13 Oct, 2024
3 mins read

How to Select the Proper Garbage Disposal and Take Care of It

If you are considering redesigning your kitchen, you no doubt will spend a great deal of time thinking about your cabinets, the appliances, the countertops and the flooring.
How about the lowly garbage disposal? You should not be disdainful of your disposal. The fact is that many of us do not ever think about what is going on under the sink when we flip the switch for the disposal. That is, we do not think about it until it stops working.
It is much more likely that you will have many years of trouble free use of your disposal if you buy the right one for your needs, and then you take care to use it properly. Below are some guidelines to accomplish both of these tasks.
Buying the Right One
When you are working on that new kitchen space, you should remember that you can buy a garbage disposal of many different sizes and lots of varying features. Of course, the disposal that came with your house was probably an inexpensive, builder quality unit. It probably has a motor with a 1/3 horsepower or so. That may work fine for awhile, but this product was not designed to last year a lot of years.
A disposal that is of a deluxe quality will have a motor with one horsepower, and it also will have inner components that are made of stainless steel. It’s very important that your high quality disposal have stainless steel parts, because that means you will never have rusting problems. Some higher quality products will have a function for auto reverse. This is very helpful in getting jammed food and other items out of the disposal. This will increase the motor’s life by years. Overheating the motor is one of the biggest causes for a garbage disposal to fail.
There are a lot of disposals that can be purchased that fall somewhere in between 1/3 horsepower and 1 horsepower. If your house in on a septic tank, you can buy a special unit that will shoot an enzyme into the bottom of the disposal. This will assist in breaking down your septic tank waste.
Taking Care of the Disposal
When you have your new disposal, you should do your best to care for it so it will last you many years. You can do this by making sure you run the water all the time when you are turning on the device. Many people tend to shut the water off too soon after they have turned on the garbage disposal. This is bad because the sludge that the disposal made may still be stuck in the drain line from the unit.
To prevent problems, you should let the water run for at least 10 seconds or so after you shut it off. This will allow the water to flush out the lines. A really great way to do this is to clean your pots and pans in the sink full of water. Then let the water …

2 mins read

Proper Septic Tank Emptying

Regular maintenance is a fundamental necessity for any septic tank. Even the best constructed tanks need to be inspected and repaired regularly to keep them functioning efficiently, or to keep them functioning at all. Part of the maintenance that they require is regular emptying of all the contents that they have collected since the last pumping. Primarily that consists of the sludge that settles to the bottom of the tank and the any non-biodegradable items that have found their way in there.
Solid Sludge in the Septic Tank
Too much sludge in a tank means not only that there will be less space for the incoming waste, effectively reducing the capacity of the tank, but also that the incoming waste will not have enough time to be decomposed, before more incoming water pushes the solids into the pipes. And here the solids may even clog the pipes, which will completely grind the septic system to a halt – definitely not a scenario any homeowner would want to see.
The more the sludge a septic system contains, more of these solids will escape from the tank into the Soil Absorption System (SAS). In case the SAS is clogged by this excessive sludge, the unsanitary liquids will bubble to the surface and damage the surrounding soil and environment. This will inevitably lead to septic tank failure – also not a good scenario.
Emptying the Septic Tank
Removing the sludge then becomes important to stop the solids from escaping from the septic tank into the drain field. Depending on the size of the tank, the type of construction, and the use to which it is put, different tanks require different frequency of pumping. For houses that do not have their own garbage disposal system, experts advise that pumping should be done every 1 to 3 years. For the houses that have their own garbage disposal systems, the pumping should be done every year.
By judging the past instances when pumping was carried out, focusing on whether there was enough sludge when the pumping was scheduled, or whether the pumping was done prematurely, you will have a better idea of when your tank will need to be pumped again.
Hiring the Pumper
Professional pumpers have a license from the local Health Board and these are the ones you should be hiring. After pumping they will write up a receipt describing the pumping done, including the number of gallons of sludge removed, the time taken, etc. You should keep this receipt in your records for future reference.…

3 mins read

Ensure Your Family’s Safety With The Proper Home Security System

Do you want to protect your family and your home? You are doing the right thing because when it comes to your home, you cannot be too cautious. To make sure your home is always safe, you need to do your part. Keep reading to learn more about home security.

Your dog can keep your spare house key for you. This really only works if you’ve got an outdoor dog or if you’ve got a pet door. You can purchase a special collar that will hold your spare key, so when you forget your keys your dog can let you in.

Buy fire resistant flooring, roofing and ceiling. This is a good way to protect your home against fires, for instance if you live near power lines or in a dry area. Preventing a fire is important since it can cause a lot of damage.

Do not post on your social media accounts regarding when you will be away on vacation. While you may want to shout it from the rooftops, you’re letting everyone know that your home will be vacant and easy to rob.

Be sure to secure your attached garage. There is a way to stop thieves from entering your home from the garage. If your garage door happens to lift on a track, using a C-clamp can help. the C-clamp prevents the door from opening if it’s tightened on the track close to the roller.

Check with your local law enforcement agency about home protection plans. Many police departments will offer expert advice, arrange inspections, sponsor neighborhood watches, and help you mark and register your valuables. Call the local police department and inquire as to what programs they offer.

Remember to have an annual inspection of your home security system. Have a worker from the security company take a look at it. Mother Nature and wild animals can also cause issues with your home security system. You may not even know there is a problem if it is not visible.

Walls are great for hiding things. Concealing small valuables in your walls is an easy and highly effective way to protect them. Just use an unwired electric plug, light switch or phone box. If you’re using all your outlets, you can install phony ones.

Use your wall spaces to hide your valuables. You do not have to cut pieces out of the walls to do this. Your home should have a few pre-cut areas that can be used. How about unwiring your electric socket and using that as an area to stash your jewelry?

The alarm system you choose should protect more than just the doors to your home. Windows are all potential entry points for burglars. Have alarms installed for each window and any other entry point. This can keep your family much safer.

Sadly, there is no such thing as a 100% safe home. There are things you can do to make your home as safe as you possible. The piece above has provided you …