A dog and a clean house – possible?

Have A Dog And A Clean House… Yes It’s Possible!
by: Christopher Fisher 

It’s no secret. We love dogs. In fact, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, more than 40 million American households share their lives with more than 68 million dogs.

A messy house, however, is something we don’t love. And it seems like dogs go out of their way to get dirt, hair, stains, and odors, and all manner of nasty things everywhere.

Fortunately there are a few things you can do to “dog proof” your home. You’ll learn about them below, along with some easy ways to clean up those unavoidable doggy messes.

Preventing dog hair

If your dog sheds, as most do, you’re probably familiar with how irritating dog hair can be. It gets all over the carpet, furniture, rugs, and pretty much everywhere else the dog goes.

You can drastically cut down on the amount of hair that is shed by grooming your dog often. Once a week, take your dog outside and give its fur a good combing with the type of brush recommended for its coat. Give him lots of praise and maybe a few treats so he’ll come to love his grooming time.

Be sure to groom him away from the house so that the hair isn’t blown back into the house.

Regular grooming will not only make your dog more attractive and happier from the extra attention, it will spare your sofa and carpet from all that extra fur.

Removing dog hair

Even if you regularly groom your dog, chances are some stray hairs will still end up where they aren’t wanted.

A damp cloth works wonders for removing hair from furniture and other surfaces. A lint roller is another fantastic tool for getting rid of hair. It will allow you to quickly roll up stray hairs. A lint roller is perfect for a quick furniture check before company arrives!

A powerful vacuum should have no problem pulling dog hair out of rugs and carpets.

Rugs and mats are your friends

Rubber-backed mats collect dirt and moisture and clean up easily. Use them outside and inside doors, under food dishes, and in sleeping areas. Even car mats will do.

Wipe off those paws

Train your dog to wait on the rug or mat until you wipe off his paws with a damp rag or towel. This will keep him from making mud tracks all over the house.

It might take a little extra time to get him trained, but you’ll spend much more time cleaning up after him if you don’t train him to wait.

Doggie dishes

Stainless steel feeding dishes are the best choice for your dog. They are heavy and hard to topple by your over-enthusiastic pet. Be sure to wash it regularly.

Dog Allergies

If you or a family member is allergic to dogs there are a few things you can do to make life easier.

Restrict your dog to certain rooms of your home to create allergy-free areas. Bedrooms, especially, should be a no dog zone.

Use an air purification device to reduce allergens. These are also great at reducing odors. Keep your home well ventilated as well.

About The Author
Christopher Fisher is a writer and reviewer for http://www.naturesmiraclereviews.com a site that reviews the popular cleaning product. 

Your Garden – Spring is around the corner

Spring Is Around The Corner – How is your Garden?
by: Anita Johnston 

Spring is in my opinion the most wonderful time of year for the gardener. You can shake of that winter weariness and get ready for a new gardening season.

The most difficult part of spring gardening is trying to manage your impatience. Don’t start digging around too early. The soil must be dry enough to have it fall apart when you pick it up. When it still sticks together like glue that’s definitely not the case.

Early spring is the best time of year to change (parts of) your garden design. You can transplant existing shrubs and perennial plants before they begin to leaf out. This also is the time to prune your trees and shrubs. Cut back the remaining dead foliage from last season and remove dead, damaged or diseased branches of trees and shrubs.

And then flowers! That’s really what spring is about isn’t it! There are many that are suitable for cool spring weather. Think of sweet alyssum, some snapdragons, stock and sweat peas. You can also start some perennials like hostas and daylilies.

Start some Violets, Marigolds, Carnations, Geraniums and Impatiens inside to transplant to your flower beds in early spring. Or if you have some space left in your garden you can set up a “Cold Frame”. Ready-made cold frames are available in different sizes. A cold frame “captures” the spring sunlight and warms the soil it surrounds. That way it is ideal to “harden off” houseplants and transplants for your summer garden. You can use the cold frame for direct seeding as well.

If you have unplanted areas in your garden a great spring project is to lay out landscape cloth on that unplanted area. Landscape cloth is an excellent weed barrier. It comes in different weights, heights and fabric choices. This cloth can then also serve as a great map to precisely plant your transplants.

Weeds start to grow very early but still have shallow roots in spring so get them out when you spot them. Getting on top of the weeds now means a lot less work in summer, and I’m sure that digging out weeds in the burning sun in not your favorite pastime.

These two measures will definitely intimidate your perennial weeds to the extent that they will prefer your neighbor’s garden over yours.

And most of all enjoy your spring garden, watch it grow and blossom into summer!

About The Author:
Anita Johnston is an enthusiast gardener and one of the authors of http://www.gardening-guides.com  

Solar Heating with Aluminum Cans

How To Make A Cheap Solar-Powered Heater With Aluminum Cans
by John Horning

The idea of using pop cans to heat a home may sound a little strange at first, but a company in Canada has proved the idea makes great sense. Cansolair Inc. has used aluminum cans in it’s solar panels for over 10 years now, and they’ve even won awards for their design.

Why Pop Cans?

The company’s heaters, made with recycled aluminum cans, are not only cheaper than other types, but have proven to be very efficient as well. The company reports exponential growth over the past few years.

The Cansolair solar panel is about 4 ft. wide by 8 ft. tall. It can produce up to 10,000 BTUs per hour and raise the temperature of the air passing through it by 50F or more. It includes a fan to push the air through the cans which increases it’s efficiency.

How They Work

The heaters are normally installed on the outside walls of a building, and of course, in a location that gets a lot of sun. While they won’t help you much on a cloudy day, they can make a big difference in your heating bill on cold sunny days.

The idea is to draw air from near the floor of any room in a building, and pass it through the solar panel, which contains several columns of cans. The air is then returned to the same room near the ceiling and at up to 50F higher temperature. The cans are stacked and have large holes cut in both ends to allow the air to pass inside them while the outside of the cans is getting hot from the sun.

Thin-walled aluminum, which is what the cans are made of, has good thermal conductivity, making it an excellent material for transferring solar heat to the air as it flows past the cans. Flat black paint on the outside of the cans aids in the process by absorbing the sun’s heat more quickly.

Excellent Project For Do-It-Yourselfers

Cansolair has the facilities and materials to produce sophisticated units on a large scale, but the basic concept is simple enough that virtually anyone can build their own with readily available materials.

Frank Gombik of Ontario, Canada made one to heat his workshop in the winter, and Daniel Strohl of Vermont constructed one to heat his garage.

Daniel noted that the south wall of his garage was receiving a lot of sunshine, but the temperature inside was still cold. He constructed a simple free-standing heater, containing 45 aluminum cans. He used a vacuum cleaner hose to pipe to and from the garage.

Frank had two goals in mind – he wanted to heat his workshop and also replace the old double-door entry leading into it from the outside. His heater included a total of 176 cans and some special temperature sensing equipment to measure the system’s efficiency.

Constructing this type of solar heater is well within the skills of the average handyman. The pop cans are free and the other materials inexpensive. This project has the double advantage of free solar energy and conserving our natural resources, not to mention the free heat in the winter!

About the author: John Horning has a website devoted to solar-power for the home. Learn more about building a solar-powered heater out of recycled cans on his website, www.DIY-Solar-Power.net

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