Category: News

Your garage vehicle door may be the largest moving object in your home and could weigh up to 400 pounds. For your safety make sure it’s in good condition.

Overhead garage doors have gravity to deal with. In the absence of some type of balancing mechanism, the door would slam shut as soon as you let go of it. Older garage doors may employ a weight and pulley system to balance the weight of the door however virtually all modern systems use springs. Regardless of the method used, the door should balance. If you open the garage door about half way and let go, it should balance there.

Spring failure: The springs used to balance the weight of the door are under enormous stress. If a spring were to break, flying pieces of metal could cause serious injury. Modern spring systems incorporate safety features to prevent flying metal in the event of a spring failure. Extension springs should have a cable running down the middle of the spring to contain the spring upon failure.

Automatic opener: Automatic door openers are not a replacement for a properly balanced door. The opener is not powerful enough to lift the entire weight of the door. The opener works with the help of the springs or counter balance system. An automatic garage door opener should stop and reverse on meeting an obstruction. Many systems manufactured prior to 1982 may stop but not reverse, these older systems should be upgraded. Today, some form of external entrapment protection is required. An electric eye is the most common system used. If your garage door opener does not have an electric eye system, you may be able to upgrade it without replacing the entire system.

Emergency release: During a power failure the garage door may be impossible to open. Most automatic garage door openers have an emergency release to disengage the garage door from the opener. Once disengaged, you can open the door by hand. It is usually a short rope hanging from the unit. Pulling the rope disengages the door from the automatic door opening mechanism.

Read more helpful tips in our May 2016 edition of ePostNotes.

Food and soap scum can really gunk up a dishwasher. Cleaning the dishwasher isn’t something we tend to think of, but debris builds up over time which reduces its performance. Here are a few tips that’ll help keep your dishwasher in tip-top shape:

1. Get rid of Gunk - Clean the filter to get rid of caked on food and other debris to help with drainage and general cleaning.

2. Clean Up - Pour a cup of white vinegar into your dishwasher to wash away grease, grime and calcium deposits.

3. Freshen Up - Sprinkle a cup of baking soda along the bottom of your dishwasher then run it on a short, hot cycle.

4. Accessories - Don’t forget about the racks and cutlery baskets as they can also accumulate grease and food pieces.

Read more helpful tips in our May 2016 edition of ePostNotes.

You’ve been hearing about “going green” and how you can help the environment while protecting your family from toxins. But too often, that has meant paying more for everyday necessities. Here are some ways to go green without breaking the bank.

Sweeten your house with beeswax. Many scented candles are made with chemicals that, when burned, emit toxins into the air, including cancer-causing carcinogens.

Experts advise buying pure beeswax candles. They have a sweet nontoxic scent, and create negative ions, neutralizing impurities in the air. They last five times longer than regular candles.

Filter air without a filter. Indoor pollution levels can be more than 100 times higher than outdoor levels, particularly when the windows are closed. While a HEPA filter can clean your air, they can cost over $100 each. The typical houseplant can remove up to 87% of indoor air toxins within 24 hours. The most effective ones are spider plants, mums and Gerbera daisies.

Plug in everything here. Your phone charger, computer, iPod docking station, DVD player; all sap electricity whenever they are plugged in, even if they are not in use. The average home has 30 of these devices consuming energy right now - padding the monthly electric bill as much as 15%.

Get back more than $100 a year just by plugging them into a power strip. Simply shut off the power strip with a single flip of a button.

These quick tips from the National Safety Council are geared to keep you safe in and around your bathroom.

1. 1. Use non-slip bathmats or appliques in the shower.
   2. Prevent trips by purchasing an adhesive, non-slip rug mat.
   3. Make the entrance to the shower or bathtub easily accessible with a bath step or a walk-in tub.
   4. Install grab bars by the toilet to assist in safely getting up and down.
   5. Plug in nightlights in and around the bathroom.
   6. Switch to liquid soap or soap-on-a-rope to avoid reaching and bending over.
   7. Add a hand-held shower nozzle.
   8. Make sure the shower door swings outward in case of a fall.

For more hsome maintenance tips and ideas, read our March 2016 edition of ePostNotes, ePostNotes.