Green Home!

Archive for June, 2009

Whether you’ve just found a hardwood floor under your old carpeting or the wood floor you installed is looking a little beat, refinishing is the best option to bring out it’s inner beauty. Here are the steps you need to take to refinish your floors on your own.

Clear the Area

You need to remove everything you can from the floor area you are going to refinish. Sofas, curtains, tables, rugs, etc. Another, often overlooked, important thing is to block as much of the airflow through the area as possible. While your finish is drying any airborne particles will stick and become part of the floor. Anything left in the area or those surrounding it should be properly protected while sanding. Dust covers and plastic blocking doorways are two of the best ways to accomplish this.

Before Sanding

You want to go over your floor and fill in any cracks or gaps in the wood. Use wood putty in visible areas and caulk along the baseline if necessary. If your floor was beneath carpeting, use diagonal pliers to remove any left over staples or remaining carpet padding. Then go around and sink any nails that may be sticking out as these can damage the sanding equipment.

Floor Sanding

You need to wear a dust mask and ear protection, sanding your floor might the noisiest, dustiest thing you ever do! You want to start your sander above the floor and gently lower it down. Be careful not to gouge your floor, it isn’t hard to do. Just remember to be gentle and let the sander sort of float along the surface of the wood. Also make sure you never let the sander sit in one place on your floor, it will leave a swirl mark in seconds that will take you hours to remove.

Sand with the grain of the wood. Move forward and backward over each row so you get a nice even sanding. The first pass is your rough pass, now you need to change to a medium grit paper and go over the entire area a second time. Then go over the floor again looking for cracks, gaps and nails. Use putty and sink any nail heads you see.

Now you want to use a palm sander with a fine grit paper for your final sanding pass. Once finished, vacuum the whole area including the walls and ceiling. You need to remove all particles, dust, and anything else that can stick in the you wood finish. Now it’s time to buff. Follow the grain in the wood and start in the middle of the room. After that your wood floor is ready to be stained, that’s it.

Are you a homeowner who has recently decided that a remodeled kitchen is just what you need? If so, there is a good chance that you may want to do that remodeling yourself. If that is the case, there are a number of tools, likely a large number of tools, which you will need. While there is a good chance that you may already have the majority of the tools needed for your next kitchen remodeling project, there is also a chance that you might not. Rest assure though because the majority of the tools needed can be found right at one of your local home improvement stores.

When it comes to determining the tools that you will need, when starting your remodeling, it is important to determine which type of remodeling you will be doing. For instance, if you are installing a new set of kitchen cabinets, you will find that the tools needed may vary a little bit from the tools that would be used to replace your kitchen floor. That is why it is advised that you determine exactly what in your kitchen you would like remodeled, as well as what types of tools will be needed. Despite the fact that you may need different tools for different projects, there are a number of common tools; common tools that you may need no matter what kitchen remodeling project you are working one.

Perhaps, the most important tools to have is a hammer. Hammers are used on a wide variety of different kitchen remodeling projects, particularly ones that require nails. Hammers can also be used to help position a tile or countertop piece into a tight space. Since hammers are used all around the house, sometimes on a daily basis, there is a good chance that you already own a hammer. In fact, there is a good chance that you own more than one!

Aside from a hammer, it is also a good idea to have a collection of screwdrivers on hand. Although there is a good chance that you already own a couple of screwdrivers, you may want a multi-function screwdriver. A multi-function screwdriver is one that easily allows you to change the screwdriver heads, in no time at all. In fact, if you are really looking to save time, you may want to purchase an electric screw gun.

A putty knife is another tool that you may need to use, when remodeling your kitchen. Putty knifes are ideal when replacing a kitchen countertops or when retiling your kitchen floor. They are great for removing unwanted or unneeded caulk or spreading around the glue that is needed to hold your kitchen tiles down. Putty knifes are common tools, but they are not as common as hammers or screwdrivers; therefore, you may need to purchase yourself one.

It may also be a good idea to have box cutters or handsaws on hand. If you are replacing the flooring in your kitchen or if you are installing a new laminate kitchen countertop, there is a good chance that you need to cut materials down to size. In some cases, a box cutter could do, but in other cases, you may need a handsaw. That is why it is best to have them both on hand.

In addition to the above mentioned tools, you may need to have a wrench, a measuring tape, a glue gun, a pair of pliers, and a ladder. Of course, it is also advised that you think along the lines of safety. In addition to the above mentioned tools, it may be a good idea to have a pair of safety goggles, a face mask, work gloves, and even a hard topped construction hat, just in case.

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Does your family suffer from allergies caused by dust and particles in the air? Want to know about air filters and what they can do to help you? First, it is advised that you replace indoor air with outdoor air. But how? You can open windows and doors, but still the risk is the air-borne problems. One of the best solutions is to keep a healthy and clean house to minimize and control unwanted substances. Usually, common airborne particles can range from .001 to 100 microns in size. Very small air-borne particles are so small that you may have a hard time removing them.

Cigarette smoke and household dust can eventually enter the lungs and may create complications. Air filters and cleaners are devices which help remove particles from the air, but not all. There are two groups of air cleaners. The first group is the portable air cleaners. They are also known as table-top models, and they are created to clean air in small places and locations but not the entire house. These air cleaners have filters and use electrical attraction or ozone to get rid of the minute particles from the air. The finer the particles, the better it is in removing these unwanted substances. HEPA or high efficiency particulate arresting filters is the best kind.

Almost 99 percent of the particles which are as small as 0.3 microns in size are captured. However, gas molecules like those from cigarette smoke and radon can still pass through the filter. Some companies have decided to use an activated charcoal or carbon filter to take care of the job. Pleated filters are also called “mean” filters and they are composed of materials, which are similar to that of the HEPA. However, particles and dust may still get in. Remember, that the pleated filters capture smaller particles.

It is said that it removes 40 to 96 percent of household dust. Electrical attraction is utilized in electronic cleaners. Here, electrostatic precipitation, static charge, or particle ionization is used to capture particles through a foam pre-filter. With this, the larger particles are removed. Then the particles are charged by a high-voltage wire and are then attracted to the precipitating cell.

After this, a carbon filter gets rid of the odors and other particles. An electric cleaner utilizes cellulose fibers and polyester having a static charge to capture particles aside from the carbon and the pre-foam filter. Ozone generation is another type of air cleaner that also uses a high-voltage electrical charge to convert oxygen to ozone. With this, gas molecules and some substances or microorganisms like mold can be demolished by the high concentrations of ozone present. However, a negative ionizer also uses a foam pre-filter as well as a carbon filter. But, the difference lies in the wires. It has charged wires which, in turn, create ions.

Consequently, the fan blows these charged particles into the room and they are sucked in again. These different kinds of air filters and cleaners may give you a background on their features and which will best suit your needs.

If you have tried locating a misplaced piece of paper for hours and have not succeeded or if you have scoured the stack of files locating one single document and was frustrated, this article is for you.

The most common error for misplacing an object is dropping it at a place that is convenient during the time. A regular space for keeping important objects and documents makes it easier for anyone to locate them when the need to remember them arises.

This is why filing cabinets are special tools for safekeeping that when used regularly is the best way to track documents and important objects not only at work but also at home. A good filing system can save you hours and even money, without which would otherwise have been frustrating.

Filing cabinets are constant fixtures in any workplace that requires safekeeping and tracking of documents despite the rise in the electronic data keeping systems. Choosing one will require more than just deciding on the number drawers. There are subtle differences in filing cabinets that are adapted to particular requirements.

The two main types of filing cabinets

The vertical file cabinet is the traditional type where you can have anywhere from two to five drawers. The drawers are designed to fit the legal sized files and are stored facing the front of the drawers. Vertical file cabinets are space savers that make them the preferred choice in offices where rents are at a premium.

The other option, although not as commonly used are the lateral type files cabinet. These file cabinet types are much wider than standard designs. The files can be stored side to side or front to back. The design is not as deep as the vertical file cabinets that it can also be used as a wall partition or a wall divider. The lateral file cabinets have more versatility in terms of file storage and takes up less wall space.

The quality of the file cabinet is also one area that is to be given good attention. The best way to examine the quality of the file cabinet is the suspension system. A good file cabinet has strong suspensions that enable it to carry weights and still close and open smoothly. Some file cabinets have built in safety features that allow only the opening of one drawer at a time. Usually safety feature includes counterweights or internal locking devices. File cabinets that do not have this feature can accidentally tip over when all the drawers at the upper part are open.

Good file cabinets have to be built to take some abuse. It is important then that file cabinets be made of quality and thicker metals so that it protects the internal parts preventing it to be easily damaged.

Because of the valuable material that could be stored in a file cabinet, many are made to be fire and impact resistant. Fire resistant cabinet can maintain inside temperatures less than 350 degrees (most paper burns upward of 350 degrees Fahrenheit) enough to prevent the burning of its content even when outside temperature rises to 1700 degrees.

File cabinets depending on the feature, design, materials and number of drawers are priced starting from $20 to about $1,800 dollars for the top of the line option.

File cabinets also come today in designs and color that are veering away from the traditional types. Newer file cabinets can no longer be the ugly steely types of cabinets. They can come in a variety of decorative colors, materials and designs that can be blended with your furnishings.

Despite the wide variety of cleaners available today, upright vacuum cleaners remain the first choice of a wide selection of consumers. While developments in technology have introduced a range of vacuum styles to the market place, many of the features of upright vacuum cleaners keep them a firm favorite in the cleaning stakes.

There are a whole host of vacuum cleaner makes and models available, from the hand held cleaner to the vacuum backpack. The main contender against upright vacuum cleaners, however, is the canister vacuum, in which the cleaner’s motor and vacuum bag are stored in a container from which a long hose extends. This type of vacuum is popular because of the flexibility it affords users, as the separate suction unit is more mobile when compared to upright vacuum cleaners.

Upright vacuum cleaner ratings have positive comments to add to the canister Vs the upright debate, citing a cleaning power that more than compensates for the canister’s flexibility. The design of upright vacuum cleaners makes them inherently more powerful than canister type cleaners, and it is this cleaning power that is the deciding factor for many vacuum consumers.

Upright vacuum cleaner ratings also rightly point out that in this age of furiously developing technology, upright vacuum cleaners frequently come with separate attachments, providing the hose flexibility offered by canister type cleaners. Also available in a wide range of makes and models, upright vacuum cleaners can are easily equipped to complete with the other vacuum types available today.

Cordless upright vacuum cleaners, for example, allow a range of movement that allows you clean all the areas of your home without searching for an electrical outlet. Though they require charging, the flexibility offered by cordless upright vacuum cleaners makes them a popular vacuum choice.

Upright vacuum cleaners undoubtedly offer consumers the powerful clean they are looking for from their vacuum. While other vacuum types may have their own advantages, for the most thorough clean for your home, nothing works as well as upright vacuum cleaners.