past two days, have struck ISIS near to Kobani, where they have taken over at least half of the Syrian city.





The coalition have been able to target ISIS forces more accurately, having been fed the coordinates of their locations by the Kurds defending the city. Apparently, the coalition has struck ISIS 40 times in the last 48 hours, which is triple the air strikes from last week.

Even though the U.S.-led strikes have focused on ISIS in Iraq since August, in September the coalition extended the campaign to Syria after the forces attacking Kobani were ignored for the most part.



A monitoring group said the strikes had also become more effective, killing at least 32 Islamic State fighters in direct hits this week, and it looks like the coalition will continue with the additional pressure on ISIS to stop them from spreading their take on the religion of peace any further.

Southern Romance Historic Home Renovation Project

Exterior of the historic Ford House in Mobile, Alabama.

Even though she lives and works in Canada, Esther de Wolde has had a longstanding fascination with the American South and a passion for historic homes.

Esther de Wolde at Ford home.

As one of the founders and CEO of Phantom Screens, de Wolde has worked with Danny Lipford many times over the years, so it was only natural that she should turn to him for advice to make her dream of Southern home ownership come true.

After looking at a number of houses in Mobile, Alabama, she found just what she was looking for in the heart of the city’s Oakleigh Garden Historic District.

Built in 1906, the Ford House had been badly neglected in recent years and was in need of extensive restoration to return it to its turn-of-the-century glory.

The home is an Arts and Crafts bungalow complete with a wide front porch and beautiful stained glass transom over the entry door. Inside, the house features 11’ high ceilings and a wide center hall that extends much of the length of the three bedroom home.

In renovating the house, de Wolde plans to retain as many of the home’s historic architectural elements as possible while incorporating a modern kitchen and bathrooms to make the house more livable. Danny Lipford’s remodeling company, Lipford Construction, will oversee the restoration of the home.

Front porch on the historic Ford house.

The Southern Romance historic renovation project will be chronicled in a monthly, 13-part series of videos on TodaysHomeowner.com starting in October 2014. Click on the links below to watch or find out more:

More information about the Southern Romance renovation project can be found at ExperiencePhantom.com.

Tags: , house renovation, Phantom Screens, renovation, Southern Romance Project

Please Leave a Comment

We want to hear from you! In addition to posting comments on articles and videos, you can also send your comments and questions to us on our contact page or at (800) 946-4420. While we can't answer them all, we may use your question on our Today's Homeowner radio or TV show, or online at todayshomeowner.com.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/danny-lipford/~3/3Pz3nYUfTAo/

U.S. stocks slammed by global fears

U.S. stocks slammed by global fears - LA Times

First it was fresh concerns about the fragile Eurozone recovery. Then there was the sudden steep fall in oil prices. Now investors are worrying whether the American economy can pull up a slumping global economy.

And overlaying all these -- fears about the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

A weak monthly U.S. retail sales report magnified the angst Wednesday in European financial markets, setting off wild swings on Wall Street and fueling speculation that the Federal Reserve could delay its first interest rate hike or even reverse plans to end its bond-buying stimulus program this month.

After plunging more than 450 points in midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average ended down 173.45, or nearly 1.1%, at 16,141.74.

When people buy, they buy hesitantly, versus when people sell.... They sell with abandon.- Carter Braxton Worth, chief market analyst at brokerage Sterne Agee

It was the Dow's fifth straight day of losses as investors dumped stocks and raced toward the safety of government bonds. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index fell 0.8%. The blue-chip index has fallen in 10 of the last 12 days, wiping out its gains year to date.

"When people buy, they buy hesitantly, versus when people sell.... They sell with abandon," said Carter Braxton Worth, chief market analyst at brokerage Sterne Agee in New York, describing the mood on his company's trading floor as "charged."

Most analysts, however, aren't worried -- not yet. The Dow is still up more than 6% from a year ago and the S&P even more. Stocks appeared to be overdue for a correction -- a 10% drop -- especially after months of increases amid unusually calm waters.

Meanwhile, analysts noted, the outlook for the U.S., European and global economies has changed little in recent weeks. The Eurozone's stagnant economy looks a bit worse off than before, with Germany's engines weaker than expected, but no one was counting on a rapid recovery in the 18-nation single-currency market.

lRelated BusinessFed official warns against raising interest rates 'prematurely'See all related8

Crude oil prices have tumbled, but there are upsides to that for some nations and businesses, as well as for consumers who are seeing prices at the gasoline pumps fall.

As for the U.S. economy, the 0.3% drop in retail sales in September from the previous month, while disappointing, came on the heels of very strong auto sales over the summer.



What's more, with job gains running faster this year, most forecasts see the American economy growing at a healthy pace of about 3% in the second half of this year and through next year.

"It's a temporary phenomenon," Sara Johnson, senior research director of global economics at consulting firm IHS Inc., said of the turmoil in financial markets. "Certainly the outlook for business profitability would not warrant a sharp pullback as we've seen in the past few weeks."

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago, thinks stock prices got ahead of fundamentals earlier and now they're overshooting on the downside.

"The reality is that markets are overreacting right now," she said, noting that Wednesday's sell-off in Europe, where all the major indexes except the London FTSE 100 fell 2% to 3.6%, was magnified by unsupported headlines that the U.S. retail sales report was signaling a sudden retreat by American consumers.

If the stock market swoon persists in the days ahead, Swonk and other economists worry that it could undermine confidence and hurt spending and investment. It doesn't help that there are increasing concerns about Ebola and the ability of health authorities to halt the spread of the virus in the U.S.

Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the battle against Islamic militants have added to anxieties. "It's an environment that's just paralyzing the bulls," said John Lonski, chief capital markets economist for Moody's Analytics.

In addition, October historically has been very tough for stock markets.

cCommentsGot something to say? Start the conversation and be the first to comment.Add a comment0

"It's Halloween in the United States and we all get scared," Swonk said, only half jokingly. She pointed out that the 85th anniversary of the 1929 crash will come Oct. 29.

That also happens to be the day when the Fed will hold its next policy meeting. Further volatility in capital markets -- stocks, oil prices and bond yields -- could present a major challenge as financial stability is a key goal of the central bank.

Fed policymakers have relied on two extraordinary measures -- monthly bond purchases and low benchmark Fed rates -- to spur the economic recovery from the Great Recession.

They previously indicated that they would end their bond-buying program this month, but some market players suspect that could now be put off, or even that a new round of bond purchases could be launched. And the markets have revised their bets that the first interest rate hike will come next June to December next year.

It's a temporary phenomenon. Certainly the outlook for business profitability would not warrant a sharp pullback as we've seen in the past few weeks.- Sara Johnson, senior research director of global economics at consulting firm IHS Inc.

"It does put the Fed in a sticky situation because financial stability is the third pillar that they have to deal with," Swonk said of the Fed's primary objectives, which also include maximizing employment and controlling inflation.

For now, Swonk and most other analysts expect the Fed to end the bond purchases this month.

Moreover, unless the picture of U.S. growth deteriorates noticeably, "there is a strong likelihood that these latest market moves will be reversed sooner rather than later," said Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics, "and that the Fed will still begin to hike rates sometime in the first half of next year."

The prospect of a rate increase has added to jitters about a global economy that has few bright spots outside of the U.S.

Besides the Eurozone, China's economic growth as well as that of emerging economies in general is slowing. That explains part of the recent plunge in oil and some other commodity prices, which in turn has added to concerns about the possibility of falling prices, or deflation, in the Eurozone.

Analysts said the outlook in Europe could improve if Germany, the continent's largest economy, were to increase domestic investment and spending, as it is under growing pressure to do.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, hasn't changed his outlook but has raised his calculation of risks for the economy.

What struck him about the latest turmoil in markets wasn't the fall in stocks and oil prices, but bond rates. On Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury, a benchmark for mortgage rates, fell momentarily to less than 2%. It closed at 2.14%, down 0.056 point, the lowest in more than a year.

"Two percent is really shocking for an economy growing at 3% experiencing robust job growth," Zandi said.

The drop, from 2.62% less than a month ago, already has triggered a bump in mortgage refinancings. But although that may be good for now, the fact that the yield has fallen that low could be a harbinger of trouble if it stays there for more than a month or so.

Elite Water Damage and Restoration Announces Flood Cleanup Services in Bristol and Chalfont

Philadelphia, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/08/2014 -- Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com, a flood damage restoration company, announces the availability of their services in Chalfont and Bristol, PA of Bucks County. When a flood hits, the results can be overwhelming. Once the floodwaters recede, that is when the real nightmare begins. Not only are belongings water-soaked, but walls, floors, carpeting, furniture and appliances can all be coated with layers of mud and even sewage. The quicker the cleanup jobs get tackled, the better chances are that most homes and businesses can be restored. Knowing that there are experts in the area who can respond to a catastrophe 24/7, can save time and worry for those recovering from disaster.

For flood cleanup services, the technicians at Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com are highly trained and certified to do the work. They will tackle the job with all the right equipment and the knowhow that it takes to remove the water and mud and get things dried and restored as quickly as humanly possible. They are also experts in smoke and fire damage restoration. They understand that every hour counts when disaster striks and are on the scene in as short as one hour. The residents of Bristol and Chalfont can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com is just a click or phone call away.

Another problem that quickly follows water damage is mold. Some molds can be health hazards and if they are not cleaned-up in the right manner with the right equipment and chemicals, they can spread from one area to the next, in record time. It takes experts in the field to tackle mold in a safe and thorough manner. Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com has the equipment and the experts to eradicate mold and prevent it from returning.

About Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com

When disaster strikes, in the form of floods, broken pipes, faulty appliances, backed up sewers, fire or smoke damage it helps to know that expert help is always close-by. With Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com in the Bristol and Chalfont area, residents can feel safer knowing that help is less than 60 minutes away, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. Their certified technicians are ready to tackle even the toughest jobs.

For more information go to Water-mold-fire-removalcleanup.com

http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/elite-water-damage-and-restoration-announces-flood-cleanup-services-in-bristol-and-chalfont-551700.htm

jakewen on HubPages

In the Spotlight

Do it yourself home water clean up and water damage repair DIY.

This artical contains some real how to information! not just a bunch of text to get you to click on links. I will give you some real practical advice on how to clean up and repair water damage whether it be from a flood, plumbing leak, or roof leak.

New Emergency Flood Repair in Doylestown and Yardley PA

Doylestown, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/17/2014 -- Fastwaterremoval.com announces the availability of Emergency Flood Repair in Doylestown and Yardley PA. Floods caused by nature or man-made problems can result in untold damage if not immediately dealt with. In natural disasters, after the water has receded, the mess left behind can be completely overwhelming. Add the almost immediate growth of mold on any wet areas, and the problem suddenly becomes a health hazard. Whether the damage has been cause by flood, broken pipes, breaking appliances or vandalism, these emergencies require immediate action.

During an emergency, property owners have little time to begin shopping around for the right company to reliably do the job. Fastwaterremoval.com technicians are licensed and bonded and most insurance companies readily accept their quotes; this means no waiting for days and days for insurance approval while the damage keeps accumulating. Long after the original cause of the emergency has been alleviated, damage from water, smoke, fire and even sewage can continue to escalate. When the firefighters or repairmen have left the scene, that is when the second wave of need begins. Having a company nearby that can respond quickly, 24 hours a day, can feel like a miracle when minutes and hours matter. Knowing the job will be done right and with professional courtesy is a blessing when the damage seems overwhelming.

Displaced residents and employees are draining resources that may never be recouped when everyone is waiting for the damage to be repaired and the property to be restored. This is definitely a situation when "time is money." Fastwaterremoval.com has a reputation for reliable, swift response and expert services. Residents of Doylestown and Yardley no longer need to rely on companies from distant metro areas to respond to an emergency that is miles away. The further away the company, the higher the charges and the longer the wait. When restoration technicians start coming and going, travel time to and from the jobsite quickly becomes an issue. With reliable, expert help close-by, residents of Yardley and Doylestown know how important it is when time and effort are being devoted to the job at hand, and not to the commute. Simply put, expert, reliable, local service can mean the difference between disaster and inconvenience.

To learn more about the services offered, visit Fastwaterremoval.com Elite Water Damage Restoration Inc

http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/new-emergency-flood-repair-in-doylestown-and-yardley-pa-546174.htm

Pet Care :: Creating a Natural-feeling Hamster Home Without the Smell

After a tiring day at work, you want to relax at home. But when you enter the door, all you can smell is your hamster's home! This can be very frustrating, but if you can simply take the time and check the cage or tank, you will know what to do.



Basically, the bad odor might be coming from the cage, the food, the poop, or the hamster itself. These are the four reasons why the hamster's home is smelly, but this is not a very difficult problem to solve. By purchasing a charcoal absorbent product, you can end this agony. However, the best way to identify the problem is to check and inspect the cage first.



As mentioned earlier, the smell can be caused by stale food. Hamsters need a fresh supply of food and water everyday. Once you remove the food that from the bowl, you need to clean the bowl as well. You can wash the bowl with a mild detergent and rinse it thoroughly. Wipe the bowl dry before placing the new serving of food. Also, make sure that you clean and change the water everyday. If you have done this and the bad odor persists, then the smell might be caused by something else.

Once you get your hamster from the pet store and take it home, you will need to identify the spot where the poops can be found. Hamsters usually poop in the same area. Did you know that you can also train your hamster to potty while it's still young? All you have to do is to determine where the poop is found and place a litter box there. When beddings are soiled, you will need to remove the part where the poop is located and replace it with new ones.

When the poop is not a problem, there are still potential reasons left - the cage and the hamster itself. The cage can be odor-free if you clean it every week. You should also check for soiled beddings everyday. There are times when the food and the water are spilled on to the beddings. When you see soiled beddings, take them out immediately and replace them with new ones. This should already be part of your daily care routine. After a week, you will need to take out the hamster and clean the whole cage or tank thoroughly. The used beddings should be disposed and be replaced with new ones.

If the cage or the hamster smells, the ideal solution is the odor-absorbent charcoal product which can be purchased from pet supply stores. This product usually lasts for about four months and creates a natural-feeling hamster home without the smell.

Make it a point to serve fresh food and water on a daily basis. Take out the soiled beddings and poop once you see them. Purchase an odor-absorbent product to remove unwanted smell. . All it takes is some effort, time, and a small amount of money to have an odor-free hamster home.

Page Not Found | Reuters.com

Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Trucks :: How to Avoid Danger When Operating a Vacuum Truck!

When operating any type of heavy-duty equipment, safety should always be a top priority, especially when the equipment being used is a massive extracting machine such as a vacuum truck. These vehicles are particularly useful since they are a very powerful machine that can remove just about any kind of debris. It must be noted that, while the ability to create a very powerful suction makes the job of an operator much faster, it also makes the job much more dangerous. One small error in the placement of the extraction hose can lead to serious work-related injuries.



Potential Injuries



In order to have a picture of how this equipment can become potentially lethal when misused, listed below are some real life stories of workers who encountered near-death experiences when operating this powerful vehicle:

Vacuumed Limb - A vacuum truck operator had already begun extracting debris when the hose encountered a blockage. The worker manually removed the blockage with his arm; however, he did not turn the equipment off while removing the obstruction. When the debris that was stuck dislodged, the pressure that had built up in the hose removed the worker's limb by the greater vacuum power before the worker could remove it.

Toxic Fume Mishap - Three vacuum truck workers were removing waste water from a well. The workers did not know that the storage tank of the truck contained sludge that did not mix well with water. As the workers extracted the waste water, it combined with the sludge inside the tank and caused a chemical reaction which generated toxic fumes. One of the crew members became disoriented while another completely passed out from the toxic gas. Thankfully one was able to seek medical assistance before something more serious happened.

These accidents were not caused by poor design. In fact, vacuum trucks are equipped with numerous safety features designed to protect the workers; however, accidents still occur due to the lack of knowledge on the part of operators regarding work-site safety hazards as well as a lack of proper implementation of safety features.

Important Safety Guidelines

Use Only Certified Vacuum Truck Operators - Due to the variety of liquids that vacuum trucks handle, every operator should know the proper way of handling various types of liquids in the safest manner possible. Only proper training and certification can provide these workers with the knowledge they need to operate the equipment safely and under all conditions.

Use Personal Protective Equipment - During training, some of the important knowledge that operators learn about is the proper way to use personal protective equipment such as personal alarms and air-supplied respirators. Workers must also learn the hazards involved in handling toxic fluids and the possibility of a gas explosion. Equally important, they need to learn how to respond if such an emergency should arise.

Conduct a Pre-Operation Inspection - Before taking the vehicle on the road, it is important for operators to conduct a thorough inspection of the vehicle to ensure that all of its components are in good operating condition. They should inspect every part of the equipment from top to bottom.

Carefully Check Vacuum Components - The vacuuming components of the vehicle should also be checked daily. Operators should be sure that: all removable components are in place; all water tanks are full; and no crack or puncture is present in the hose. The storage tank, filter bag house, and cyclone separators should be free from any substance that might react to the fluid to be extracted.

Conduct Site-Specific Orientation - Before starting the job, all employees should first be provided with specific information about the job site including the material to be handled. Workers should be informed about the risks involved and how the material should be handled in the safest manner. Employees should also be briefed on what to do in case an emergency arises.

Maintain a Log of Transported Fluids - Operators should always fill out a log for each vehicle regarding all fluids that were transported and it should always be readily available. Maintaining a log should help to prevent any chemical reactions from occurring by creating awareness of any previously transported fluids.

Operating a vacuum truck can be potentially dangerous, especially when handling various types of fluid on a regular basis. There is always a possibility of being exposed to toxic chemicals. These dangers can be avoided if workers have been properly trained on all safety guidelines when operating a vacuum truck and are aware of work-site safety hazards and how to avoid them!

Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup Ends As BP Pulls Out, Leaves Unanswered Questions

GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Finding tar balls linked to the BP oil spill isn't difficult on some Gulf Coast beaches, but the company and the government say it isn't common enough to keep sending out the crews that patrolled the sand for three years in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

Tourist John Henson of Atlanta disagrees, particularly after going for a walk in the surf last week and coming back with dark, sticky stains on his feet.

Henson said there were plenty of tar balls to remove from the stretch of beach where he spent a few days, regardless of what any company or government agency might say.

"I was out there yesterday and stepped all in it," Henson said.

Environmental advocates and casual visitors alike are questioning the Coast Guard decision to quit sending out BP-funded crews that have looked for oil deposits on northern Gulf Coast beaches on a regular basis since the 2010 spill spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf after an explosion and fire that killed 11 workers.

The patrols ended this month as coastal monitoring reverted to the way it operated before the spill: The Coast Guard investigates beach pollution reported by the public through a federal system, the National Response Center, and conducts cleanup operations as needed.

BP PLC, which has spent $14 billion on cleanup work, is still working with the government and says it will still pay for the removal of any lingering tar from its blown-out Deepwater Horizon well.

Cleaning crews will remain on duty in Louisiana, which was hit harder by the spill than other states because the well was so near its coast.

But with only "minute amounts" of oil being reported on most beaches now as compared with three years ago, it was time to end the practice of sending out teams in four-wheel vehicles with portable toilets on a regular basis, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Murphy said. The work itself can pose an environmental threat by damaging bird habitat and sea turtle nests, wildlife officials say.

"There was an imbalance that had to be addressed," Murphy said.

The oppressive chemical smells and thick oil deposits that polluted beaches during the summer of 2010 are long gone. White sand unmarred by tar stretches for miles on popular beaches along the Florida Panhandle and on Alabama's coast. The same is true in Mississippi, where the coastal economy depends more on gambling and shipbuilding than tourism.

But government reports show that patches of tar balls are still reported almost daily in or near popular spots like Gulf Shores and Pensacola Beach, Fla.

For example, 96 reports of tar balls spotted in coastal Baldwin County came in from April 1 through the middle of last week; 96 tar ball reports were submitted for Escambia County, Fla., over the same period. Those reports come in through the National Response Center, which has a toll-free number and website for reporting tar balls.



Some of the reports were submitted by trained crews that identified the oil as being from the BP well. Murphy said all the reports of tar balls she has heard involved oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Currently based in Gulf Shores, 20 trained Coast Guardsmen fan out under the National Response Center system to check reports of tar balls in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi and begin the cleanup once reports come in, Murphy said. BP is typically contacted to provide assistance for large concentrations of oil, she said, and the company gets a bill if the Coast Guard has to clean up smaller deposits linked to the spill.

BP crews cleaned the beach where Henson stepped in tar balls Friday, the day after the company said it got a call about the pollution from the Coast Guard. Records show the federal reporting database contained notes about tar balls being found in the same area five days earlier.

Environmentalists say a big problem with the system lies in the fact that many beach visitors may not know a tar ball if they see one. Tar balls and weathered tree bark closely resemble each other in the surf, and both are common along areas like coastal Alabama, where Mobile Bay empties both water and natural debris into the Gulf.

The uncertainty over just what is a tar ball leaves most people on the coast unable to report beach pollution even if they have the correct phone number, said Casi Callaway, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper, a nonprofit group that advocates for coastal preservation and protection.

"That's what worries me," said Callaway. "Until you step on (tar) and see it on your skin, you don't know what it is. It looks like gum in the water. And nobody is doing an education campaign on, `This is what a tar ball looks like; here's who to call if you find one.'"

Murphy said the Coast Guard is trying to spread the word about tar balls through the media, but it's leaving it to property owners, environmentalists, condominium associations and other private groups to post signs or distribute fliers that could help in identification.

Sitting with their family near a concentration of tar balls at Little Lagoon Pass in Gulf Shores, Rick and Amanda Taylor of Tuscaloosa said the spill pollution wasn't nearly as bad this summer as in previous years since the spill. And the tar balls aren't too difficult to identify, they said: They're the dark, sandy globs that leave your hands a sticky mess.

"They're still here," Rick Taylor said. "There should be some kind of follow-up."

___

Follow AP writer Jay Reeves on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jay_Reeves

How to Remove Dish Soap from a Dishwasher

Dishwashers have undoubtedly made our life easy. We do not have to wash the dishes by our hands everyday. We all are very much aware of the fact that regular dish washing soap is not suitable for the dishwasher. Still, many of us have made this mistake of adding dish soap into the soap dispenser of the dishwasher. You realize your mistake when the dishwasher overflows with suds and your entire kitchen is flooded with a huge foamy mess. When you see this sight of bubbly rush all over the kitchen, the only question that comes to your mind is - how to remove dish soap from a dishwasher and manage the suds?

How to Get Rid of Dish Soap from Dishwasher?

The task of removing dish soap from a dishwasher is not that tough as you may assume it to be. The step by step instructions are as follows:

Step #1: The moment you discover that you have used the wrong soap in the dishwasher, stop the cycle immediately. Then open the dishwasher and remove the dishes from it.

Step #2: The next thing that needs to be done is to bail out maximum possible water out of the dishwasher. A large sized container like a bucket will be more convenient for this job. Put the bucket inside the dishwasher to take out water and detergent bubbles from it and drain it out into the kitchen sink.

Step #3: When the level of the water inside the dishwasher becomes low, then the large bucket cannot be used to scoop out the water. In this case, you should use a small plastic bowl to remove the remaining water and suds.

Step #4: You may not be able to remove all the water even with the plastic bowl. So, you have to use dry towels to soak up the residues of water and suds. Try to dry up the interiors of the dishwasher with these towels.

Step #5: Next, you have to wash off the soap dispenser thoroughly to remove the soap left behind in it. Washing should be followed by wiping off the dispenser with an absorbent cloth to ensure that no traces of the soap remain there. Even a small amount of dish soap in this container can create huge suds all over again.

Step #6: White vinegar is known to be an excellent bubble killer. You can use it to control the detergent bubbles in the dishwasher. Pour one cup of vinegar at the bottom of the dishwasher. Then add a handful of table salt in the form of a thin layer on the top of it. Turn on the dishwasher and run it for about 4-5 minutes. After you turn it off, open the dishwasher to check if suds have formed or not. If you find any, then add another cup of vinegar and run the dishwasher again. You should continue to do this till you find that all the suds are gone. Alternately, you can use cooking oil instead of vinegar in the same manner.



Step #7: Finally, you have gotten rid of all the suds of dish soap. Now, you must go for a round of regular dishwasher cleaning. For this, put some Tang Orange Drink into the soap dispenser and run the dishwasher with hot water through one full cycle. Next, fill up plain vinegar in a dishwasher safe cup and place it on the top rack of the dishwasher. Now, run the machine through one more cycle. Thus, you will get a clean dishwasher with a fresh citrus smell.

After putting in so much effort in cleaning up the soap suds, you do not want a recurrence of this incident again. It mostly happens when you keep the dish soap and dishwasher detergent together and you pick up the wrong soap when you are absentminded. So, now onwards, keep them separately to avoid any such mistake.

Drywall Repair Orange County - Water Damage Repair Orange County

Water is very beneficial gift of nature but it is quite harmful if this appears in form of flood and damages your Home and all sorts of possessions. Fill the bucket with warm water, of a 1/4 a cup of vinegar, or clorox bleach. It does not only damage property, additionally, it may harm lives. Various companies offer reprieve for the victims, however the best inside the water damage restoration business provide several facilities in addition for the restoration, this means they are the leaders of the industry. Damages may constitute different kinds and restoration process depends on the type of damages.

Easy Approaches To Prevent Water Injury To Hardwood Floors. Everything which has been polluted requires directattention to avert the spread of bio-contaminants including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. You can try repairing the device, which means you will have to spend a fair amount of energy and resources using the hope that it's going to function again. Flooding about the banks is considered to become a seasonal phenomenon. A good general guideline is to start every one of the doors inside the affected area so no spot is left damp.

If there is certainly something that lots of homeowners know, it is the fact that water damage can destroy carpets, rip walls, and destroy furniture and personal items, especially or even managed immediately. The restoration firms are proven to have the requisite knowledge as well as the expertise that is essential for that containment of loss. For example, the floors or ceiling may sag because of the presence of excess water. The accessibility of suitable technology resources also guarantees the safety of the persons who will be functioning under such risky situations. Without question, restoration activities need to become carried out immediately following the complete removal or extraction of any standing water.

In addition the Dallas Water Damage Restoration firms will even make certain that there is certainly no infestation of mold which can fester when it isn't treated in a day or two. You need to clean it with water and soap or you can sand the mold away or you many have to eliminate the wood altogether. Black water, or sewage, contains many allergens and pathogens that can cause severe health issues or even death if exposure occurs.

After violent storms or a rainy season, it is very important to test carefully for changes inside the rooftop. You want to produce sure you dry the entire floor out around possible. They likewise have trained professional workers to deal using the problem more accurately. The IICRC S500 Guidelines for Water Restoration has to be followed by way of a certified technician to guarantee the families and/or employees of the property are safe following your job has been completed.



Don't be late to engage the restoration company; otherwise your small damage can be converting into big damage. One of the common hair problems that many face is dry and damaged hair. Many people who're performing water damage restoration will choose to utilize fans and dehumidifiers to be able to have rid of excess moisture and also to dry out the air as fast as possible. It could require days or weeks to cleanup a flooded basement, for example, but your water removal company can finish the task a lot faster. If you opt to sand the mold away then you definitely need to wear a protective mask so as not to inhale the wood particles.

If there is a essential factor that many homeowners know, it will be the proven fact that water damage can destroy carpets, rip walls, and destroy furniture and personal items, especially or even dealt with immediately. The restoration firms are proven to hold the requisite knowledge and also the expertise that's essential for your containment of loss. There are lots of products which are available within the market who promise to treat dry and dull hair, but hardly any Rain Water Pump out of them are in fact effective. The accessibility of suitable technology resources also guarantees the safety of the persons who will probably be functioning under such risky situations. Some questions you should ask will be what services will they provide and could they be experts at that which you need done? How will they assure a quality job? How do they handle change orders? Can the thing is examples of their past work? Do they charge by hour or project and what is their minimum? What will they charge for emergency services and repairs?.

By becoming a Photoshop freelancer you may have the opportunity to earn additional cash and create some amazing works of art. Find your Guide to Coping With Home Emergencies or more Home Care articles at the Yodle Consumer Guide, The Yodler. Your services can also comply to the RIA (Restoration Industry Association) standards. They also provide trained professional workers to deal with the problem more accurately. Home and companies can expect Water Damage Clean Up Frozen Pipes a successful recovery by preparing with an unexpected water damage before it happens.

Plumbing Tips You Really Need To Know About

It is important that your plumbing works properly when you are looking to manage your home. Your plumbing may Certified Water Damage Experts need attention at an inconvenient time when money is low or no plumbers are available. This article will give you hints on how to maintain your home plumbing.



Never pay for a plumbing job completely until they have finished the job. In some cases, you have to make a down payment prior to the first day of work. This is okay to do; however, don't let your plumber talk you into paying the entire cost of a job before he's finished, and never pay the whole cost before he's even begun. It is a good thing to know the plumber did his job as he agreed to before he get's all of his money.



If your garbage disposal is having problems, don't give in to the desire to attempt a fix by reaching down into the disposal. Garbage disposals can be very dangerous, so take caution when fixing it, even while it's turned off. Use the Internet to find a diagram of your device, or a troubleshooter.

If your home operates on well water and you notice pink or orange stains in your bathtub and other fixtures, this is no doubt due to iron in the water. This can be remedied by using a water softener which can be purchased at a shop, or a company can pay a visit to your home and handle the situation for you.

This article should have shown you all the tips and tricks you need to start repairing your plumbing by yourself. By using the tips at home, you will not only be able to fix any plumbing emergencies, but you will also be able to reduce your costs because you won't need to hire a professional plumber.

Tips And Tricks For All Your Plumbing Needs

Now is a great time to become more knowledgeable about plumbing. You've thought about it often, but setting aside time to do it has just never happened. Red this article, so that you can finally take the time if you have plumbing issues.

Anchoring your pipes can eliminate the hammering and squeaking noises caused by loose pipes and fitting. You must anchor all exposed pipes. Call a plumber to help with pipes that require you to cut a hole in a wall, ceiling or floor.

Pump out your septic tank at least every five years to keep it in proper working condition. This will prevent sediment from piling up in your tank, which could cause it to overflow into your home and yard, or even cause the entire septic system to fail. Although having a septic tank pumped costs money, cleaning up sewage backup in your home will ultimately cost much more.

Don't pay a plumber midway through the job. There might be a down payment required, but you do not give him the total cost before he is finished. You want to know the plumber has fulfilled all his requirements as promised in the agreement before he gets paid.

If your garbage disposal is not working correctly, you should not try to fix it by putting your hand in through the drain. Your garbage disposal is a dangerous device, even when turned off. Locate your garbage disposal manual, or http://www.insure.com/home-insurance/water.html do an Internet search for troubleshooting advice and a diagram that illustrates your model.

Check the floors in your bathroom for any give in order to be sure that there is no damage in the floors. Stand over the toilet, then rock it back and forth to see if any weakening in the floor has occurred. When you have a problem like this to deal with, the earlier you detect it, the less expensive it will be to take care of.

To keep things flowing smoothly through the drain of your bathtub, each month you should feed it baking soda, one cup's worth, with a cup of vinegar to chase it. Use a plug or rag to cover the drain, because there will be a chemical reaction in the pipes. Wait a while, then flush it with boiling water. By taking these steps, you have a good chance of ridding your pipes of hair and soap scum.

If the hose that leads to your kitchen sink has not been maintained or installed properly, you may notice that water is constantly draining to the dishwasher. You must have the hose going uphill and then down to get rid of the water in the dishwater.

Don't use your toilet as a wastebasket to keep potential problems to a minimum. Do not flush things like paper towels, sanitary pads, tissues, diapers, cotton balls or anything else that might cause the toilet to get clogged. In addition, you should only use the amount of toilet paper that is absolutely necessary when cleaning yourself.

When changing your shower head, replace it with one of good quality. Some people think they can get away with the cheapest version at the store. Usually these break easily.

If there's grout stuck inside your line, it's most likely will be a losing cause if you try to fix it all by yourself. You can attempt to dislodge the blockage or break it up to help remove it. This works better with plastic piping than it does with metal. This usually requires professional people to come in to help you get rid of this problem.

To extend the life of your pipes, try to stay away from drain cleaners if you can. If you utilize them too often you can damage your pipes. If you find that your drain is clogged, think about hiring a plumber to do a estimate and tell you what the issue is.

The advice you just read illustrates how having plumbing skills can make your life easier. You will be able to save yourself a bunch of money, plus many of your friends and family members will come to you for advice. I hope that you understood the tips provided here and will be able to implement them in your own home!

Plumbing Tips You Should Definitely Check Out

From time to time, we all have plumbing questions. It is important to have the necessary knowledge to fix plumbing issues yourself instead of calling a professional. This article problem helps with both so that people may be prepared for all kinds of plumbing emergencies.

Having your septic tank pumped out on a regular basis will keep it functioning properly. This prevents sediment from building up in the tank and causing a backup into your home or causing the failure of the septic system itself. It is a small price to pay now to keep your septic in good working order and prevent having to pay for a major repair caused by a backup.

Don't pay a plumber http://www.jarvisconstruction.com/water-damage/ midway through the job. It is customary for many companies to require you to put money down before they begin the job, but always wait to pay the rest of the balance until the job is totally finished. You should make sure the plumber did a good job before you pay in full.

Knowing what tools are what and the proper way to use them will make you much better at plumbing. Use as many resources as you need, such as online or the library, to find the right information to repair your plumbing issues. Have a good grasp of what you're attempting to do before you do it, so you don't have to repair your repair.

While various toilet tablets and odor removers may be tempting, it's best not to use them in your toilet. These products can be great when it comes to getting rid of odors, but unfortunately, they can cause significant damage to the rubber portions of your toilet. This can lead to it breaking down or having other issues.

If your toilet happens to be clogged, and the plunger is not working, you can pour a bucket of hot water down the toilet, but be sure to pour it from a height that is waist level or above so you do not flood the bathroom. Do this every time the water level gets too low.

Place a strainer over the drains to collect anything that could clog and cause stoppage. You should clean your kitchen sink's strainer every time there is a large particle that's trapped in it. You should also clean your bathtub strainer any time it is slow to drain.

Make sure that you're always cleaning your garbage disposal regularly. Doing this will save you from having to repair or replace an expensive piece of equipment in the future. Keep your garbage disposal fresh and running by using dish soap, cherry pits and lemon rinds regularly.

Make a schedule for plumbing work, so it occurs all at approximately the same time. It might be tempting to hire a plumber for every little problem, but if you can save it up for one big fix, then you have time to set money aside for these repairs. You will also save because plumbers usually charge hourly rates, so hours they can charge you are reduced if there is only one trip made.

Run cold water through your garbage disposal. The cold water helps keep the blades sharp and can make disposal much smoother. Hot water is not recommended because of what it does to greasy products.

Many shower heads are available that can help you to save money on your water bill. Showers and baths are responsible for the bulk of your hot water usage. A single energy efficient shower head can save you $100 a year.

Seeing sewage back up through your toilet means that you probably have a blockage somewhere in your branch line which connects the sewage line and the main line. When your personal efforts can't deal with such a clog, your only option is to have the line snaked out by a professional plumber.

Water valves that are rarely ever used often become fused together. Periodically turn these valves off and one. Use specially designed oils that can work their way through the buildup to keep them loosened up and operable.

Being prepared will be of assistance, should a plumbing issue arise. Also, keeping your system maintained properly will help you avoid future disasters. If you follow these tips, you can be ready to fix anything else that goes wrong with your plumbing.