Recycle Your Old Electronics
September 30, 2011 by Home Services Link · 2 Comments
Help reduce waste in Hamilton County, Ohio landfills and Recycle your old TVs, computers, printers, DVD players and more! It really is easy being green. Nearly 175,000 pounds of equipment has been recycled through Hamilton County’s Free Drop-Off Program.
The Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District began collecting obsolete computer equipment and televisions from residents beginning May 2, 2011. To date, 174,454 pounds have been collected. This free program will be open until October 31, 2011 at the drop-off facility located at 11085 Kenwood Rd., Blue Ash, OH 45242 for Hamilton County residents.
Hamilton County residents interested in participating in tis program can drop off unwanted electronics from 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. Residents must bring proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill, in order to participate. This program prohibits the acceptance of computer equipment/TVs from businesses, churches, schools or non-profit organizations.
The Computer & TV Recycling Drop Off Program will also be open on Saturday, October 15 from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
Acceptable items include: CPUs, hard drives, personal copiers, docking stations, monitors, scanners, printers, cellular telephones, televisions, tape and disk drives, VCR and DVD players, circuit boards, cables, main frames, servers, terminals, fax machines, PDAs, back up batteries, chips, keyboards, mice, modems, computer speakers, CD Rom Drives and laptops.
For more information, please call 513.946.7766 or visit www.hamiltoncountyrecycles.org.
Victim of Contractor Fraud?
September 29, 2011 by Home Services Link · 1 Comment
The recent news feature on the prosecution of Mr. Burchett, a contractor from Amelia, for theft and theft from the elderly points out how easily it can happen. You need some work done. You call up a contractor that you find in a directory or maybe hear about through a friend. You think because he advertises or a friend used him in the past he must be good. The problem with this thinking is that contractors that operate like Mr. Burchett don’t have a conscience. They don’t think twice about taking your hard earned money, many times without doing any work at all. Usually it is a matter of sub-standard work that they won’t come back to fix or complete. You can pursue them through the legal system as I have several times in small claims court with the only satisfaction of winning the case.
Now if the contractor is a multiple offender it might get addressed as a criminal matter as with Mr. Burchett. You very seldom get any money from the claim because they have either drained the bank account so there is nothing for you to take or they closed the business and moved on to start up under a different company name to do it again.
Our purpose here at HomeServicesLink is to prevent this from happening to you and heaven forbid it does, we help resolve the issue. Our screening process greatly reduces the chances of one of these scammers getting into our network. The on-going performance monitoring and quality control checks are intended to nip any developing issues in the bud. If you ever have issues with anyone we have referred, please inform us immediately. Don’t let it simmer and stress you out. Home improvement is the #2 consumer complaint issue and we are working to move it much further down the list.
HomeServicesLink is here to help you with any need from a simple handyman to a general contractor. We are only an email or call 513-271-1888 away.
Safety’s A Tool For Any DIY Project
September 28, 2011 by Home Services Link · 1 Comment
My brother-in-law is the handy one in the family. More than just handy, he is incredibly adept at fixing, installing and building just about anything. He built a rocking horse when my niece was born; he built a beautiful deck in his backyard. We’re talking serious skill here.
But even with all of his expertise, last year he accidentally almost cut off his finger while working with a table saw. He was not alone in ending up in the emergency room with a major injury. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans seriously injure themselves while undertaking home improvement projects. As we rush to finish all those summer projects still on our to-do list, we need to be aware of the need for safety and preparation.
The struggling economy has led to an increase in injuries stemming from do-it-yourself projects, as homeowners try to save money by not hiring professionals. According to Dr. Gail Rousseau, a board member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), there is also a spike in such injuries when the weather is nice.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of penetrating nail-gun injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms has tripled in the last two decades. They note that 40 percent of these are by do-it-yourselfers.
Along with nail guns, items that are fairly common in backyards, garages, gardens and home workshops and are usually thought of as harmless, contribute to approximately 100,000 head injuries and 46,000 neck injuries a year. The AANS states that “the more severe injuries are incurred by falling or bumping into an object forcefully. The biggest culprits include ladders, garage doors, manual and power tools, poles, fences, porches and balconies, items used in the garden such as tools, hoses, sprinklers and nails, screws, tacks and bolts.”
Some of these accidents can be life-altering or fatal, and many can be prevented.
All that being said, if you are planning on tackling that home project you have put off all summer, heed Mom’s Rx to get the job done efficiently and safely:
- Plan ahead by thoroughly understanding all of the steps you need to complete.
- Analyze the physical requirements of the job. If you usually sit at a desk all day, painting the garage or building shelves in the basement will be calling on a different set of muscles than you may be used to using. Be sure you have the right tools and that they are in good working order. Consider renting tools or equipment if yours are old or rusty.
- Ladders should be stable and secure before attempting to use them.
- Keep in mind that home improvement projects often take a lot longer than you may have planned for. If you can’t complete the project all at once you may have to break it up into smaller segments. Just be sure the area can be secured from the rest of the family (including pets) while “under construction”.
- Always put safety first such as protecting eyes, wearing gloves to protect fingers and improve grip, and wearing closed-toed shoes.
- Handy brother-in-law Jeff reminds woodworkers to use a riving knife, which is a safety feature built into saws to prevent kick-back. And no, at this point he is not for hire to complete your do-it-yourself project.
Article Courtesy of Albany Times Union, Lynda Shrager
As always if your DIY project becomes a ‘DIY Don’t’ project, HomeServicesLink has handymen, plumbers, electricians, contractors and more insured, screened professionals to assist you with your home repair and improvent projects.
Safe to Use Phosphorous Fertilizers
September 28, 2011 by Home Services Link · Leave a Comment
We’ve heard several stories about phosphorus-based lawn fertilizers burning people’s turf, especially during the summer.
This cannot be true. Of all the major elements of fertilizer applied to turf, phosphorus is the safest and has the lowest potential to burn.
Photo Courtesy of Photospin.com
Many lawn applications have included little or no phosphorus since a phosphorus shortage a number of years ago drove up prices.
This has caused problems for many gardeners in our region because the soil here contains, at best, moderate levels of phosphorus. Eventually, some soil becomes phosphorus-deficient, resulting in turf diseases.
Lawn care companies and homeowners need to learn about the makeup of soil in order to properly apply fertilizer containing phosphorus.
Another concern is that some states have banned the application of phosphorus to turf for environmental reasons. Brian Horgan at the University of Minnesota has done excellent work showing how phosphorus-treated turf minimizes the runoff of water and nutrients compared with untreated turf. Horgan explains his experiment results in a video clip at www.gcsaa.tv/view.php?id=179.
Horgan explains that as more phosphorus is applied to turf, there is a risk of increasing runoff. He says, however, that if no phosphorus is applied, often those lawns will be the highest in terms of phosphorus runoff because the turf is thin; and there is actual movement of soil and leaching of phosphorus.
I don’t know how many lawn fertilizer companies have added phosphorus to their mixes. I am aware that the level of phosphorus in Fertilome’s Lawn Food Plus Iron product is 4 percent.
Article Courtesy of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Danny McKeown
HomeServicesLink can assist you with your lawn care and landscaping needs. We have insured, reliable and screened lawn care professionals.
Downspout Drain Lines
September 26, 2011 by Home Services Link · Leave a Comment
DEAR TIM: I purchased some splash blocks to set on the ground immediately below my down spouts. My wife thinks they are useless. I feel that they help divert water away from my foundation and water her gardens at the same time. She thinks that the roof water and my basement sump pump water should be piped away from the house. What do you think? T. E.
DEAR T. E.: Well (no pun intended)… I think I have to side with your wife on this one. The splash blocks are not entirely useless, however. They can effectively control erosion of the soil. The blocks can absorb some of the energy of the moving water before it hits the soil.
Rainwater that drains onto soil near your home is generally not a problem if you have sandy or very well drained soil. However, a large portion of the USA does not have well drained soil. Many of us (including myself) live in regions that have clay rich soils. Clay soils don’t always drain that well. Basements and crawlspaces can become indoor swimming pools in periods of heavy rainfall or sustained wet spells.
Many people do not realize just how much rain falls from the sky in a moderate rainfall. For sake of discussion, let’s
Image Courtesy of Tim Carter
consider a normal ranch house that has an attached two car garage. If the structure measures 30 feet by 66 feet and has a 2 foot roof overhang, there is 2,380 square feet of roof ready and waiting to catch rain drops.
A moderate 1 inch rainfall will generate 1,483 gallons of water on this roof. This water will hit your splash blocks and enter the soil about 30 inches away from your foundation. If your region receives 40 inches of rainfall a year, you will inject about 59,320 gallons of water into your wife’s gardens. That might be a little overkill, don’t you think?
If your foundation is currently leak proof, your sump probably accepts a good portion of this water. If the sump pump discharge pipe merely dumps the water along side your house, you end up recirculating this same water time and time again. This wastes electricity and leads to premature pump failure.
I feel that your storm water and sump water should be piped away from your house. Some urban areas allow this water to be connected to public storm sewers and water retention basins. If this is not available, pipe the water to the lowest portion of your lot where it would have drained naturally before your house was built.
Consider using SDR 35 or Schedule 40 PVC plumbing drainage pipe for this job. Install 4 inch diameter pipes in all locations. Use 90 degree elbows only at the base of down spouts. Use 45 degree fittings to change direction in all underground work. Before you bury the pipes, take photos of their locations. These will come in useful as your wife’s gardens expand.
Article Courtesy of Tim Carter, Ask The Builder
