Helpful Home Tips
Archive for October, 2009
Winter and Your Horse
Winter and your Horse
Winter weather brings important changes for your horse. For most, this means increased time inside and increased danger outside.
The presence of snow, sleet, slush and ice outdoors can be dangerous for horses and riders during winter months. Take extra care to ensure horses are given safe and stable ground to stretch their legs during long winter months. If riding your horse, it’s important to pick paths that you and your horse know well. Snow and ice can hide pathway and pasture dangers.
Increased stable time means extra allergen exposure. During winter months barns are filled with dust and dander. Help out your horse by opening up the doors and windows on nicer days to clear the air and reduce allergen exposure. It’s especially important to thoroughly clean stalls in the winter to reduce the ammonia level and relative particle load in air. Fresh air literally helps keep horses healthy.
Just like people, a horse’s skin and coat suffers during dry winter months. Use of hydrating baths, sprays and oils can be very helpful in keeping your horse’s skin and coat healthy. Hoof care is also very important to provide good traction and avoid cracking and excessive damage.
It is easy to be fooled by a horse’s metabolic demands in winter. Even though your horse may be more stationary and less active, winter months bring cold weather and a higher caloric need during periods of rest. Be sure your horse has plenty of access to fresh (unfrozen) water, high quality grain and hay.
Winter can be a fun and exciting time to share with your horse. Special attention to your horse’s winter needs will keep the season safe and enjoyable.
Post Provided by Heather Stern – All Natural Horse Skin Care Treatments
Winter Safety for your Pet
As the seasons change so do the needs of our furry friends. Dogs and cats require special and different care during winter seasons.
Just like people, the lack of humidity in most winter climates can be rough on the skin and coat of dogs and cats. Dry, flaking, cracked skin is not uncommon during winter months. Skin and coat care requires special winter attention. Excellent grooming habits are especially important during the winter. Dogs and cats should be bathed and groomed with high quality, detergent free products that are designed to enrich the skin and coat with moisture. Special salves and sprays are often helpful to keep the paw pads from cracking and becoming sore in the cold.
Metabolic needs are also very different in the winter. Ensuring that your dog or cat has enough high quality food and calorie intake is very important when the temperature drops. One of the most important diet ingredients is ample access to water. It’s easy for water outside to freeze and cause pets to become dehydrated. Ensure your pet has plenty of fresh water at all times. Heated water bowls are an excellent idea to ensure that outside bowls don’t freeze and become a health hazard.
Finally, it’s important to pay attention that pets are staying away from the many new hazards that come with winter weather. Antifreeze, ice-melt chemicals and partially frozen ponds are just a few of the new hazards that the winter season has to offer.
Keep your pet close by this winter and pay special attention to their winter health, nutrition and safety needs.
Post provided by Heather Stern – All Natural Pet Skin Care
October is National Toilet Repair Month
Repair your Toilet and Plumbing in Time for the Holidays
US based Fluidmaster (the largest manufacturer of toilet and toilet tank parts) has designated October as National Toilet Repair Month. Often times toilet repairs are overlooked by consumers making home improvements. According to recent statistics a single leaking toilet can lose up to 78,000 gallons of water per year. 78,000 is roughly the same amount of water required to fill a swimming pool.
Now, lets take a look at some simple repairs that can reduce the amount of water being wasted from your leaky toilet. Toilet repairs are simple and cost effective. Capable homeowners can complete most toilet repairs and even toilet replacement with the appropriate tools, time and effort. If as a home owner the thought of making toilet repairs seems like a task that is above your skill level, then contact a local and licensed plumber that can perform repairs quickly and efficiently with very little expense. Our Decatur Georgia licensed plumbers are happy to help if you are unable to complete the repairs yourself.
Below is a list of four toilet problems that can be easily be repaired. Each one of these repairs will cost less than $5.00.
Faulty or Worn Out Flapper
This problem can easily be diagnosed by a constantly running toilet. Most toilets use a rubber flapper to seal the bottom of the tank, being made out of rubber these flappers can decompose or warp over time, thus eliminating their ability to seal the bottom of the toilet tank. This is an easy repair to make, and a new flapper will typically cost less than $5.00 at your local home improvement center.
Cut, Repair, and Replace Rusted Toilet Bolts
Years of condensation and moisture can often lead to toilet bolts becoming excessively rusted and becoming virtually impossible to remove. In a situation where your toilet bolts are exceptionally rusted, you will need to remove your bolts with a cutting device. Our plumbing professionals have found that a dremel type of device works best, although a grinding wheel and hacksaw could be used as well.
Replace a Toilet Wax Ring
Most individuals recognize that their toilet wax ring needs to be replace when a toilet has a slight wobble, that over time begins to leak water onto the floor of their bathroom. Toilets are mounted to the floor via a wax ring that helps to seal the toilet to the drain. If the toilet had not been seated properly, this wax ring can shift and over time, allow water to seep through. As with most toilet repairs this is an easy fix. Before you begin making your repair, you will need to go to your local home repair center and purchase a new wax ring. Typically a wax ring will cost between $3.00 and $5.00 dollars.
Step One: Shut off the water at the main water line to the home, bathroom, or toilet.
Step Two: Flush the toilet one last time. This final flush should empty both the toilet tank and bowl.
Step Three: Disconnect the water line that connects to the toilet.
Step Four: Remove the nuts that keep the toilet attached to the floor.
Step Five: Pull the toilet straight up off of the floor.
Step Six: Put on rubber gloves, remove the old wax ring.
Step Seven: Place the new wax ring on the floor and then follow the above steps in reverse order to complete the project. Be sure to gently rock the toilet on the new wax ring to properly “seat” it. Additionally, be sure to tighten the bolts that attach the toilet to the floor, but do not over tighten as you can break the porcelain.
Repair or Replace a Broken Flush Handle
Most flush handles are made out of plastic and can easily wear out and break. Broken flush handles typically cost no more than $5.00 and are readily available at your local home repair center. In order to replace your flush handle, simply remove your old flush handle, and then replace with a new handle.
If in the event you start to make repairs on your toilet and you begin to feel overwhelmed contact a licensed plumber that can repair your toilet professionally.
This blog post has been provided by your local Decatur, GA Plumbers.