Archive for May, 2009

Home Water Damage - When Disaster Strikes

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Even though water is a very essential element in our environment, during times of flooding it seems to be the bane of our existence. It is a very powerful and damaging event, when water can not be stopped. Water damage can destroy homes, businesses and lives. Or it can leave a constant reminder of its ability to take over and turn lives upside down.

If you find yourself in a situation of flooding or water damage there are some basic guidelines that have been suggested. First and foremost, if it is during the flood make sure you and your loved ones are safe from harms way.

If you are experiencing the after math of a flood, it can be very disheartening. Water damage can extend from the floor to the ceiling, covering everything in between. Time maybe the most important variable after a flood. Immediately call a company experienced in the clean up and restoration of flood/water events. Do not wait for the following day to call for help, mold and mildew can begin to grow within twenty four hours. And you may want to remove any furniture or valuables as soon as possible.

Items that are not in direct contact with the water can still be damaged. This means, until the water and humidity are restored to normal, everything in the house must be removed.  Work with a reputable company that is experienced in a crisis such as this. They can help you relocate your belongings and help you find storage for the same.

High humidity and unsanitary conditions can damage or contaminate most everything. It is essential that all belongings are evaluated and removed. There are times when items have already been damaged or contaminated and must be replaced. This can include furniture, carpeting or valuables. An experienced water restoration expert can help you decide if your items are able to be repaired or if they need replaced.

Another thing that concerns most homeowners is having to report the incident to the insurance company.  But this is exactly what insurance was made for, during times like these.  Report any damages immediately to your company.  Let them worry and have to take care of all the damages.  The insurance company will go out and find a reputable flood and water restoration company.  Don’t try and do any cleaning on your own.  An experienced company will be able to clean most anything including furniture, drapes, tables, wood, carpet, just to name a few.  Calling them will save you in the long run financially as well as giving your more peace of mind, and most importantly, they can help you get your life back in order as soon as possible.

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Window Cleaning Secrets

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Initially, window washing seems pretty easy.Ask any teen to do your window cleaning, for pay, and they will gladly jump at the chance to make some money. But the big problem you’ll find, is once they do it, they will probably tell you they won’t ever do that again. The problem with window cleaning however is not in the actual work involved, it’s in how you do it, when you do it, and what tools you use.  Take it from my years as a San Diego Window cleaning company, if you want someone to enjoy cleaning your windows, or if you want to do it yourself, keep some of these tips below in mind.

If you are cleaning your windows directly in the sun, you will see that this causes a bunch of streaks that will seemingly not go away no matter how much you clean them! It’s very frustrating, but knowing something as simple as when to wash them like when the sun passes and is not on the windows, or when the sun is so hot, can save you from a lot frustration.

Some San Diego window washing tips that take the frustration and hassle out of window cleaning are:

The method you hold you’re squeegee counts!

Make sure when you hold the squeegee, you have it angled in the direction the water is flowing. If the water is running down to your feet, move the squeegee sideways causing the water being squeegeed to go down to the part you haven’t cleaned yet. For example, if you are on the roof and the down angle is above you, squeegee forward so you can cause the water to flow to the part not yet squeegeed. If you find yourself working against the flow of water, this will cause the water to build up and it will flow out of the sides and that will make streaks.

Wiping the blade is important!

Some people are going to try to clean the whole window without wiping the blade until the very end. This won’t work very well and can make ugly streaks just from the water left on the blade. Every time you try to get that streak (which in essence is two times in the same spot) you will make another streak.  By wiping the blade after each stroke you avoid this problemand get the window cleaned much faster without retracing steps.

Make the streaks overlap

After every stroke, make the next stroke overlap (about an inch into the dry area) and make your next stroke. If you’re pointing the squeegee so the water buildup falls downward towards the wet part of the window and you’re drying off the blade after each stroke, you will not create
an additional streak that you have to go back over. Don’t be tempted to just squeegee right on the line, this will make splashes right into the dry area and will be very unproductive.

Use a lot of water

If you don’t use enough water you will have a hard time making perfect frictionless strokes with the squeegee. don’t be afraid to use a lot of water and when possible be sure to use sideway strokes where the water is flowing down towards the part of the glass that is wet.

So there you go.  Some easy to apply San Diego window cleaning tips for all you do it your selfers.Follow the steps outlined here and you will be very pleased with how your windows look.

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San Francisco Parks in Your VW Campervan

Monday, May 4th, 2009

 

San Francisco Bay residents and travelers have many grand gardens and parks to be explored. San Francisco is one of the biggest metropolitan cities in the world and it boasts eye-catching and sophisticated parks and gardens.

Golden Gate Park is the best city landmark worth spending a glossy afternoon in or at the very least a turn through in your VW Campervan - or just to admire the VW Campervans that are often parked on display. It is larger than  New York City’s Central Park; Golden Gate Park is about 1,000-acres of fields, gardens and made up of wooded paths. Whether you are chartering a row boat at Stow Lake or tentative the over 6,000 plant species at Strybing Arboretum and at the Botanical Garden, the park has something amazing for every nature lover. Highlights of the park comprise Shakespeare Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers as well as the Japanese Tea Garden.

The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park is residential in a recently renovated Victorian glass makeup and is touted as the oldest public greenhouse in the western hemisphere. The greenhouse is actually open on Tuesday till Sunday. A nominal fee is obligatory for admittance to the greenhouse, but it is waived for the first Tuesday of every month.

The elegantly countryside Japanese Tea Garden of Golden Gate Park is full with cherry trees, shrubs, bonsai and wonderful pools of water. The highlights of this section of the park contain the huge bronze Buddha dating back to 1790, a Buddhist wooden pagoda and the Wishing Bridge.

Another exclusive park space at San Francisco is the Presidio that passed from the U.S. Army to the National Park Service during 1994. It’s worth a drive to although you won’t be able to camp - it doesn’t allow VW Campervans. The Presidio is one of  only a few urban national parks to unite historical, architectural and natural world elements in one space. The nearly 1,500-acre park contains coastal dunes, prairie grasslands and other assorted rare plant and the bird life. Founded during 1776 as a military post under the Spanish, the Presidio was a military muscular hold for nearly 220 years before attractive one of San Francisco’s most well-liked and historic attractions.

The city of San Francisco and its house have a strong link with nature and it shows with the city’s various, one of a type park and gardens. Visitors must be sure to spend some time discovering these wonderful nature preserves.

Amjath
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/parks-at-san-francisco-116557.html

 

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The Western World has Benefited Hugely from Chinese Inventions

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

The Chinese have long been undermined by the western world as not being well known for their technological accomplishments. However this is completely untrue, and thanks to the efforts of a British philanthropist Joseph Needham the Chinese have been accredited with the discovery of an independent invention of the decimal system, seismological detectors, the blast furnace, gunpowder, paper money, the wheel barrow, paper, printing, the compass, natural gas as a fuel, the rotary fan, the suspension bridge, spaghetti and many more, as well as having made a huge contribution to the fields of medicine, astronomy and logic.

The most important Chinese inventions, the ones that have impacted the rest of the world that is to say, have been gunpowder, just think about war and armaments! Paper, printing (they invented moveable type, not John Gutenberg) and the compass. Although they are also credited with the creation of brandy and whiskey and these are pretty important innovations for some people.

Chinese alchemists played a major role in the development of gunpowder, and this invention has probably had the biggest impact of any other discovery. It formed the basis for all armaments, and waging war. It was accidentally discovered in the Tang Dynasty, while and alchemist was trying to create the elixir of life. However this was only one of many military innovations, there was the grid sight, tear gas, mustard gas, rockets, bombs and even a small version of the cannon.

In 105 AD Cai Lun was responsible for the invention of paper, he was a Chinese Eunuch (please don’t make me explain what this means). And this was one of the greatest Chinese inventions. During the Battle of Talas River in 751, some Chinese paper makers were captured by the Arabs and this is how paper making came to be known to the world, by a process of enculturation.

The compass was originally used as a religious accruement; the Chinese people believed that when you built a new house, it had to be perfectly aligned with nature, so the compass was used to ensure this alignment. Obviously perfect alignment with nature must have been true north. This was a simply wooden circle, with notches carved on it, on which the monk balanced a magnetic spoon. Navigation throughout the world has been developed and dictated to by the compass.

Anesthetics have been used as far back as the 3rd century, this was a type of wine which had an anesthetic affect. The Chinese are world renowned for their knowledge of herbal medicines and acupuncture and this dates back millennia. 4000 year old skulls have been found in Heilongjiang, Qinghai and Henan provinces which indicate some kind of surgery may have taken place on them, the age of these skulls have been confirmed by Carbon Dating.

The Chinese invented a lot of stuff that has an impact on our everyday life. We can go on and on but the above is probably good enough for now.

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