How To Clean Anything

We all know what water damage can do to your homes exterior, but it really hurts when the water makes its way into your house.

The exact thing just happened to me and caused me to pull up roughly 200 Sq/ft of hardwood floor to dry out my basement.

I really did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a gutter guard system and being a resourceful (cheap) guy it I knew deep in my gut I could come up with a much cheaper system.

This is the system I came up with. Now this system comes with all the usual disclaimers attached and as always, take any info dredged from the internet with a cautious eye. So far it is working fine but time will be the ultimate judge.

Let’s get on to it…..

Start out with a product called Gutter Guard, If you can’t find the exact brand I’m sure you can find others I’m sure stores like Home Depot have others Basically its a 6 in wide by 20 ft long with plastic mesh.

So I came up with this..

Roll the mesh into a tube as described below, you can use either Zap Straps or twist ties if you are stuck.

This will create a tube that is about 1 1/2″ wide. Just make the the length of the gutter you are protecting.

****another good idea is to put the wire mesh bulb in the drain hole as this help keep the leaves out.

NOW WHAT!!!!

Well the next part is pretty easy , just place the tube in the gutter and secure it down somehow, I just used metal strapping I had lying around as this was an after thought for me.

The whole concept is based on the thought that as long as there is at least a tunnel leading to the drain hole then then I should be able to avoid more overflowing gutters. Of course the best method is just keeping them clean. I was caught this year unprepared. I have many broad leafed trees that did a major dump during a wind storm and they completely filled some of my gutters, water streamed down the wall and right into a basement door.

Hopefully this little tip may help, I don’t claim to be an expert on gutters but this was a very cheap system and hopefully it may help you also.

We all know what water damage can do to your homes exterior, but it really hurts when the water makes its way into your house.The exact thing just happened to me and caused me to pull up roughly 200 Sq/ft of hardwood floor to dry out my basement.I really did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a gutter guard system and being a resourceful (cheap) guy it I knew deep in my gut I could come up with a much cheaper system.This is the system I came up with. Now this system comes with all the usual disclaimers attached and as always, take any info dredged from the internet with a cautious eye. So far it is working fine but time will be the ultimate judge.Let get on to it…..Start out with a product called Gutter Guard, If you can’t find the exact brand I’m sure you can find others I’m sure stores like Home Depot have others Basically its a 6 in wide by 20 ft long with plastic mesh.The way this is supposed to be used is would not work with me as I have hidden gutters and they are much wider then conventional gutters. So I had to create a new system.So I came up with this..Roll the mesh into a tube as described below, you can use either Zap Straps or twist ties if you are stuck. This will create a tube that is about 1 1/2″ wide. Just make the the length of the gutter you are protecting. ****another good idea is to put the wire mesh bulb in the drain hole as this help keep the leaves out.NOW WHAT!!!!Well the next part is pretty easy , just place the tube in the gutter and secure it down somehow, I just used metal strapping I had lying around as this was an after thought for me.The whole concept is based on the thought that as long as there is at least a tunnel leading to the drain hole then then I should be able to avoid more overflowing gutters. Of course the best method is just keeping them clean. I was caught this year unprepared. I have many broad leafed trees that did a major dump during a wind storm and they completely filled some of my gutters, water streamed down the wall and right into a basement door.Hopefully this little tip may help, I don’t claim to be an expert on gutters but this was a very cheap system and hopefully it may help you als

Stop Dirt In Its Tracks

Did you know that over 95% of all dirt found in your house comes from outside? Soil, dust, pollen, air pollution and many other sources get into your house and cause an endless cycle of cleaning, dusting and vacuuming. If it seems that you’re continually losing this battle to the elements why not do something proactive? We suggest you enlist the following three lines of defense!

First:

Keep the outside of your house as clean as possible. Does it not make sense to keep as much dirt as you can in the great outdoors before it enters your house? We can achieve this quite easily by keeping the areas near any entrances free of sand, dirt, small rocks and debris which is easily tracked into your house. By sweeping and cleaning your sidewalks, driveway, patio, porch, etc., on a regular basis, you will prevent a lot of indoor ‘after the fact’ cleaning.

Second:

Use entrance mats. Did you know that a good quality entrance mat can capture as much as a pound of dirt per square foot? This is much easier to remove from a mat than when it is spread through out your house. Use as many large, good quality, mats as possible, both indoors and outside. Also, clean them often and thoroughly.

Third:

Capture the dirt completely on the first effort. What this means is to use tools and procedures that collect and don’t just scatter dust and dirt. High filtration vacuum bags, treated dusters and dust mops, clean rags, clean wash water, clean wet mops : all these will make your cleaning more effective and longer lasting. Stopping dirt in its tracks is easier if you use the three lines of defense!