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House hole habits

House hole habits

Everybody has appliances in there home so treat them right, if you want to keep them.Keep your refrigerator door gasket clean ,don’t let sticky foods like syrup ,jams, build up on the door gasket,clean the gasket with a light soap an water,after it dries add a light coat of Vaseline on the gasket this will keep a tight seal all around.Refrigerators an freezers require proper air flow inside the compartments to keep food at the right temperature.Blocking the vents in the back of the compartments can cause cooling problems and force the compressor and fans to run over time.Keep your coils on your refrigerator clean,vacuum dust and dirt off them this will keep food cooler an it will run more efficiently.Washer an dryer don’t overload them to save time it will cause damage to motors ,belts and other moving parts that get expensive.Dryers keep your lint filter clean after every load,keep your vent clean on the roof,a clogged vent will burn your heating element out.Dishwashers keep the screen clean,if your dishwasher has a filtering screen under the bottom spray arm,clean it regularly.If you don’t the food particles degrade into slime that blocks water flow and reduces cleaning performance.These are some tips on keeping your appliances running more efficiently with less repairs.

House hole habits

BLACKOUTS

Due to an aging power grid,blackouts are more common than they used to be.And things won’t get better anytime soon .So here are some tips to survive an electrical outage.When the power grid goes down, your city water my soon follow.Fill up buckets and bottles .But most drains are not all that tight, and in a few hours all that precious water may be gone.Seal the drain of the tub with duct tape and fill with water.A power inverter, which turns DC current from your car into AC current will come in handy,the inverter  can recharge small units such as your computer or your cell phone ect.  they make lager ones to power a fridge.LED flashlights will come in handy they allow batteries to last much longer, about six to ten times as long.Filling of your propane tank for your grill will help for cooking food in the fridge and freezer. When the power grid sputters back on ,it could probably create power surges, which can damage sensitive electronics in your TVs,computers and appliances.So unplug any thing that contains electronic components.If you use a generator,check the manual .Most inexpensive models churn out dirty power that can harm electronics.To get heat during outages people crank up fireplaces, gas stoves and all types of heaters,anything that burns produces carbon monoxide.So having a battery powered CO detector would be a great asset in  a blackout.Power outages also will stop your well from working so keep buckets of  water on hand to flush your toilet.These are some tips when  the time comes in surviving a blackout.

House hole habits

BREAKERS TRIP OVER AND OVER

A breaker or fuse that won’t hold means one of two things: You have a serious problem such as a short circuited wire, or you overloaded the circuit,to many devices will make the  fuse or breaker  blow.First try to eliminate electric devices on that circuit. Appliances that draw to many amps are usually the culprit ( space heaters,irons,hair dryers,window air conditioners, ect.) If the breaker or fuse still blows you have a serious problem on that circuit you need to call an electrician.

House hole habits

GFCIs and AFCIs

Ground fault circuit interrupters and arc fault circuit interrupters detect potentially dangerous flows of electricity and turn off instantly,before they can do any harm.Both can be breakers or outlets(test buttons on a breaker or outlet indicates that it’s G.F.C.Is or A.F.C.Is  protected). Electrical codes require G.F.C.Is in areas that might be in wet locations ,Kitchens,bathrooms,outdoors,and garage,A.F.C.Is are required in all living areas.Remodeling projects could trigger these requirements,added safety to your home and major expenses to the project.

House hole habits

POWER SURGES

Two sources of surges,the most dangerous surges come from outside your home.These external surges are caused by lightning or an unstable power grid. Any connected to coaxial cable ( TV cable or a computer) is also prone to lightning.Smaller internal surges are generated within your home by heavy power users like your fridge or a/c.Small surge suppressors that protect one or several devices.You don’t have to understand the details just look for three things: 1- Clamping voltage:You want 330 volts or less.2-Clamping speed:5 nanoseconds or less.3-Energy dissipation: 500 joules or more.A whole house house suppressor protects every device in your house against external surges.But a whole house suppressor won’t stop internal surges.There are two types,an both require an electrician for installation. If it has a digital display , it definitely needs  surge protection.

House hole habits

Count backwards

We easily count backwards but find it hard to recite the alphabet backwards.Successive numbers are linked,but letters in the alphabet aren’t related to their neighbors. In elementary school,we memorize the list from a to z for convenience, and that’s that.By contrast students of all ages work with number series and count down from 10 to 1.When we count backwards from 100 we just repeat the process 10 times.

House hole habits

Tradesman

Construction workers are going to be scarce in Florida do to a number of reasons.Many were burned by job losses during the recession and aren’t returning to the industry. Others are tuned off by low pay or don’t want to work outside in Florida heat. Older workers are retiring and younger people aren’t eager to take their place.Shop class is no longer  featured in high school as it used to be.Contractors struggle to find qualified workers.It could lead to a longer build out time not only for homes but major developments new retail plazas and condominiums high rises.The construction industry is going to need thousands of workers to meet the demand for new developments in the sunshine state in the next year.

House hole habits

More than just a Retired soldiers

Soldier for life is in fact about the entire lifecycle of being a soldier from the moment a soldier  shows up for basic training to the day they arrive at their first command and begin their Army career.To the moment they make the decision to transition from a uniform wearing Soldier back into a productive member of civilian society. To the final separation or retirement from army service and transition into an example in their community about what it means to be a Soldier.

House hole habits

zapp

Working one day on a commercial job,bending emt,pulling wire,installing lighting,had a section of the building that did not work ,check to see if we had power on that circuit did not according to my volt meter, checking every possible way, lost neutral,blown breaker,ect had to find out what was going on,grab my ladder an pop up throw the drop ceiling went to grab the metal truss that was    above me and my hand went right in an open j box I found the problem but not the way I wanted to,with volts at 277-240-120 falling of my ladder lucky to be alive, blow the breaker could have been worse. Thanks to the man above.

House hole habits

Call an Electrician

One day going to work I get a call. It was a home owner,well he was all shook up I had to calm him down to find out what he was talking about,he had purchased a dimmer at lowes for his kitchen lights,removing the old switch he got zapped real good. I made that my first call of the day,I arrived at the home ,he had showed me what he had done ,he sill had the power on that circuit when he removed the switch till he got zapped,an poping the circuit breaker,well removing the switch I showed him how to install the new dimmer he did purchased the right dimmer, after talking to the homeowner he finale realized what not to do an that is his own electrical work.So please do not do this at home, CALL AN ELECTRICIAN.