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Jobs you can do before calling an emergency plumber: Leaking toilets

by

Robert Weir

Given that they’re used numerous times a day in the average family home, you can’t afford to leave a toilet broken – which is usually where an emergency plumber is called out to sort the problem. However, if you’re confident in your DIY skills, there are some basic repairs you can carry out yourself – which may at least let you know what you’re dealing with and which plan of action may be the most appropriate.

In most cases, there are three common causes of a leaking toilet – a cracked pan, damaged cistern or leaking overflow pipe. Each come with their own problems and you’ll need different skills for each – so if you’re in doubt, it’s always best to speak to a professional. If you’ve decided to attempt a fix yourself, your first step is to turn off the water supply and flush the toilet to empty it of any waste material. Next, take a good look at exactly where the leak is coming from. If it appears to be emanating from a crack in the toilet plan, you can carry out a temporary repair by filling in the crack or hole with a specialist putty, which your local DIY store will be able to advise on. However, in the long term, you’ll need to replace the whole pan, as patch up jobs will only last a short to medium period of time. On the other hand, the leak could be coming from the cistern. If this part of the toilet is damaged, you can again use putty as a temporary hole or crack-filling fix. Ultimately, though, you’ll need to replace the part – so you should already be thinking about this. Another common cause is a leaking overflow pipe – this may be more tricky to sort out, involving locating the crack and fixing the pipe. For many people, this may be the point where they need an emergency plumber – something which can be expensive if you haven’t got adequate insurance. Take out plumbing cover

and you’ll not only make sure the tradesman who’s called out is fully qualified and vetted, but also won’t have to worry about any nasty bill at the end of the work.

From a few pounds a month, you can enjoy the peace of mind that you’ll be covered, not just when your toilet leaks, but when other things go wrong with your plumbing. All toilets can develop cracks from time to time – but there’s no reason why this should mean that money has to leak from your family budget as a result.

Robert Weir is a writer and editor from Manchester, England. Having produced and revised copy for a number of home insurance institutions, he is highly experienced across a range of home insurance matters including

boiler cover

and

pest cover

topics.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

By Jake Plumer

Well if you are at the point that your adding a circuit breaker for your new hot tub or spa the hardest part is over all the planning building the new deck or patio to put the tub on is over it is time to get down to the business of actually using your new hot tub. First if you should hire a professional certified electrician to handle the task of wiring your hot tub you are dealing with your family and friends safety here and remember water and electricity do not mix.

In order to install a circuit breaker you need to remove the cover from the circuit box keep in mind that even though you have thrown the main breaker to the off position the ‘box’ is still live the main feed usually coming in the top is still hot. The only way to cut the power from these wires is to remove the electric meter. The size of your new breaker will be determined by electrical needs of your new tub see the manuals for the hot tub to determine the size of the breaker. No matter what you will need a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) if the circuit is shorted out the circuit will automatically shut off for example if you toss a hire drier in a tub and it is hooked up to a GFCI circuit a person in the tub will not be harmed. A GFCI circuit can be achieved in one of two ways first and probably the easiest way is to simply install a GFCI breaker.

A GFCI breaker look similar to a standard circuit breaker but with one very obvious difference a white pig tail. Precautions needs to be taken when hooking up the wires to your new circuit breaker, start with the ground wire and terminate it first follow this by terminating the white or neutral wire this in effect is like hooking up the drain in a sink prior to hooking up the supply, finish by hooking up the black or the power/hot wire. Make sure your connections are secure and all screws are tight.

I have included just a brief overview of this dangerous operation please consult with a licensed electrician also check with your local building department you may need a permit for a new hot tub, there are many factures that we have not gone over such as the size of your incoming electrical service is it large enough to support a hot tub? How about wire size this is also important and depends on a several factures to determine the proper size.

About the Author: Jake Plumer for http://www.a1hottub.com. Looking for a new

Spa Hot Tubs

or for a new

Cedar Hot Tub

for your home oasis.

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How to design and remodel your bathrooms?

by

rahulpt

Bathrooms can be designed or remodeled in many ways depending on your budget. You can build a high end bathroom which are can cost tens of thousands of pounds and low end bathrooms which can fit into your budget. Basically there are four main components which should be considered in bathroom design; they are bath, showers, sink, and toilet. Other than these three main components we can also install other components like luxury showers, designer towel warmers, massaging tubs and many more. These decorative components can be endless. These type of decorative products are made from variety of different products with different prices, they can be a custom-made products depending on there costs.

In any type of bathroom designs we must consider some basic requirements which apply no matter what material and cost you consider. The basic design requirements are line, form, scale, pattern, texture and colour. The direction of the lines of the bathroom help create the sense of the room that is desired. Horizontal lines emphasize serenity and give a more contemporary feel to a room. Strong vertical lines emphasize formality and a traditional style. The principle of form relates to the shape and structure of the components in the design, and this includes not only shape but size. Scape is an issue of relative size among the various elements in the room. Pattern refers to repeated shapes and regularity. Texture refers to the visual and tactile surface of all the materials used. Color is a powerful design element that can transform a space and give it much of its character Bathtubs are must in any type of bathrooms our country. Generally bathtubs come in many shapes and sizes depending on your budget. The basic types of bathroom tubs are conventional tubs, receptor tubs, drop-in tubs, conventional tubes with integral & surrounds and the hydromassage tubs. Basic conventional tub comes with different sizes, the common size in 4-1/2 and 5-1/2 foot length, 28 to 32 inches wide and 14-16 inches in height. Bathroom toilets are available in huge range, varieties & and colours. In the toilet installation there are four basic operating system and four basic construction types to be considered; they are wall-hung model, floor-mount model, round front model and elongated model. Toilets with a tank mounted directly on the back of the bowl, free of the wall, is a close-coupled toilet, with the water connection between the two parts in the shape of a cone-shaped gasket. One-piece toilets are made with tank and bowl in one unit. These are usually more expensive because of a greater complexity in operating process. The flush-valve design is used primarily for commercial installations but can be installed in the home. They have no tanks but use direct water pressure for their flushing action. Basins or sinks or lavatories are the other common names for bathroom basins. Basically bathroom sinks come in two popular construction types; they are wall-hung basins and pedestal basins. They come in different sizes, colours, designs and they are built using different materials like molded plastic, marble, glass etc. The fourth most important component in any bathroom is the showers. Without any shower the bathroom cant be completed. There are huge ranges of showers depending on your requirements. The most popular one is the electric shower; it heats up the water instantly when the cold water flows into the shower. These types of showers are useful for the houses which dont have bigger heating boilers. The second popular showers are mixer showers. Mixer showers use both hot water and cold water from the separate tanks and mixes them and produces the warm water according to your requirements. And the other popular shower types are shower towers; they are built up using the combination of body jet showers and shower heads. They are basically a mixture of types of showers. The above send products cost in different prices depending on sizes, quality and types. They can be purchased in any physical stores near by your house or you can buy them online. There are many websites which sell the complete range of bathroom products. One such website is plumbtraders.co.uk. Plumb Traders supplies huge range of bathroom products ranging from electric showers, mixer showers, shower towers, bath screens, shower trays, shower doors and shower enclosures. To know more about the their prices please visit plumbtraders.co.uk

I am Rahul, I write articles related to home improvements and articles related to central heating and plumbing services. My articles are related to

electric showers

,

triton showers

,

mira showers

& many more

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

byAlma Abell

Most emergency plumbing problems could have been avoided by general plumbing maintenance checks throughout the year. Common emergency plumbing situations include, clogged toilets and drains, frozen or broken pipes, leaking plumbing, and gas leaks. Complete Plumbing offers Emergency Plumbing in Dayton, OH. There are some steps you can take to reduce the amount of damage done while waiting for the plumber.If your toilet or sink is blocked, use a plumbing snake or plunger to remove the obstruction. This will allow the sink or toilet to drain. Your plumber can then come in and provide proper pipe cleaning or remove the blockage if you are unable. If your pipes begin to leak, one thing you can do is turn off the valve supplying water to this pipe. Check traps for debris, such as hair or food, that may be causing pressure to build up and causing the leak. Then, call an emergency plumber to properly repair the pipe.During the cold winter months, if your pipes have not been insulated by a plumber before the cold sets in, they can freeze and burst. In an attempt to keep your pipes from bursting, first shut off the main water valve. Then, use hot water bottles placed on the end of the pipes that are closest to the tap. Never use an open flame, as this will thaw the pipe too quickly, causing the water inside to expand and break the pipe. At this point, calling in a company that offers emergency plumbing services in Dayton OH is your only option. The only step you can take if your pipes burst is to turn off the main water supply, decreasing some of the water damage while you wait for the plumber.Having a gas leak is extremely dangerous; do not attempt to fix this problem yourself. Immediately get out of your house before you even call in the professionals to help. Attempting to fix a gas leak on your own can have deadly consequences if an explosion occurs. Once you have reached the plumber, they can instruct you on how to turn of the gas valve outside your house to avoid an explosion before they arrive. Having a plumber perform routine maintenance can help avoid having an emergency situation arise. Visit website Completeplumbingdayton.com for more information!

Bridal Shower Themes –Trendy to Avant-garde

by

Terri HunzikerTired of the old paper-plate-ribbon-bouquet type bridal shower? Looking for new ideas to make your bridal shower a hit? Start with a bridal shower theme! A theme makes the shower planning easy and sets a fun mood for the guest and the bride.

Gone are the bridal shower rules of following proper etiquette and protocol. Today’s showers are all about entertaining amusements designed to fit the bride’s personality. Anything from a from wild bachelorette soiree to casual coed barbeque is acceptable. What about your bride? Does she like adventurous fun or perhaps she prefers a more formal structured setting. Whatever your brides personality, you’ll find unique bridal shower themes in this list of theme suggestions:

Trendy Wedding Showers – Everybody’s Doing It!

Jack and Jill Wedding Showers – The groom and his buddies join the ladies for this one. These parties are casual affairs held in the afternoon as barbeque or in the evenings as a cocktail party. Considerations for both the bride and groom go into planning coed parties. Do they have a favorite team? How about a sports-themed event at a favorite local sports bar. How about a stock-the-bar or stock-the-garage theme in addition to stock-the-pantry — gifts for her and gifts for him.

Spa Bridal Shower – Treat your bride and party guest to a day of pampering at a local spa. Many spa’s accommodate such an event and will be glad to offer suggestions for planning it. If the cost is out-of-reach consider an at-home spa bridal shower. Stacks of white towels, manicure and pedicure supplies and a hired massage therapist will do the trick.

Round the Clock Shower – Each guest is assigned a time of day, such as 7 AM, 12 Noon, 10 PM. Their gift reflects what one would be doing at that time of the day. Perhaps guest assigned 7 AM gives an omelet pan, the 10 PM guest could give pampering bath items or lingerie.

Room of the House Shower – Each guest is assigned a room of the house and chooses a gift that is appropriate for that room.

Honeymoon Shower – This theme centers around the couple’s honeymoon destination. Decor, food and gifts reflect the destination such as a luau theme for Hawaiian or tropical destinations; outdoor gear for adventurous outdoorsy ones. Other items may include maps, travel guides or luggage.

Lingerie Shower – Guest give the bride gifts of lingerie, often very sexy lingerie. These events run the gamut from mild to quite racy. In addition to the living room, lingerie showers can be held in a banquet or favorite bar and have been known to include a surprise visit from a dancer of the male persuasion.

Unique Wedding Shower Themes – Memorable Showers as Unique as the Bride!

Mystical Bridal Shower – Hire a fortune teller or palm reader for a metaphysical shower experience. This is usually an actor who sets the stage for fun with off-the-wall predictions about the bride and guests.

High-Tech Shower – For the high tech couple, create a cyberspace-age atmosphere. Use blue light bulbs to mock the techno blue glow of computer monitors. Use floppy disks as coasters and give custom-made mouse pads personalized with a photo of the couple, their names and wedding date as party favors. forget paper invitations via snail mail; email invitations instead! Guests could give gift certificates for high-tech shopping.

Health and Fitness Shower – Is your bride a fitness fanatic? Reserve the rock-climbing wall at a local sport center or take this coed shower to a park or beach. Organize a golf, tennis, volleyball or racquetball tournament. Great for Coed showers too!

Stock the Bar Shower – Forget the pantry, how about stocking the bar. A great idea for couples who frequently host parties.

Wine Tasting Shower – Organize a wine tasting event in honor of the bride. This can be held at a winery or local cafe. Guest could bring wine and bar related gifts.

Stock the Garage – Brides need power tools too! Maybe the happy couple will be buying a fixer-upper or planning a house remodel? Is the bride or groom a car buff? How about car cleaning and maintenance supplies.

Bridal Shower Cruise – If you are lucky enough to live near water, a shower aboard a local cruise or tour vessel is a great setting for a fun event. Even better if the bride or groom is into boating.

Christmas Shower – This is perfect for winter weddings. Guest will bring a Christmas tree ornament or other Christmas related gifts.

Memories Shower – Each guest brings a memento to represent a special or funny experience shared with the bride. Another option for a coed shower is to play videos or display images of the bride and groom as children. Guest can share remembered childhood stories and events.

Garden Shower – Perfect for a June Bride into gardening (or hopes to be). Hold the event in a garden setting and have the guest bring gardening related gifts. A fun twist is for guest to come wearing a decorated sun shade hat. The best hat design wins a door prize!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games —

bridal shower games

, baby shower games, Christmas party games and more! For immediate access to a plethora of fun down-loadable

games

and ideas for your next party, visit,

gamesandletters.com.

Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}

By J. Highland

All the guests to a baby shower will be bringing presents to aid and please the mom-to-be. It is a great idea to have little gift bags for everyone who has attended the event. These will be something nice to take home and to remember the event by.

A baby shower gift bag can contain nearly any favor. You have various options, depending on your creativity, budget, baby shower theme and personal perception of what will make a great present.

Consider the following, when putting together a baby shower gift bag. Certain basic tips and rules can make your task much simpler.

Make It Theme-Relevant

A thematic favor bag will make guests remember the baby shower. Follow the theme you have chosen when coming up with guest presents.

Baby shower themes are numerous. You can have a party connected to peas in a pod, angels, love, baby cribs and other baby items, diapers, ladybugs, fairytale characters and many more.

The theme will affect the decorations. It should also be determining when it comes to the selection of the favors to put in the gift bag. Anything that is appropriately shaped or monogrammed will turn out to be a great gift.

Personalized Baby Shower Gift Bags

Beautiful items will always be appreciated. If these beautiful items are personalized, guests are likely to cherish them even more. Make sure that the favors you give out are connected in some way to the event.

Personalization can be achieved in various ways. You can have the item monogrammed, in case the material it is made of permits such processing.

A keychain could feature the picture of the mom-to-be, her name and the date when the event was held. Adding a cute quote or a witty slogan to the favor will give it something extra special.

If the party decorations have a certain element, decorative pattern or clip art used throughout, include that in the favor personalization, as well.

A Gender-Relevant Gift Bag

The gender of the baby can be used to add some cuteness to the shower gift bag. You can go for traditional colors and items associated to either baby girls or baby boys.

The color you pick is the first aspect that will determine if the favor was given in honor of a baby girl or a baby boy. You can select blue and pink or any other pastel shade that brings up some sort of association.

The favors themselves will also provide hints about the baby. They can be clever, cute or a combination of the two. A ribbon-shaped cookie will certainly speak of a baby girl. A baseball cap can represent the baby boy.

Wrapping It Up

As special as the favors are, they will fail impressing guests if you select an inappropriate wrap. Make sure that the outside is just as astonishing as the inside of the gift bag.

Pick the color that is predominant in the decorations and centerpieces and find wrapping paper or a gift bag that is in a similar nuance. The ribbon can either be matching or contrasting.

You can print the mom-to-be’s name on the gift bag, together with the date on which the shower was held. If you feel that this spoils your design, include this information inside, on a card or printed on the favor itself.

A well-chosen baby shower gift bag will make the event even more wonderful and heart-warming. Spare no effort when picking the favors themselves and the decorations. They will show how cherished and important each guest is. Do your best and be creative.

About the Author: Jamie Highland writes about various family and baby topics. For more info or to check out more

baby shower favor ideas

or some

baby shower gifts

, visit My Baby Shower Favors. If you want more articles, visit My Baby Shower Favors and click on the Contact Us link.

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By E Cho

Every year, soon after the Thanksgiving holiday and sometimes even before, millions of us all over the world decorate our homes inside and out in recognition of the Christmas holiday. But what are the ‘hot item’ Christmas decorations?

Of course, all decorating starts with the Christmas tree. Many people choose a real tree, as they find this to be the ‘traditional’ choice, but many others choose artificial trees. Artificial trees can make decorating a lot easier and cleaner because they don’t ‘shed’ pine needles all over the floor. Artificial trees can now be purchased with lights built into them in a variety of colors. This way, the tree can be reused each year and the lights are already strung. Artificial trees can be bought in a variety of colors. White is a popular tree color other than green, but there are even some that are pink and blue for those with eclectic tastes.

Ornaments on the Christmas tree also come in a huge variety and themes and it is really up to the individual decorators on what type to buy. Many choose to purchase special ornaments each holiday season in order to commemorate that year’s Christmas. Hallmark is a great store to visit for these types of commemorative ornaments where special types are offered each year. Additionally, there are ornaments featuring a variety of favorite characters from pop culture like Star Wars, Peanuts, and Disney.

Another popular home decoration is the poinsettia flowers. These can also be real or artificial. Poinsettias throughout the house are a widely recognized symbol of the Christmas holiday going back centuries. One more holiday decoration of the organic type is mistletoe where the common custom dictates that a couple meeting under a hanging mistletoe branch are obligated to kiss. A lot of ancient tradition is involved in gathering live mistletoe, such as never allowing it to tough the ground.

Outside Christmas decorations are another matter entirely. When choosing outdoor decorations it is important to determine they were meant to be displayed outside. The winter elements can be very harsh in certain areas of the planet and flimsy light strings meant for an indoor tree will not stand up to the wear and tear and can become a fire hazard. Knowing that, there are a wide variety of outdoor Christmas decorations.

In recent years, yard decorations that inflate with a powered fan are the latest rage. These come in many varieties also. Santa Claus can be featured in his sleigh, standing and waving to passersby, or even riding a motorcycle. Other popular inflatable yard characters include Disney figures, snowmen, and Nativity scenes. Non-inflating lighted deer are another popular yard decoration as are solid-figure Nativity scenes.

Essential to outdoor decorating are light arrangements on the exterior of the home. These also come in a wide variety. In recent years, many choose outdoor lights that resemble icicles in white or blue. When strung across the overhang of a house they present a beautiful effect at night. For those that must have the fanciest house decorations on the block, hardware and department stores offer contraptions that synchronize the flashing of Christmas lights with the sound of Christmas music. Be sure to check with local public disturbance policies before attempting a production such as this.

There are many possibilities when it comes to decorating the home for the Christmas holiday. It is really up to the individual taste of the decorator when making the choices. Themes range from the traditional to just about any popular pop culture figures imaginable.

About the Author:

Holiday stories and occasions

.

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By John Mailer

If you notice any changes in your dog’s normal urinary function then you must get him to the vet as soon as possible to be investigated. Your dog’s kidneys are responsible for filtering the blood, while retaining useful chemicals, and ridding your the body of harmful and toxic chemicals. Waste material is then passed down the ureters to the bladder where it is stored. When the dog’s bladder is full, the dog passes the urine through the urethra and out of the body.

If your dog is straining to urinate then this may caused by any number of multiple issues. It may be caused by infection, mineral sediment in the urine, or bladder stones that may be lodged in your dog’s urethra. Not only are urinary disorders life threatening to your dog, they are also very painful. If there is increased amount of urination or even decreased trips to the bathroom then your dog may also have a metabolic illness such as diabetes.

Urination Strain

Infections of your dog’s bladder and urethra may cause inflammation and an increased need to urinate, even when the bladder is empty. Male dogs may experience the same need when the prostate gland is either enlarged or infected, or the penis inflamed. The urine is sometimes clouded and will have slight discoloration from blood. Vaginal infections can cause females to strain in the same much the same fashion. Urination straining is more serious and much more painful if the cause is due to stones. Stones originate from the buildup of minerals from the bladder. Male dogs have a very narrow urethra, and these stones sometimes get stuck inside, causing severe pain and straining when urinating.

What to do: It is imperative that you get your dog to the vet as soon as possible. If the straining is so bad that he cannot urinate, then his life could literally be cut short within a few days of not being able to urinate. It is recommended that you get a urine sample to the vet.

If the problem is a result of a urinary infection, then antibiotics will be prescribed as well as urinary acidifiers. For severe blockage, the vet may use a urinary catheter in order to relieve pressure and pain. X-rays will be used to determine if bladder stones exist, and if there are indeed stones inside, then you will be notified to make a heavy change in your dog’s diet to prevent them from forming again in the future.

About the Author: John Mailer has written many articles about dogs and puppies and how to train them. His main business is as an internet marketer

Pet Grooming

Dog Food

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