Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

The worlds top banks are sending hundreds of staff to disaster recovery sites in preparation for coronavirus outbreaks, Financial Times reports.

JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs have reportedly tested sites in London and the US recently, spreading staff between head offices and off-site locations to ensure a single coronavirus incident doesnt cripple their ability to trade.

[Read:Morgan Stanleys $13B E-Trade buyout is the biggest bank deal since the financial crash]

Citigroup has even gone so far as to install extra screens in employees homes so that they resemble a trading floor, FTs sources said.

It comes under our judgment the decision has got to be made every day, one source told reporters. These are pretty extreme contingency plans []. Its unlikely to happen, but its possible.

Working from home while an option for many bank workers could be a problem for traders who require the ability to instantly open and close positions. Senior bank execs are reportedly concerned their children could slow down their internet connections by streaming Netflix while schools are closed.

Some disaster recovery sites are said to be lacking in appropriate infrastructure to fulfil regulatory requirements, such as telephone lines that can be reported, leading some banks to push for flexibility as the situation unfolds.

Published March 4, 2020 16:22 UTC

Link:
Banks are turning homes into trading floors to prep for coronavirus outbreaks - The Next Web

My wife and I were worried. Before our baby arrived in early February, we took frequent road trips up and down the eastern seaboard. That meant lots of driving, with lots of stops. Hauling a growing infant, strapped into a car seat, in and out of vehicles is a fairly hard-core workout, especially with my wife recovering from a C-section. So we needed the right gear baby gear to keep our newly-formed trio mobile. The solution: The ultra-portable 8 pound Nuna Pipa car seat, a sleek, AAP-approved safety carrier thats the most lightweight rear-facing car seat on the market. We clip Cleo in. We hoist her out. And we do so without needing to see an orthopedist.

The list of AAP-approved car seats is long, but so were our requirements. And the Pipa punches way above its admittedly low weight. Its made without the use of fire-retardant chemicals, which the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has linked to endocrine, developmental, and neurological problems. Any reduction in potential chemical exposure was a plus in our book. And the car seat has serious side-impact protection, and installs quickly, thanks to the brands true lock system. The car seat clicks into place, and youre done.

This 8-pound car seat takes seconds to install, and is made without the use of any fire retardants.

It has a sun-blocking dream drape, to make sure your baby stays asleep and isnt bothered by mother nature or germ-wielding looky-loos, and a mesh peek-a-boo window so we could gaze upon the wonder that is our child. Theres an infant insert that is removable and washable. And if youre taking a cab, as we often do, you can use it with a seatbelt, without having to buy an extra base. The car seat can be used for babies from 4 to 35 pounds.

Before I became acquainted with the Pipa, I had always assumed a baby would weigh us down, but the Nuna accessories have proven to be nearly weightless. The Pipa car seat out of the base weighs 8 pounds, and with the 7-pound baby Cleo in it, that amounted to a manageable 15-pound load for me and, more importantly, my wife, who had undergone a C-section.

But heres the thing: Despite its very light load, the Pipa is made from aerospace aluminum and the shell is made from foam; it has a crumple zone within the stability leg that absorbs impact in the event of a crash. The Pipa has a heavy-duty shell with excellent side collision protection, its 20-pound base is constructed like a Sherman tank and has a thick stability leg.

Now, to be clear, Nuna makes an even lighter car seat, called the Lite, and it weighs 5.3 pounds. However, thats without the canopy or insert. So we opted for the very slightly heavier option, since the canopy is pretty critical for protecting the kiddo from the sun.

One last thing worth noting: Were new parents and by definition, were paranoid. Or vigilant, if you want to be polite. So Im happy to report that attaching the Pipa base was simple. The back of the base connected to the brackets in the passenger seat of our SUV the middle seat in our vehicle doesnt have those brackets, despite recommendations online to use the middle seat when placing car seats, so we chose to put the base where the brackets wereand the stability leg popped out and fit securely on the floor.

The leg has an indicator that signals green when the placement is correct, and the base has a built-in level that shows when it is even. The install took a few minutes, with me following along with a Nuna install how-to video (there are many) from YouTube. I then took the added step of driving it to the local fire department, where a firefighter verified that the installation was done correctly. And now, we pop the car seat in, and Cleo is ready to ride.

Every product on Fatherly is independently selected by our editors, writers, and experts. If you click a link on our site and buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

View original post here:
The Nuna Pipa is the Toughest Lightweight Car Seat and It's a Tank - Fatherly

WATERTOWN With the project sitting idle for months, work will resume this summer on restoring the exterior of the historic Masonic Temple building on Washington Street.

The owners will focus on two big projects restoring the front portico and installing an elevator in the landmark at 242 Washington St.

Work also will include repairing the soffit, the overhang near the roof thats now covered by netting to prevent pieces of the building to fall from above.

The project has been stalled while owners Augusta Withington and Robert J. Campany, who co-own Fourth Coast Inc., a renewable energy company in Clayton, figure out how to go about completing the exterior work.

Youre going to see some activity there this summer, Mr. Campany said,

For months, orange scaffolding has surrounded one of the six fluted Doric columns on the front of the Greek Neoclassical style building after workers carefully removed its outer layer last year.

The owners are working with the state Historic Preservation Office, or SHIPO, on finalizing the drawings for the project. Theyre also looking at what type of material should be used to restore the columns at the front of the building, he said.

Last week, Mr. Campany met with Carolyn Meunier, the citys code enforcement supervisor, and City Engineer Michael DeLaney about the project. Fourth Coast officials wanted to get feedback on plans to possibly install the elevator within the buildings footprint.

Mrs. Meunier said shes excited about the project. I think its a beautiful building, she said. I think its great theyre going to be working on it.

The project was one of the recipients of the citys $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative program. The Masonic Temple was awarded $2.2 million in DRI funding and $500,000 each in the states Restore NY and Consolidated Funding Application programs.

While the facade work will resume this summer, Mr. Campany stressed that the $10 million to turn the building into multiuse performance and event venue is a multiyear project.

Plans also call for turning the basement into some kind of food business and possibly creating loft apartments in the former gym on the third floor. The first floor has professional offices, with The Tunes 92.5 FM WBLH radio station and a handful of other tenants now occupying space on the main floor.

He would not speculate how long it will take to complete the entire project, saying it will depend on the availability of additional funding.

State DRI folks have not been pressuring Fourth Coast to get the Masonic Temple project done, Mr. Campany said.

I think everyone is anxious for it to begin, said Michael A. Lumbis, the citys planning and community development director.

The Masonic Temple is one of 10 DRI projects getting funding. The projects are in varying stages of planning to completion.

Read more:
Exterior work on Masonic Temple building to resume this summer - NNY360

A plate is dually useful, holding food or church collections, and so, too, is the cup, at once a trophy and a grail. But the vase has always simply held flowers, the vessel and its mate inseparable. Inside, greens stand upright, just as they grow in the fields, the reservoir of water at the bottom a magic trick that prolongs the illusion of life.

But what if the bouquet breaks free to snake up the edge of a door, lies on the tile floor like a thick, knotted carpet or gathers above our heads an unruly poof of twisted, thorny stems and palm fronds laced improbably with purplish-black hydrangea like a stop-motion explosion, miraculous and disorienting? What if we allow flowers to transmogrify into a sculptural medium like clay or marble or steel, unique in their ephemerality but ultimately just another organic formation?

I almost cant remember the time when I was a slave to the vase, says Ruby Barber, 31, among the floral artists who have in recent years rendered the word arrangement quaint. The daughter of contemporary art gallerists, Barber moved from her native Sydney, Australia, in 2012 to Berlin, where, in her studio, Mary Lennox, she often crafts monumental Rorschach-like installations that seem not merely to defy gravity but to openly taunt it: armfuls of dried pampas grass, amaranth and loopy hops that hang from hooks on the ceiling; a geyser of translucent lunaria seedpods glinting like silver dollars in place of a chandelier in a Paris apartment; a staircase banister wrapped with cherry and orange boughs braided with Queen Annes lace. While she works with fresh flowers in the spring and summer, Barber finds herself increasingly using dried materials; their stiffness lends itself to abstraction and frees her from using imported commercial flowers from the Netherlands or China in the autumn and winter. More and more, people want something that can be reused and have another life, she says. I have hardly been asked to do a regular table centerpiece lately, which I think is indicative of change in the air.

It makes a certain sense that the once ubiquitous symmetrical dome of roses, clonelike in its perfection, seems to have vanished. Lets face it, they were like a salon blowout, says Alex Eagle, who often features Barbers concoctions in her eponymous clothing and furniture boutique in Berlin. The demise of conventional floristry has been hastened as well by the rejection of toxic floral foam; its replacements chicken wire or recycled coconut husks have spurred creativity. At a recent dinner Eagle hosted at her London home, the florist Simone Gooch of Fjura placed rose plants in large cubes of exposed soil at the center of the table, their roots fanning out in all directions. They were so transfixing, so beautiful to look at. Afterwards, I took them and planted them in my garden, Eagle says.

Social media is behind some of this change, of course, altering how we perceive beauty, freezing it in place, giving an afterlife to a cluster of blossoms that might wilt overnight, but floral artists have also tapped into an inchoate desire in recent times to cultivate imperfection and even a touch of chaos. As the world beyond seems to spin out of control, we try to soothe ourselves for a while with the illusion of order and symmetry. But at a certain point, we simply let go.

Violeta Gladstone, 40, whose floral studio is in Barcelona, Spain, appreciates the raw geometries of the artist Richard Serra, whose recent series of sculptures, exhibited at Gagosian in New Yorks Chelsea neighborhood last fall, featured 50-ton forged steel cylinders of varying heights and diameters. You want strength and courage in your forms, says Gladstone, who listens to Chet Baker and Claude Debussy, among others, as she works, letting their riffs inspire her floral imagery. For an installation last year, she stacked philosophy books amid a jungle of magnolia leaves, grasses and snapdragons, punctuating the scene with newly sprouted grape hyacinth bulbs caked with dirt, like tiny purple pearls in the wreckage. In another of her arrangements, a mass of tissue-petaled ivory peonies is disrupted by an alabaster anthurium, its spadix jutting up from the flowers platelike surface.

Are there limits to floral abstraction, as the vase recedes further and further into the distance? Perhaps only those of nature; the New York-based floral designer Emily Thompson, 46, a pioneer of sculptural interpretation, cautions us not to stray too far from what makes a flower bloom: a source of water. Flowers, she says, remind us of what it takes to sustain life. At the Pool, one of two restaurants inside the landmarked Philip Johnson-designed space that was once the Four Seasons, her massive revolving installation was erected for nearly a year in the dining rooms 14-by-14-foot pool, transforming it into a giant vase. Like a volcano, it seemed to spit forth its arrangement: a 14-foot-high foundation of gloriously twisted mountain laurel branches covered in lichen, wrapped in foraged invasive greenbrier vines. Each week, Thompson altered its identity, dappling the mass with local flowering quince, velvet philodendrons or autumn foliage and berries, depending on the season. The flowers spilled, they climbed, they drenched one another. There is a balance between pushing the boundaries of art and retaining identity, the very essence of what makes flowers so powerful, Thompson says. Its as much a moral question as an aesthetic one.

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How Floral Arrangements Began to Take Over the Table and the Entire Room - The New York Times

When you walk through the doors at Station Gallery in Whitby, Ont., you're immediately hit with a warm, creamy scent emanating from the inner gallery. It might not be obvious when you see it, but artist Noni Kaur's brightly coloured installation is made using 200lbs of pure desiccated coconut.

Her exhibition "Microbial Feasts" has taken over Station Gallery, and includes her multimedia works, windowcoverings, and the show-stopping coconut installation that covers almost the entire floor of one room.

Kaur has created her coconut installations around the world, from Tokyo to Havana (you can also currently find another one at the Ottawa School of Art until March 28) and no two installations are ever the same. "What you see here is only going to be shown in this space and every time the work is shown in a different space it takes on a different form," she explains.

The installation references the tradition of rangoli where colourful designs in rice, sand, pigment or flowers decorate floors in homes and public spaces. Rangoli is practiced in India and Singapore, where Kaur grew up, but she has put her own mark on the practice by using coconut and her signature abstract designs.

"It takes a long long process for it to even get to this stage," says Kaur. She uses her own formulas to hand-dye the coconut for maximum saturation. After several weeks, when the coconut is completely dry, she spends hours pouring out the design on the floor of her installation space.

The design evokes the female reproductive system, and like the human body, it breaks down as time goes on. The show will be up for almost two months (until March 22, 2020), and Kaur welcomes bacteria and decay to take over the coconut hence the name "microbial feasts."

When the exhibition is over, Kaur sweeps up the coconut and moves on to the next show. The installation is ephemeral just like life.

See the rest here:
You'll never guess what this installation is made of...until you smell it - CBC.ca

City officials are one step closer to giving the nod for interior renovation work to begin at Blackshears historic train depot, but theres still one hurdle to navigate revision of the citys alcohol ordinance.

The city council will need to consider a revision to its alcohol ordinance to potentially allow for alcoholic beverages to be served at events in the depot, if the former freight depot is renovated as an event venue for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings.

If theres any issues about the lack of alcohol service in this building, if it wouldnt get passed, you can forget doing this, says Angela Manders, Chamber of Commerce executive director. Thats got to pass before we ever start on (the renovation).

Larry Jones, architect with Valdosta-based firm Ellis, Ricket and Associates, agrees.

Last week, Jones told a committee of council members and city department heads tasked with researching the renovation project at a meeting the ability to serve alcohol at events would be the number one question people interested in renting the space will ask.

Mayor Kevin Grissom appointed Manders, council members Corey Lesseig and Charles Broady, Better Hometown Manager Bethany Strickland and Police Chief Chris Wright to a committee several months ago tasked with researching the renovation project. The committee, except for Broady, met with Jones last Thursday to review project plans his firm created several years ago when the exterior of the depot was renovated. That work was completed in 2017.

Councilman Keith Brooks, Industrial Development Authority Director Matt Carter, Mayor Kevin Grissom and City Clerk Jenny Grant also attended the meeting.

Lesseig and Brooks indicated they would have the alcohol ordinance revision placed on the councils work session agenda for Monday, March 2. (See related story).

Well know by Tuesday how its going to go, Lesseig told the group.

Blackshear could potentially model their ordinance after the City of Patterson. Their ordinance allows for alcohol to be served at events held in Eagle Station, one of the most-booked event venues in Pierce County.

Should the renovation work proceed, it would also include renovation of the Chamber of Commerce and IDA offices housed in the front section of the depot as well. The committee asked Jones to draft plans for that work to include removing the drop ceiling and restoring the original beat board, pine ceilings above, tearing out the carpet and staining the concrete floor underneath. The renovation would feature exposed ductwork and beams throughout the building.

Well build cross beams that look original to use for duct work, Jones says.

Bathrooms in those offices will be remodeled to meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

Renovations to the freight depot will include construction of bathrooms, a catering kitchen and a mechanical room. Most of the room would be restored as an event space able to accommodate 240 people. Contractors will fill the walls with insulation, cover them in felt, and then install heart pine boards as many of the originals as can be restored over the walls. The boards will be sanded and finished to look like new, Jones says.

The depot floor will also be stabilized with plywood underneath to help absorb the vibration of passing trains, and the cracks between the pine planks sealed before the floor is refurbished. A removable platform will be constructed over the old scales still in their original location on the depot floor and LED lighting that appears to be 19th century period will be installed.

New electrical wiring, HVAC system and technology to accommodate group presentations will also be installed in the depot. The depot will be equipped with Wifi.

Manders and Carter would move their offices temporarily to the newly refurbished depot while renovations to their offices are completed as the second phase of the project.

Jones was not able to provide the committee with a budget estimate for the work last week, but was instructed to draw up two contracts one for the freight depot and one for the Chamber and IDA offices that would include those estimations.

Jones did advise the committee that renovation work moves slowly, and estimated it would take 18 months to renovate the freight depot.

New construction goes real fast. Restoration work goes real slow, he said. A lot of this is hand labor, not just machine work.

A lot of gold youll find when you start tearing out you say, my plans were to tear all this up, but my plans just changed, Jones added.

The city is researching several funding options for the work, including a Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) loan/grant program, and/or interim financing through a local bank. The city also has SPLOST (special purpose local option sales tax) monies allocated for capital improvement projects available.

The train depot exterior renovation was funded through a $250,000 grant that required the city to match $25,000 for a total project cost of $275,000. Exterior renovations, also designed by Jones firm, included a new insulated roof, brick repair and vandalism damage repair, trim paint, skirting around the building. The deck was rebuilt, wheelchair ramp and railings installed.

Ellis, Ricket and Associates specializes in designing historic renovation projects. See photos of other train depots theyve renovated at https://eraarchitects.com/.

Read the original here:
Will Train Depot be restored at last? | News - Blackshear Times

Thyssenkrupp, the German engineering giant, announced last week that it would sell its elevator business to a group of private equity companies for $18.9B more than 2x the value of the entire parent company.

The sale was a last-ditch attempt to turn around years of declining profits.

But it was also the largest private equity deal in Europe since the 2008 financial crisis.

Simple: The market is dominated by an elevator-gopoly that keeps prices at the top floor.

Four companies command more than 60% of the elevator market:

In 2006, these 4 companies (along with rival Mitsubishi Elevator Europe) were found guilty of price fixing. They paid fines but continued to dominate the lucrative lift business.

After years of declining revenue in a struggling German economy, even Thyssenkrupps moneymaking elevators could no longer hold up its other businesses.

Thyssenkrupps debt got so heavy $7.1B on its latest earnings statement that activist investors began to call for the company to sell off its elevator business to pay down debts.

And so they did for $18.9B, or about 2.8x the entire parent companys market cap of $6.7B.

The elevator market is expected to remain strong thanks to increasing construction of tall buildings, particularly across Asia (more than 60% of new elevator installations occur in China).

And as elevators become more complex, giants like Otis have begun to sell subscription-based management services.

That service revenue is going up and fast. In 2018, Otis raked in $12.9B in revenue. The company says 45% of its revenue comes from the sales of new equipment and 55% comes from service.

Read more:
After ups and downs, Thyssenkrupp sells its elevator business at a top-floor price - The Hustle

Do you need to have the HVAC ducts in your home cleaned? (DepositPhotos)

Duct cleaning has become popular in recent years, with commercial cleaning services popping up everywhere. But is the service worth it, or is it a scam? Heres some information to help you decide whether or not your home might benefit from having the HVAC ducts in your house cleaned.

Professional duct cleaning services use specialized blowers, vacuums, and brushes to clean out the supply, intake, and return ducts throughout your home. Duct cleaning should also involve a thorough cleaning of the air handler, registers, grilles, fans, motors, housings, and coils of the HVAC system.

Theres no research at present proving that routine duct cleaning improves the air quality or reduces dust in your home. There is, however, evidence that dirty heating and cooling coils, motors, and air handling units can make your HVAC unit less efficient.

While duct cleaning alone doesnt seem that necessary, there are cases where cleaning the HVAC unit and ductwork could be useful.

Due to growing concerns about indoor air quality, its easy to convince homeowners that their ducts need cleaning. But unless ducts are really dirty, theres no reason to clean them. The EPA takes a similar stance on the issue, recommending cleaning only if the ducts and HVAC unit are contaminated.

If done properly, duct cleaning doesnt hurt; but its not something that needs to be on your regular home maintenance list. You probably dont need to have your ducts and HVAC system cleaned unless:

Originally posted here:
Air Duct Cleaning: Scam or Worth It? - Today's Homeowner

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle, or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca Derendal, owner of Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle, or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca Derendal, owner of Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

A dirty and full dryer vent can cause:

Appliance Inefficiency: the dryer will run longer than necessary.

Wear and Tear: A dryer taking twice as long to dry clothes will cut its lifetime in half and lead to expensive repairs.

Carbon Monoxide: Gas dryers that are not exhausting correctly can cause carbon monoxide in the home.

Obstructions: Nests, dryer sheets, and pieces of clothes tangles with lint blocks the vent.

The most serious consequence of not keeping the dryer vent clean is fire and property damage. A dirty dryer and/or vent can ignite as a result of overheating and overworked safety controls.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration:

2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss.

Failure to clean the dryer (34 percent) is the leading cause of home clothes dryer fires.

More home clothes dryer fires occur in the fall and winter months, peaking in January.

The Consumer Product Safety Commissions safety report, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires, recommends to check the dryer vent and exhaust vent periodically to ensure that exhaust air is completely escaping.

Every vent is installed differently. It can depend on the length of the vent, how many turns and how often the dryer is used every week.

If you use a professional dryer vent cleaning service, there are several different applications depending on how your dryer is situated. The most common technique is with the help of the blower motor and flexible extension rods with a bristle brush on the end. The rods easily navigate several 90 degree turns in your vent line, according to Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts.

This is on a rotor system, so the spin action of the brush really gives the vent a thorough cleaning. The technician will move the rod/brush in and out repeatedly until the vent is clear of lint and obstructions.

The most common way is done from the outside, which keeps your home spotless. This is an extremely effective method to give your dryer vent a clearer passage for the moist hot air to move through.

If you are going to clean the vent yourself, the Consumer Protection Safety Commission recommends the following steps:

Clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying each load of clothes.

Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked. To remove a blockage in the exhaust path, it may be necessary to disconnect the exhaust duct from the dryer. Remember to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and outside vent before using the dryer again.

Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the interior of the dryer chassis periodically to minimize the amount of lint accumulation. Keep the area around the dryer clean and free of clutter.

Replace plastic or foil, accordion-type ducting material with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Most manufacturers specify the use of such metal ducts, which provides maximum airflow. Metal flex ducting is a must as flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and are more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.

Make dryer vent cleaning a regular part of your home maintenance!

Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains. If possible, wash the clothing more than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down period at the end of the cycle. To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Rosies Safety Tip: Do not leave your house while the dryer is running. A fire could easily ignite in the few minutes you are away from home.

For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert since 1988, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8 to 11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and from 7 to 10 a.m. on KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.

Continued here:
Rosie on the House: Cleaning dryer vents more than you think - Green Valley News

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

The clothes dryer is found in almost every home. We use it weekly if not daily. Its main purpose is to take the heat and moisture out of your clothes. If clothing is still damp at the end of a typical drying cycle or drying requires longer times than normal, this may be a sign that the lint screen or the exhaust duct is blocked.

If you are wondering why this article is so long keep reading! There is much more to it than meets the eye and you can potentially have a house fire if you are not aware of how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly!

Nope, that is not what we are talking about. Cleaning the exterior dryer vent is not the same as cleaning the lint catch or screen inside the dryer.

The dryer vent is an exhaust pipe that vents hot air to the outside. Vents can go long distances and are generally installed with bends. The bends create places where lint can collect, and birds can nest. It important to keep the vent clean and properly maintained, said Rebecca, owner, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, a Rosie-Certified Partner.

A dirty and full dryer vent can cause:

Appliance Inefficiency Because the dryer will run longer than necessary. Wear and Tear A dryer taking twice as long to dry clothes will cut its lifetime in half and lead to expensive repairs. Carbon Monoxide Gas dryers that are not exhausting correctly can cause carbon monoxide in the home. Obstructions Nests, dryer sheets, and pieces of clothes tangles with lint blocks the vent.

The most serious consequence of not keeping the dryer vent clean is Fire and Property Damage. A dirty dryer and/or vent can ignite as a result of overheating and overworked safety controls.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

According to the U.S. Fire Administration:

2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and cause an estimated 5 deaths, 100 injuries, and $35 million in property loss. Failure to clean the dryer (34 percent) is the leading cause of home clothes dryer fires. More home clothes dryer fires occur in the fall and winter months, peaking in January.

A proper annual dryer vent cleaning should include a visual inspection to make sure it is visibly sound, said Rebecca.

The Consumer Product Safety Commissions safety report, Overheated Clothes Dryers Can Cause Fires, recommends to check the dryer vent and exhaust vent periodically to ensure that exhaust air is completely escaping.

Every vent is installed differently. It can depend on the length of the vent, how many turns and how often the dryer is used every week, said Rebecca.

If you use a professional dryer vent cleaning service, there are several different applications depending on how your dryer is situated.

The most common technique is with the help of the blower motor and flexible extension rods with a bristle brush on the end. The rods easily navigate several 90 degree turns in your vent line, said Rebecca.

This is on a rotor system, so the spin action of the brush really gives the vent a thorough cleaning. The technician will move the rod/brush in and out repeatedly until the vent is clear of lint and obstructions.

The most common way is done from the outside which keeps your home spotless. This is an extremely effective method to give your dryer vent a clearer passage for the moist hot air to move through.

If you are going to clean the vent yourself, the Consumer Protection Safety Commission recommends the following steps:

Step 1 Clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying each load of clothes.

Step 2 Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically. Check the outside dryer vent while the dryer is operating to make sure exhaust air is escaping. If it is not, the vent or the exhaust duct may be blocked. To remove a blockage in the exhaust path, it may be necessary to disconnect the exhaust duct from the dryer. Remember to reconnect the ducting to the dryer and outside vent before using the dryer again.

(Arizona Chimney and Air Ducts Photo)

Step 3 Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up. Have a qualified service person clean the interior of the dryer chassis periodically to minimize the amount of lint accumulation. Keep the area around the dryer clean and free of clutter.

Step 4 Replace plastic or foil, accordion-type ducting material with a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct. Most manufacturers specify the use of a rigid or corrugated semi-rigid metal duct, which provides maximum airflow. Metal flex ducting is a must as flexible plastic or foil type duct can more easily trap lint and are more susceptible to kinks or crushing, which can greatly reduce the airflow.

Step 5 Make dryer vent cleaning a regular part of your home maintenance!

Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with volatile chemicals such as gasoline, cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains.

If possible, wash the clothing more than once to minimize the amount of volatile chemicals on the clothes and, preferably, hang the clothes to dry. If using a dryer, use the lowest heat setting and a drying cycle that has a cool-down period at the end of the cycle.

To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.

Rosies Safety Tip: Do not leave your house while the dryer is running. A fire could easily ignite in the few minutes you are away from home.

Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts specializes in chimney, dryer vent and air duct cleaning. A family owned and operated company, they have served the Phoenix metro area since 1985. A Rosie on the House Certified Partner since 2009, Arizona Chimney & Air Ducts, is also associated and affiliated with some of the most trusted names in the industry, including National Chimney Sweep Guild and the National Fire Protection Association. We have Team members with the CSIA Certification by the Chimney Safety Institute of America and National Fireplace Institute of Gas Hearth Appliances along with the EPA Universal technician Certification.

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Heres how to clean your dryer vent thoroughly - KTAR.com