1. If you’re choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.

 2. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.
 
  3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
 
  4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use
     a timer.
  5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
 
  6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you’ll be afraid to cough.  

7. You only need two tools in life – WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape     

 8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
 
      Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR  ANYTHING BUT  BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN   PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS                                                   

If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem.

homemom3 Says:
February 5th, 2008 at 4:07 pm Thanks for the quick response. Is there anything I should do before unscrewing the trap? I’ve heard horror stories about that thing.

You might want to put a pan, bowl or bucket under it to catch any water that may be spilled, let us know how it goes.

We’ve all heard stories about eggs & potatoes exploding in microwave ovens. Those stories are true because as the food cooks, pressure inside the skin builds. If the skin is as hard as an eggshell, the pressure can build quite high before the skin breaks & the egg explodes.

Arcs are those miniature lightning bolts that occur when microwaves are caught between two metal objects. The metal racks found in many microwave ovens won’t cause arcing by themselves, but metal such as a fork or foil placed near the rack or oven wall can cause arcing. Even the gold rim of a china cup can cause arcing, so make sure the cookware you use is microwave safe. Another source of arcing is the buildup of certain foods, such as tomato, on the walls of a microwave oven (a good argument for keeping your oven clean). When arcing occurs, turn off the oven immediately to prevent damage.

Another danger with microwave ovens is superheated water. If water is placed in a smooth container in a microwave oven, it can be heated well past it’s boiling point, yet remain still. When an object (a spoon, teabag, grains of sugar) disrupts the surface tension, the water boils violently in a small explosion that can cause severe injury. So always follow the oven instructions for heating or reheating water, & if ther is a chance the water has become superheated, let it cool at least a full minute before handling the cup.

Along with a host of other electronic devices, the energy generated by a microwave oven can cause a cardiac pacemaker to malfunction.

One misconception is that microwave ovens give off harmful radiation. The radiation from a microwave oven is no more dangerous than radiation from a television.

Fiberboard Siding (often referred to as Hardboard Planking) was manufactured by several companies including Louisiana-Pacific®, Masonite®, Weyerhaeuser® and Georgia Pacific®.

While this type of siding was made by numerous manufacturers, each company’s fiberboard siding is made in roughly the same manner and tends to have the same issues.

After this siding has been installed for some length of time, it tends to expand slightly. This causes the area around the nail heads to become damaged. This in turn allows moisture to penetrate into the siding and deteriorate it.

As the moisture level increases, the siding’s edges tend to expand. This expansion breaks the paint, which, in turn, allows rainwater to be absorbed by the siding causing a breakdown of the glue holding the wood fibers together. Deterioration of the siding increases as the moisture content of the siding rises.

Fiberboard siding also tends to expand and contract along its length, thus breaking the seal where the boards are joined together. This contraction breaks down the caulk that was applied during installation (hopefully), again leaving the siding vulnerable to water penetration.

It is critical that the caulking on this type siding be maintained in good condition. Also, regular repainting of the siding is an absolute must. Hand painting of the bottom of each course of the siding with a brush is the only way to ensure that the exposed fibers of the siding get sealed.

It may be possible to slow down the deterioration of fiberboard siding by regular painting and caulking; however, home owners should be aware that there will be problems with their siding in the future.

Ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s) help to prevent electrical shocks by shutting off the current as soon as an imbalance in the hot & neutral is detected. Current codes require GFCI protection on all kitchen & bathroom outlets & in other potentially damp locations like basements & garages.

If you are building a new home or retrofitting an older one you can use either an outlet or circuit-breaker GFCI device.

A GFCI outlet, which costs 10-15 dollars, has it’s own built-in circuit breaker as well as a reset button. When installed properly, a GFCI outlet will protect all other outlets on the same circuit as long as the GFCI outlet is the first one on the circuit.

A GFCI circuit breaker, 30 + dollars, is an easier way to ensure that all the outlets & fixtures on any given branch circuit will be protected. GFCI breakers also function like standard breakers to protect against overloaded or short circuits.

At least once a week I will find a dryer vent that is torn or disconnected somewhere in the crawlspace. A dryer venting into the crawlspace will introduce a significant amount of moisture into this area & this is never a good thing. The quickest & easiest way to check to check to see if your dryer is venting to the outside is to turn your dryer on & go locate the vent termination on the outside of the house & verify that there is warm air coming out of it. If there is not it is time to crawl under the house & locate the problem. I also recommend getting rid of any flexible vinyl duct & replacing it with metal duct that has no fasteners penetrating the duct that can catch lint & the joints running in the direction of airflow.

Some manufacturers advise replacement after 5 years. If you don’t have the manufacturer’s information and your smoke alarms are 10 years old or older, it’s time to replace them with new ones. Since smoke alarms can become desensitized over time, replacement is highly recommended.

If possible, replace old smoke alarms with interconnected alarms. These alarms are linked together so if one alarm is activated, all alarms will sound. In the event of a fire, this gives you extra time to help get family members to safety. You may also want to consider a monitored smoke/heat detector installed by a home security company.

Install new batteries at move in, test smoke alarms once a month and change the batteries in your smoke alarm at least twice per year. Also, be sure there is at least one working smoke alarm on every level of your home and inside or near sleeping areas. In addition, only purchase alarms certified by Underwriters Laboratories (U.L.), an independent testing organization that sets quality and use standards for electronic and consumer products.

I did an inspection today on a home that had been dewinterized & had the utilities turned on the day before, problem was, the TPR valve on the water heater had been opened for winterizing & never closed, so when the water was turned on it continued to flow out of the TPR drain for approximately 24 hours until we showed up for the inspection. The good news is that this TPR drain was run into the crawlspace, the bad news is the crawlspace was flooded, a lot better than flooding the house, but still not something you want to have happen.

So please check all your plumbing fixtures, faucets, & valves (including TPR) when having your property dewinterized for inspection.

There is the possibility for the switch handle to be placed in the OFF position when the switch is still in an ON (closed) position. This may result in the potential for PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE.
This Notice is applicable ONLY to 30 Ampere and 60 Ampere General Duty Safety Switch Catalog Numbers listed below manufactured between September 11, 2006 and November 4, 2006.

D211NRB D211NRBBP D211NRBCP D221NRB
D221NRBCP D321NRB D321NRBCP DU221RB
DU222RB

DU321RB DU322RB

Learn more

Be sure & check the Square D web-site as there is also a recall for some of their arc fault breakers & there have also been counterfeit Square D breakers found to be on the market.

As a home inspector, one of the common problems I find is lack of crawl space ventilation. When there isn’t enough ventilation, mold & deterioration can occur. You can correct this problem by increasing ventilation, adding more foundation vents or mechanical ventilation systems that help circulate the air.