Easy To Follow Tips To Waterproof Your Deck
One thing that always makes a homeowner proud is a newly finished deck. And for a few months it may look very good. However, if you have not had your deck waterproofed, your deck could end up being a very ugly addition to your home. If you want your deck to be around for a long time, then waterproofing it is absolutely essential. Without waterproofing, than cracking and warping can occur, and that means your deck will not be very far from destruction. Fortunately, waterproofing doesn’t have to be very difficult.
The very first thing to do to waterproof your deck is to give it a very thorough cleaning. Now, usually the best time for one to start waterproofing the deck is to start right after you build the deck. However, cleaning it off is the first thing to do if you do not have the option of starting right away. You should start the cleaning process is to sweep off any and all debris that may be on the deck. Then remove any furniture that may be on the deck. Once all of the debris and furniture is removed, you can go to your local hardware store and purchase a cleaning solution. You can employ the use of a pump sprayer to apply the cleaning agent to the deck. It will eventually start to foam, and at that point you should start to scrub the deck with a scrub brush that has stiff bristles. The bristles will give a little extra muscle to remove any stubborn stains that may be left on there, especially ones from soot or grease. After scrubbing, rinse the deck off as thoroughly as possible with a garden hose. It’s a good idea to wear eye protection of some kind in order to keep any grit from the deck out of your eyes.
Now, after the deck has had time to dry, there are two options available. If the wood is more or less new, you have the option to put a new stain on it. If you do not want a new stain, then now is the time to apply water sealant onto the deck in order to protect the wood. Applying the sealant is best done with a sprayer or roller. The deck should dry completely after a few days, and then it should be alright to walk on it without worrying about damaging any of the sealant.
Showing posts with label improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label improvement. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Which Flooded Items You Can Salvage
After your home has been flooded, you might walk around it after the waters have receded and wonder to yourself just what you need to try to save and what you need to get rid of pretty quickly, since you know that contaminated items left in the home can infect everything else.
One of the first things that you need to know is that porous items, especially those that have a lot of padding, will need to be thrown away. This is because they need to be completely dried out so that mold does not start to grow in them and because these items can be difficult to disinfect, since padding makes it difficult for the disinfectant to get through the entire depth of it. This means that any bed or décor pillows will need to be thrown out, as well as any stuffed animals that you have for your children.
It will also be very hard to save upholstered furniture. The dirt, silt, and chemicals often found in flood waters will get past the outer fabric fairly easily if the item is in the water for more than a couple of hours and the padding inside will soak up quite a bit of it.
Saving your curtains and other fabric items that are exposed like this depends on how much damage was done to them. The dyes in the fabric may have bled or it may have become stained from being left in the water for so long.
Items like table cloths and towels can be saved if they are washed a few times in enough disinfectant, but even items that have not come into contact with the flood water can become molded after a few days if they are left in the house, due to the high humidity.
Any electric blankets that you may have that were exposed to the flood water will need to be completely thrown away. These items could possibly have wiring damage and can malfunction if you try to use them. They are in no way safe to continue using after being submerged in water.
Blankets can be washed, but you will need to do this a few times in hot water. Chlorine bleach can sanitize these items, but you will need to be careful what you use it on, since the dyes may run on some items. Try to find a laundry detergent that disinfects, as well. Borax detergent can be helpful in killing mold.
Wooden items that have had their finishes breached by flood waters may be contaminated and will need to be disinfected thoroughly.
One of the first things that you need to know is that porous items, especially those that have a lot of padding, will need to be thrown away. This is because they need to be completely dried out so that mold does not start to grow in them and because these items can be difficult to disinfect, since padding makes it difficult for the disinfectant to get through the entire depth of it. This means that any bed or décor pillows will need to be thrown out, as well as any stuffed animals that you have for your children.
It will also be very hard to save upholstered furniture. The dirt, silt, and chemicals often found in flood waters will get past the outer fabric fairly easily if the item is in the water for more than a couple of hours and the padding inside will soak up quite a bit of it.
Saving your curtains and other fabric items that are exposed like this depends on how much damage was done to them. The dyes in the fabric may have bled or it may have become stained from being left in the water for so long.
Items like table cloths and towels can be saved if they are washed a few times in enough disinfectant, but even items that have not come into contact with the flood water can become molded after a few days if they are left in the house, due to the high humidity.
Any electric blankets that you may have that were exposed to the flood water will need to be completely thrown away. These items could possibly have wiring damage and can malfunction if you try to use them. They are in no way safe to continue using after being submerged in water.
Blankets can be washed, but you will need to do this a few times in hot water. Chlorine bleach can sanitize these items, but you will need to be careful what you use it on, since the dyes may run on some items. Try to find a laundry detergent that disinfects, as well. Borax detergent can be helpful in killing mold.
Wooden items that have had their finishes breached by flood waters may be contaminated and will need to be disinfected thoroughly.
Water Sanitation Using Heat and Bleach
When you are having to sit a hurricane out in your home or other building, the most important thing that you need to have plenty of is clean water. Hurricanes are often something that we can prepare for in the United States, since we can typically see them coming, but failing to pay attention to the weather reports during hurricane season does happen to some of us.
You should have on hand about a gallon of clean water for every person staying with you. This will be used up in a day’s time, so having one gallon for every person for every day you expect the storm to last plus a few is a good idea.
Having a gas powered electricity generator is something else that you might want to have on hand, especially if you might not have enough water. If the electricity goes out and you run out of water, you will not be able to boil any water to make sure that it is sanitary before you drink it. During storms like this you should never assume that the tap water is alright to drink. Local water treatment plants could be contaminated with all kinds of things during this inclement weather and you should never drink it until the storm clears and your local government okays it.
Boiling water is the best way to sanitize it if you have no other means of doing so, such as a high quality water filter. Bring the water to a boil and keep it like this for about 5 to 10 minutes. Covering the boiling pot of water should shorten the time necessary to get the water boiling and will help you save fuel.
Liquid Clorox bleach can also be used to sanitize water. It can be used to purity tap water and make it safe for you to drink. This will kill any bacteria and microorganisms living in it and the process is fairly simple.
Any water should be let to stand in a container until any debris or sediment settles to the bottom. The clear water should be poured into another container, leaving the water still containing sediment in the bottom of the first one. You only need to use a couple of drops of bleach per quart of water.
As a backup for boiling and bleach, you can also purchase water purification tablets at most outdoor supply stores. People who go camping or hiking often take these with them in case they need them, but you can also benefit from keeping a few on hand.
You should have on hand about a gallon of clean water for every person staying with you. This will be used up in a day’s time, so having one gallon for every person for every day you expect the storm to last plus a few is a good idea.
Having a gas powered electricity generator is something else that you might want to have on hand, especially if you might not have enough water. If the electricity goes out and you run out of water, you will not be able to boil any water to make sure that it is sanitary before you drink it. During storms like this you should never assume that the tap water is alright to drink. Local water treatment plants could be contaminated with all kinds of things during this inclement weather and you should never drink it until the storm clears and your local government okays it.
Boiling water is the best way to sanitize it if you have no other means of doing so, such as a high quality water filter. Bring the water to a boil and keep it like this for about 5 to 10 minutes. Covering the boiling pot of water should shorten the time necessary to get the water boiling and will help you save fuel.
Liquid Clorox bleach can also be used to sanitize water. It can be used to purity tap water and make it safe for you to drink. This will kill any bacteria and microorganisms living in it and the process is fairly simple.
Any water should be let to stand in a container until any debris or sediment settles to the bottom. The clear water should be poured into another container, leaving the water still containing sediment in the bottom of the first one. You only need to use a couple of drops of bleach per quart of water.
As a backup for boiling and bleach, you can also purchase water purification tablets at most outdoor supply stores. People who go camping or hiking often take these with them in case they need them, but you can also benefit from keeping a few on hand.
Draining Water From Your Yard
Standing water in the yard is a very unattractive feature of a person’s property not only due to its aesthetically displeasing characteristic, but also because of the potential water damage that it can cause to the property if there is enough of it in the right area. The owner’s first instinct to fix this problem is to try and plant things in the area where the water tends to build up, but this will not typically work. Any plants that are put in an area that floods from time to time will drown and die. Getting rid of the standing water on your property is not too difficult most of the time, since the problem usually lies simply with the elevation of the part of the yard that is affected the most.
If it is a problem with the elevation of the flooded area, then all you really need to do is add soil to that area and make it level with the rest of your yard. This will keep the flooding at bay as long as the water builds up as a result of heavy rain. Plant some grass over it both to hide the soil and to keep it in place.
Installing a drainage system is also an option, but you need to contact your local building commission and be certain that you will be allowed to build a drainage system. Building permits can be tricky and you need to make sure that your building project is on the up and up before you start working on anything.
Digging a French drain is not very difficult to do. Dig a little ditch in your yard and lay a piece of PVC pipe down inside it. Cover it up with gravel and this will direct the water anywhere you want it to, like a city sewer or ditch. When you dig it, you need to be sure that the highest point of the pipe is in the area that you want to drain and that the lowest point is where you want the water to drain to. You need to make the pipe slant downhill 6 inches for every 100 feet. To keep soil from getting in the pipe, you should install a strainer over the end. A simple sink strainer capped over the end could work for this or a piece of wire mesh. A strainer at the lower end is not needed.
If it is a problem with the elevation of the flooded area, then all you really need to do is add soil to that area and make it level with the rest of your yard. This will keep the flooding at bay as long as the water builds up as a result of heavy rain. Plant some grass over it both to hide the soil and to keep it in place.
Installing a drainage system is also an option, but you need to contact your local building commission and be certain that you will be allowed to build a drainage system. Building permits can be tricky and you need to make sure that your building project is on the up and up before you start working on anything.
Digging a French drain is not very difficult to do. Dig a little ditch in your yard and lay a piece of PVC pipe down inside it. Cover it up with gravel and this will direct the water anywhere you want it to, like a city sewer or ditch. When you dig it, you need to be sure that the highest point of the pipe is in the area that you want to drain and that the lowest point is where you want the water to drain to. You need to make the pipe slant downhill 6 inches for every 100 feet. To keep soil from getting in the pipe, you should install a strainer over the end. A simple sink strainer capped over the end could work for this or a piece of wire mesh. A strainer at the lower end is not needed.
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