Have you inspected your Garage Door lately?Written by Richard Aquino
The garage door is typically largest moving part in your home and is probably used every day. With normal use, parts can wear out and break, creating potential safety problems. There are a few light maintenance duties and inspections a mechanically inclined person can perform to ensure maximum safety and increase life of their door. Check rollers, hinges and safety devices to be sure they are fastened securely and in proper working order. Check balance of door by lifting it a few feet off ground and releasing. The door should not travel more than a couple of inches in either direction. If door drops to ground then your springs either need adjusting or replacing. When operated manually a garage door should go up and down smoothly. In event of spring failure extension springs can cause severe damage if they are not contained. If door’s springs don’t already have safety cables installed, now would be a good time to get them installed. Remember even highest quality springs eventually wear and break. Replace springs if they show signs of wear such as uneven gaps between coils, bent or damaged ends. Inspect cables for fray. Replace frayed cables immediately. Check pulleys for nicks or excessive wear that can cause damage to cable. Replace worn pulleys if necessary. Verify that tracks are level and plumb. Tracks should line up parallel to door sections without binding. Ensure that lag screws securing track brackets to jambs are secure. Replace bent, missing or rusted lags immediately.
| | Soy Candles? What Will They Think of Next?Written by M J Plaster
Quick: What comes to mind when you think of soy candles? Before my formal introduction to soy candles, I thought organic (read expensive) and BEIGE! And not just color beige, but beige as an overall description for soy candles—blah like baby food, ground chick peas, and a pale winter pallor. I had no idea why it would even occur to anyone to purchase a soy candle. I couldn't have been more wrong in my assessment! After gaining a working knowledge of candles, soy candles reside front and center in my growing candle collection. When you learn facts, you will probably replace your paraffin candles with soy version, at least on an attrition basis. If you're still at beige stage, read on while we shed a little light on subject. Paraffin vs. Soy First, clear your mind of all preconceived notions that you've conjured up about soy candles. Replace those thoughts with just two thoughts for now: clean and fresh. Traditional candles made of paraffin are actually petroleum-based products. Oil is not only a finite resource, primarily imported from Middle East, it recently made a new all-time high. You see it reflected at gas pump, and you'll see it reflected in candle prices, if you haven't already. You pay no premium to reap benefits of soy candles, because soy candles are priced competitively with their paraffin counterparts, and soy candles last up to 50% longer than paraffin candles. Petroleum products do not burn cleanly. If you wouldn't voluntarily walk into a burning petroleum field, then why would you burn paraffin in your home? If you burn candles regularly, try this experiment. Move a picture on your wall. If you see an outline on wall at edge of picture, soot from burning candles is culprit. That same burning petroleum deposits itself in your lungs, and it's a known carcinogen. Soy candles are non-toxic, burn cleanly without smoking, burn cooler than paraffin candles, and use all-natural cotton wicks. If you've ever spent hours cleaning spilled wax on your floor or carpet, you know what an exercise in futility it can be. Sometimes there is simply no removing it. Spilled melted soy wax cleans up with soap and water, and it does come out, unlike some paraffin spills. Biodegradable soy has its practical advantages as well as its health advantages.
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