News Release: Lowndes County November 13, 2014

Lowndes County, Ga. Due to the arrival of cooler temperatures, Lowndes County would like to remind citizens to take precautions necessary to protect themselves and their pets from the elements. Lowndes County Fire Chief, Richard Guyton, encourages citizens to follow safety standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in order to safely heat homes. According to the NFPA, Heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths. Please follow these simple tips to keep your family safe during cooler months:

Special attention should also be paid to pets as temperatures begin to drop. Lowndes County Animal Welfare Officers are prepared to ticket citizens with pets kept in conditions that do not meet the minimum standards of care outlined in city and county Animal Welfare Ordinances.

Pet owners are required to provide adequate food, water and shelter at all times. During periods of cold weather, a little extra food for animals that must remain outside will provide the calories their bodies need to keep warm. Animals can still become dehydrated in cooler temperatures; a constant supply of clean drinking water is required by the local ordinances. In addition, pets left outside must be provided with proper shelter and bedding which is normally defined by a house type shelter and bedding manufactured for pet use. Common examples of shelter methods that DO NOT meet local ordinances include:

Attention to detail and the appropriate preparedness measures will ensure the safety of all Lowndes County citizens as temperatures begin to dip over the next few months.

Read the original here:
Cooler Temperatures: Please Keep People and Pets Safe

The first hard freeze has hit Texoma. While you're preparing your home, appliances, and vehicles for the winter air you also need to prepare your water well systems.

There are a number of problems that can occur if you do not properly winterize your pumping system, those problems can start with parts of your system freezing up with water inside. If the pipes burst you could be faced with water flowing from your system down your streets.

However, the well's themselves are not at risk of freezing up because they are underground, but anything sticking out of the ground could possibly cost you if you do not take the right steps to prepare.

The first way to do it is turn off the power to your above ground equipment, pull the plugs and disconnect certain pipes where you can, said Michael Kussavage, Contracts and Operations Manager at AOC Environmental, Inc.

It's recommended to shut down your system for the season, until the warm weather returns. However, if you do want to leave your well up and running you need to make sure you winterize accordingly.

Your second option is you could leave it all together and everything operational, but you have to fully insulate it, said Kussavage. This means wrapping blankets and special tapes around all above ground equipment so the pipes don't freeze and burst.

The best way is to install a well house, said Kussavage. It's basically a small little shed that goes over all your equipment.

Inside the shed you would put a little light bulb, or small heater. You would leave either of those in the shed during cold days. The heat that generates from those appliances would need to be strong enough to keep the temperatures inside from reaching the freezing mark.

Officials at AOC Environment, Inc said if you have any part of your well above ground you need to take those winterizing steps. If you have a well with all electrical wiring and pipes below ground, you will not have to winterize.

For more information on what you need to do to keep your water well from being harmed by the winter freezes you can contact Michael Kussavage at (940)692-8989, or you can head to the website http://www.aocenvironmental.com .

Read the rest here:
Winterize Water Well

By NAPSNovember 7, 2014 12:00 am

Homeowners can prepare for cold weather by taking simple energy efficiency measures that will reduce energy consumption and heating bills.

What You Can Do

Install and set a programmable thermostat. Homeowners can save an estimated 10 percent per year on heating costs by using a programmable thermostat and setting the heat to run only when theyre home.

Use sunlight to your advantage. During winter months, take advantage of sunlight by opening curtains during the day to allow the sun to naturally heat your home.

Reduce energy for water heating. Water heating accounts for roughly 14 to 18 percent of most home utility bills. Reduce costs by making sure your water heater is set no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit and wrapping a water heater jacket around it if its more than five years old.

Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape clear plastic film to the inside of your window frames. Make sure the plastic is sealed tightly to the frame to help reduce infiltration.

Install tight-fitting, insulating drapes or shades on windows that feel drafty after weatherizing.

When using the oven, resist the temptation to open the door to check on a dishs progress. Every time you do, the temperature inside is reduced by as much as 25 degrees, forcing it to work even harder (and use more energy) to get back to the proper cooking temperature.

Read the original here:
Top cold weather home efficiency tips

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A list of tips prepared by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management for preparing for a winter storm:

.Discuss with your family what to do if a winter storm watch or warning is issued.

.Ensure your family knows meeting places and phone numbers of other family members in case they are separated when a winter storm hits.

.Know what to do if basic services such as water, gas, electricity or telephones are cut off for an extended period of time.

.Understand the hazards of wind chill. Cold temperatures are even more dangerous, and potentially deadly, when combined with strong winds. The lower the temperature and stronger the wind, the more at risk you are.

.Check on family, friends and neighbors, especially the elderly. Make sure they are prepared.

.Plan to bring pets inside during winter weather. Move livestock to sheltered areas with non-frozen drinking water.

.Install and check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

.Let faucets drip to avoid freezing and know how to shut off water valves if necessary.

.Have an alternate heating method such as fireplace or wood or coal burning stove. Always be cautious using a portable space heater.

See original here:
Tips for preparing for Oklahoma winter storm

State High Efficiency Water Heater Install with Richardson Plumbing
Description.

By: PepcoSales

See the original post:
State High Efficiency Water Heater Install with Richardson Plumbing - Video

AVON, N.Y. -- Nearly 10 fire departments were needed to help with a barn fire in the Livingston County town of Avon late Thursday night.

The East Avon fire chief said the fire was spotted by a passerby driving on Route 5 and 20. The barn on Jenks Road housed machinery and compost. Fire investigators said an engine block heater that was being used caught fire.

The chief said the biggest challenge was bringing water to the scene, but he said all the departments were ready to fight the fire.

"We have trained in this scenario several times this year. Obviously we had the practice last week in Caledonia. We've had quite a few fires in this part of the county, so we've been at this quite a bit this year," said Chris Batzel, East Avon Fire Chief.

No one was injured but the building is destroyed.

Continue reading here:
Engine Block Heater to Blame for Avon Barn Fire

By Derek Carson

dcarson@ benningtonbanner.com @DerekCarsonBB on Twitter

Efficiency Vermont director Jim Merriam fields questions from Bennington county residents

BENNINGTON>> Efficiency Vermont hosted the fourth in its series of forums across the state in Bennington on Wednesday, hoping to learn from the community what they are doing well, and what they could do better.

The program's director, Jim Merriam, was on hand to answer questions and take comments from about 30 area residents. Efficiency Vermont is hosting these forums to hear opinions from the community regarding how they could improve their organization before the start of their next budget cycle, which runs from 2015 through 2017.

Efficiency Vermont is an organization, funded by the state of Vermont through a surcharge in customers energy bills, that has been charged by the legislature with reducing the cost of energy for all Vermonters. The organization, which is operated by the private non-profit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, goes about achieving this goal in a variety of ways, including giving advice to homeowners and small businesses, educating students, weatherizing homes, and

Attendees expressed numerous concerns to Merriam and his team, and after the forum's conclusion, Merriam said two of the biggest takeaways he had from Bennington had been that Efficiency Vermont needs to ensure that there are sufficient contractors in the area who are able to understand and install more efficient ways of heating and providing electricity for homes, and that the general public needs to be better educated on energy efficiency. He said each town so far had had its own unique concerns and observations. In St. Albans, for example, most of the residents involved in the forum had been for generating savings for small businesses, while in Barre, much of the concern was focused on supporting agencies that provide weatherization for low-income families.

"A lot of people might not understand," said Merriam, "we're a regulated public utility, just like Green Mountain Power." Efficiency Vermont is regulated by the Vermont Public Service Board, who gives them goals that they must achieve by the end of their budget cycle, or they will lose funding next time. Merriam said that among the goals that had been handed down to them for this current cycle, Efficiency Vermont must generate $336.3 million in economic benefits for the state, generate 321,800 megawatt hour savings, "deliver high quality services for low income Vermonters," and show "increased focus on reducing heating costs for small businesses." Merriam said the organization would reach all of these goals easily, and pointed out, "For every dollar in, we have to generate almost $2 back in value to Vermonters. You won't see a credit on your bill, but you will see a lesser increase, or hopefully no increase at all."

As Merriam noted, one of the biggest complaints Bennington residents had was how few area contractors are trained or willing to do the work that Efficiency Vermont recommends. "You guys were really great," said one man to Merriam, who had been seeking advice on installing a heat pump water heater in his home, "but I'm very frustrated that it took me over a year to get this all together," noting that many area contractors tried to talk him out of the more energy efficient method in favor of more traditional methods, and some refused to install the heater all together. The products themselves were also hard to come by, he said, as many local distributors didn't carry the most efficient brands.

"That gentleman's point really rings true, about the contractors," said another woman, who said that she as well had done her research on what the most energy efficient option was for her home, only to have a local plumber try to talk her out of it.

Excerpt from:
Efficiency Vermont forum visits Bennington

A few years back at the International Hardware Show, we found a product that will take oil out of concrete - at least thats what they said.

All the cleaners up until then really didnt do a very good job. So I told the show rep to send us a gallon and we would try it out. He also said that the cleaner would work on asphalt, and that it comes in 55 gallons drums for convenience store parking lots.

I gave that gallon to Trudy to use in her garage. She had bought a house that was 20 years old and had existing oil stains in the garage and if the product would clean her stains, it would clean any oil stain.

She used Drive Up in a small hand sprayer and sprayed the stain. She sprayed the stain every 15 minutes for a hour. Then the last time she sprayed the stain, Trudy gave it a quick scrub with a broom and rinsed with water and it worked! Not only did it work, it worked great.

We have had great success with Drive Up and you can too. The nice part about Drive Up is that it is non-caustic and you dont have to worry about damage to surrounding landscaping. It made Trudys garage smell like an orange grove. So you dont have to worry about wearing a mask.

Now while we are on the subject of cleaning, there is another product that we have had for a while that is called Rust Remover. Its made by Goo Off. But why we like it is that it removes lime deposits without scrubbing. No other product can say that. So if you have white stains on brick from the sprinkler, this is the product to use. Once all your stains are gone from the concrete, then clean all the surface with 30 Second Outdoor Cleaner. Now with the surface clean, protect it Drylock Wetlook. It will give you a surface that will resist staining and you be able to clean easier. You can do this in a weekend. You will have the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood. And who wouldnt want that?

Now to the email

Question: I bought an older home at a great price. The only thing wrong is the sliding glass door is really heavy and jumps when you try to open and close it. I dont want to install a new door because the opening is not standard and besides being difficult to open and close, it is just fine. So do you have any ideas on how to make this a better door?

Answer: I had the same thing happen to me at a lake house I bought. The door opening was bigger than any door opening I have ever seen. It jumped and dragged and made using the door a big ordeal. So we cleaned the track (it was real dirty) and sprayed a lubricant like no other. Its called Tri Flow. Its very different than other lubricants because it doesnt attract dirt and dust. Its the dirt and dust that will keep the track from rolling smoothly. Tri Flow is PTFE Teflon based and we like to call it liquid ball bearing. You can use it on mirror doors, sliding glass doors, drawer slides, hinges and anything else that is giving you problems. Now if the track is bent, you can install a new cap over the track. Just straighten out the old track with a pair of pliers and snap the new stainless steel track right on top.

Question: Johnnie, a while back you talked on the radio about an alarm for detecting leaks. I am trying to remember what the name is so I can get one for my attic hot water heater. The same thing happened to me that happened to you. But, I am not letting it happen again. A $5,000 leak was a little expensive. I am putting these alarms on every sink and toilet upstairs.

Read more:
HAPPY HANDYMAN: Drive Up will give you the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood

By Johnnie Chuoke

A few years back at the International Hardware Show, we found a product that will take oil out of concrete at least thats what they said.

All the cleaners up until then really didnt do a very good job. So I told the show rep to send us a gallon and we would try it out. He also said that the cleaner would work on asphalt, and that it comes in 55 gallons drums for convenience store parking lots.

I gave that gallon to Trudy to use in her garage. She had bought a house that was 20 years old and had existing oil stains in the garage and if the product would clean her stains, it would clean any oil stain.

She used Drive Up in a small hand sprayer and sprayed the stain. She sprayed the stain every 15 minutes for a hour. Then the last time she sprayed the stain, Trudy gave it a quick scrub with a broom and rinsed with water and it worked! Not only did it work, it worked great.

We have had great success with Drive Up and you can too. The nice part about Drive Up is that it is non-caustic and you dont have to worry about damage to surrounding landscaping. It made Trudys garage smell like an orange grove. So you dont have to worry about wearing a mask.

Now while we are on the subject of cleaning, there is another product that we have had for a while that is called Rust Remover. Its made by Goo Off. But why we like it is that it removes lime deposits without scrubbing. No other product can say that. So if you have white stains on brick from the sprinkler, this is the product to use.

Once all your stains are gone from the concrete, then clean all the surface with 30 Second Outdoor Cleaner. Now with the surface clean, protect it Drylock Wetlook. It will give you a surface that will resist staining and you be able to clean easier. You can do this in a weekend. You will have the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood. And who wouldnt want that?

Question: I bought an older home at a great price. The only thing wrong is the sliding glass door is really heavy and jumps when you try to open and close it. I dont want to install a new door because the opening is not standard and besides being difficult to open and close, it is just fine. So do you have any ideas on how to make this a better door?

Answer: I had the same thing happen to me at a lake house I bought. The door opening was bigger than any door opening I have ever seen. It jumped and dragged and made using the door a big ordeal. So we cleaned the track (it was real dirty) and sprayed a lubricant like no other. Its called Tri Flow. Its very different than other lubricants because it doesnt attract dirt and dust. Its the dirt and dust that will keep the track from rolling smoothly. Tri Flow is PTFE Teflon based and we like to call it liquid ball bearing. You can use it on mirror doors, sliding glass doors, drawer slides, hinges and anything else that is giving you problems. Now if the track is bent, you can install a new cap over the track. Just straighten out the old track with a pair of pliers and snap the new stainless steel track right on top.

Link:
Drive Up will give you the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood

A few years back at the International Hardware Show, we found a product that will take oil out of concrete at least thats what they said.

All the cleaners up until then really didnt do a very good job. So I told the show rep to send us a gallon and we would try it out. He also said that the cleaner would work on asphalt, and that it comes in 55 gallons drums for convenience store parking lots.

I gave that gallon to Trudy to use in her garage. She had bought a house that was 20 years old and had existing oil stains in the garage and if the product would clean her stains, it would clean any oil stain.

She used Drive Up in a small hand sprayer and sprayed the stain. She sprayed the stain every 15 minutes for a hour. Then the last time she sprayed the stain, Trudy gave it a quick scrub with a broom and rinsed with water and it worked! Not only did it work, it worked great.

We have had great success with Drive Up and you can too. The nice part about Drive Up is that it is non-caustic and you dont have to worry about damage to surrounding landscaping. It made Trudys garage smell like an orange grove. So you dont have to worry about wearing a mask.

Now while we are on the subject of cleaning, there is another product that we have had for a while that is called Rust Remover. Its made by Goo Off. But why we like it is that it removes lime deposits without scrubbing. No other product can say that. So if you have white stains on brick from the sprinkler, this is the product to use.

Once all your stains are gone from the concrete, then clean all the surface with 30 Second Outdoor Cleaner. Now with the surface clean, protect it Drylock Wetlook. It will give you a surface that will resist staining and you be able to clean easier. You can do this in a weekend. You will have the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood. And who wouldnt want that?

Question: I bought an older home at a great price. The only thing wrong is the sliding glass door is really heavy and jumps when you try to open and close it. I dont want to install a new door because the opening is not standard and besides being difficult to open and close, it is just fine. So do you have any ideas on how to make this a better door?

Answer: I had the same thing happen to me at a lake house I bought. The door opening was bigger than any door opening I have ever seen. It jumped and dragged and made using the door a big ordeal. So we cleaned the track (it was real dirty) and sprayed a lubricant like no other. Its called Tri Flow. Its very different than other lubricants because it doesnt attract dirt and dust. Its the dirt and dust that will keep the track from rolling smoothly. Tri Flow is PTFE Teflon based and we like to call it liquid ball bearing. You can use it on mirror doors, sliding glass doors, drawer slides, hinges and anything else that is giving you problems. Now if the track is bent, you can install a new cap over the track. Just straighten out the old track with a pair of pliers and snap the new stainless steel track right on top.

Question: Johnnie, a while back you talked on the radio about an alarm for detecting leaks. I am trying to remember what the name is so I can get one for my attic hot water heater. The same thing happened to me that happened to you. But, I am not letting it happen again. A $5,000 leak was a little expensive. I am putting these alarms on every sink and toilet upstairs.

Original post:
HAPPY HANDYMAN: Drive Up gives you the cleanest garage floor in the neighborhood