Why Should you Consider a Sump Pump Before Flooding?

Why Should you Consider a Sump Pump Before Flooding?

We are already familiar with the features, advantages, and importance of sump pumps in households. However, why do you think there are still so many varieties of articles yet mentioning about sump pumps. It is because people have started taking it lightly and they often fail to make use of it during flooding situations. Ensuring that your sump pumps work efficiently during flood situation or bad weather conditions will prevent your property especially the basement from any bad damages.

Before we begin explaining to you why you must consider a sump pump during flood situations, let us quickly understand what a sump pump is in simple word. A sump pump is a small pump that flushes out any access water from the lowest part of your area or house such as the basement. As a result, these areas are saved from flooding saving your property’s exteriors and interiors.

A sump pump unit is usually installed in the basement of your house with a sump pit. Most sump pumps work automatically with the support of a float or a pressure sensor. As soon as the water fills in the sump pit, the sump pump motor turns on and starts removing excess water and prevents your property from flooding.

Consider a Sump Pump before flooding

We already know prevention of flooding is one of the major reasons why people fix sump pumps in their basements. There are various other reasons why sump pumps are installed in the houses. Let’s take a quick look at these too;

Sump pumps:

• Helps prevent corrosion and rusting of metal appliances that your house may have in the basement. It is because the flooded water may damage these appliances and that is what sump pump won’t allow.

• Prevents the wall coverings and paint from peeling off from the ceilings, roofs, and walls. You certainly don’t want the paint or interiors of your house to get wasted.

• Sump pumps keeps the area dry and clean helping your property to be safe from any sort of insect infestation.

• A sump pump unit in regular working condition helps to remove any sort of moisture which may lead to nesting of molds, fungus, and/or mildew. Take a look at the battery backups too in case of emergency flood conditions.

You may have never faced a flooding issue before but, can you guarantee your future that it may never happen? You are fortunate that flooding circumstances have never arrived before however; it is always wise and safe to be prepared for any unpleasant circumstances.

Check out in the market the different types of sump pump models and qualities available. These may have different features and benefits but, the objective is one – prevention of flooding. For maximum performance of the unit, it would be wise to keep a check regularly and follow basic maintenance tips. Protect your house by the basics of flooding prevention and understand the importance of sump pump installation. There are various articles speaking of the same.

Guest Contributor: Maninder Singh

Top 10 Money Saving Landscaping Tips

Top 10 Money Saving Landscaping Tips 

Even those of us who are interested in landscaping and gardening can be equally passionate about saving time and money doing it. Reducing effort and expense on your landscaping chores is all about knowing the best times to perform certain tasks around your gardens and lawn. Whether it’s maintenance or planning or installing – learning the seasons is key for making sure you time your work so that it’s cost- and time-effective.

Learn how to save money on landscaping. We have 10 money saving landscaping Tips that you will love. Tips to save money to have your yard looking amazing!

Buy Smaller Plants

If you’re not the impatient type, purchasing smaller plants – a 4-inch pot instead of 1 gallon or a 1 gallon instead of a 5 – will save you a pretty penny.

Use Seeds

There's the first investment of lights, trays and planting mix, it doesn’t take more money and starts saving dramatically. “You’ll get a lot more plants – some packets have 100 seeds, To save even more, and even you can reuse trays. If plants grown in a tray didn’t show symptoms of a disease, just clean them with soap and water. If there was any kind of disease, wash trays and then disinfect with a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. To save even more, sprout seeds in egg cartons, newspaper rolled into plastic or cylinders cartons with holes buying in the bottom for water drainage.

Make Your own Compost

This process takes more time, but it saves a lot of money, you can use your kitchen scraps and backyard waste and start making your own.

If you’ve got your own chicken or livestock or know someone who does, mix manure and covers into the compost pile for an even richer end result. Make sure you let the mixture decompose well. 

Shop sales

Search out-group plant sales, normally abundant in spring. Check newspaper calendars, ask friends, contact Landscapers in your area to see if they are holding a sale or know of any. At nurseries, shop during the days of summer or in late fall. 

Save seeds

Collecting seeds at the final season makes sense when you’re looking to save money or even if you’re not.

Make use of recycled materials

Garage sales, thrift shops and the classified sections in the newspapers and online shopping sites normally have gardening material, everything from used rock to pots and brick and old tools, at greatly minimizing prices or free. It’s also fun to forage for natural materials such as stones or interesting stems to make edging or bamboo poles for fences.

Hold a plant and seed swap

Dig up plant “babies” or divide larger plants. Set by some of those tomato plants you started from seed.

Make your plant collection with cuttings

Propagating by cuttings can be as difficult or easy as you want to make it.

Attract beneficial insects

Instead of using chemicals or even organic products, plant things that attract beneficial insects that will eat the bad bugs and balance your garden’s ecosystem. 

Split a load of mulch

Save on delivery costs by purchasing a load of mulch or compost with a neighbor. Save even more by keeping your eyes uncovered for arborists taking down trees. They’ll usually share wood chips that you can turn into mulch. 

Bottom Line

We hope that you would love the idea of landscapes being “cheap”, but here’s the truth: they aren’t. The way we save money is to be smart and plan your work to maximize wins while minimizing losses.

Guest Contributor: Sarah Sugden

Ideas on How to Create a Luxurious and Relaxing Bathroom

Ideas on How to Create a Luxurious and Relaxing Bathroom

There's no arguing how important a bathroom is for a home. It has a very specific function, which is to bring physical comfort and maintain the health of the family. This is why, for a lot of homeowners, it is crucial to create a bathroom that does not only have all the necessary functional features. The room should be beautiful and relaxing, as well.

Ideas for an Aesthetically Pleasing Bathroom

When it comes to making a bathroom a visual delight to anyone who uses it, there is an abundance of ideas to consider. Here are some that top interior designers, decorators, and remodelers highly recommend, which are certainly worth considering.

1. Contrast paint and tiles

If you want a standout bathroom, use decorative paint that will contrast with the tiles you'll be using. This will enhance the bathroom's texture and make it more eye-catching. 

There are so many decorative paints to choose from, and these can make your walls and ceilings quite interesting with the unique patina they impart.

2. Create a unifying element for the palette with art and fabric elements

The contrasting colors of the paint and tiles may look amazing. Still, you can elevate the visual appeal by using a unifying element connecting them, such as an art piece and choosing fabric accessories carefully.

For example, if your decorative paint is a soft, matte blue-grey, and your mosaic tiles are beige, cream, and white, you can use paisley curtains or border wallpaper and a framed painting that make use of these colors. This will make the bathroom look fancier and more cohesive. 

3. Combine metal finishes

Combined chrome and brushed finishes for metal hardware achieve the look of chic elegance. But a unique look is not the only advantage with this combination. 

Brush finished metals are much easier to maintain and offer a bit of friction to make handles easier to grip. Therefore, it's a good idea to use brushed metal for handles and bars, and use chrome faucets, showerheads, and knobs. 

When combining metal finishes, keep in mind a sense of balance; for example, if the bars have a brushed finish, attach these to chrome plates. Or, if the faucet or tap is chrome, use a brushed metal tissue holder and soap pump. These two are simple strategies to prevent the metal finish combination from looking unintentional.

4. Ditch tile flooring for concrete floor coating

Take into consideration how a concrete floor is more durable than a tiled bathroom floor. It's less prone to cracking, and it doesn't have grout that discolors over time. However, many find concrete floors too industrial. This is not the case if you use decorative concrete floor coating. 

If you like the look of the floors in high-end stores and hotels, they're typically coated with liquid crystal. You can use this coating for your bathroom and create a gorgeous sheen. But, beauty is not the only benefit to this option; the coating will make your bathroom floor much easier to clean, as well.

5. Add decorative lighting

It's always a yes to decorative lighting in the bathroom, and you can never go wrong with sconces, especially on both sides of a vanity mirror or the door frame. You can even install these in the shower.

Another type of lighting to include is art lighting. This will bring attention to framed paintings that are always a good idea for bathrooms. And, consider incorporating downlights as well. These help in making attractive and functional geometric decor elevate the style of bathrooms.

6. Decorate the bathroom with a piece of art

Framed art, as mentioned earlier, can tie in contrasting colors. But along with that, it can provide perspective to a windowless bathroom. Since a bathroom also doubles as a space for relaxation, why not bring in wall art that will give you something to think about as you relax in your private sanctuary?

Ideas for Improving Bathroom Functionality

An improvement in the functional elements of the bathroom can also make it an even better place to luxuriate in and relax. Here are some of the upgrades to consider.

1. A high-tech bathtub

When you have a generous budget for the bathroom remodel, consider a technologically advanced bathtub with all the fancy features to make soaking not only more relaxing but beneficial to your health, as well.

Bathtubs manufactured in Japan usually have the best features. They come with smart technology that maintains the temperature of the water. They have strategically placed bubble jets that can provide you with a water massage every time you soak. Some even have color-changing lights for a relaxing ambiance, and timers so you do not soak for longer than is necessary.

2. A smart toilet

Smart toilets have a lot of technological features, from heated seats to temperature-controlled bidets, a music player to drown out the sound of official bathroom business, and even a urine tracker that assesses sugar levels. These are worth integrating into a remodeled bathroom, especially if you have elderly family members.

3. A smart shower system

There are smart shower systems that come with various controls for water power, temperature, spray setting, time, and others. These systems can even be connected to other technological devices to make showering a truly enjoyable experience.

4. Sensor taps

If you are a stickler for hygiene, sensor taps are definitely a worthy investment for your new bathroom. With these hands-free taps, you can minimize the transmission of germs, which can lead to illnesses. On top of that, you can avoid water wastage because the valve automatically stops releasing water when you do not have your hand under it.

Another advantage with sensor taps is it makes washing so much more convenient for people with mobility issues. And, if you want a really senior-friendly bathroom, throw in a sensor-activated soap dispenser as well, which fancy hotels and restaurants already have.

A True Place of Comfort

When you combine luxurious style and impressive function effectively, there's no doubt that your bathroom will be a true place of comfort. Hopefully, the ideas shared above will help you launch into a bathroom remodel or makeover in a thoroughly organized way.

AUTHOR BIO

Ralph El Eid is the Business Development Manager at COLORTEK - Wall & Floor Fashion. EQUIPAINT is the franchise owner of COLORTEK in Dubai (U.A.E.) and Doha (Qatar); an international paints manufacturer specializing in the widest range of decorative paints and seamless concrete & resin flooring, with a unique showroom concept, and thus an ideal destination for homeowners, consultants, architects, interior designers and paint applicators.

Guest Contributor: Ralph El Eid