Stay Healthy During the Winter Season

Keep it to Yourself

During the harsh winter season you constantly see people sneezing, blowing their nose, and coughing.  Where exactly is everything that came out of their mouth going?  Sometimes you see it going right into the open air, but hopefully it’s going into their hand, or the inside of their elbow.  This is the number one way to keep viruses and germs from spreading.  As long as you keep everything in your mouth from projectiling then this will save hundreds of people from becoming ill over the winter.  To prevent the virus even further from spreading, make sure you carry tissues or a handkerchief with you at all times so, it doesn’t get on your own skin.  

Keep Clean!

Even if you don’t sneeze that often, it’s important to wash your hands as many times as you can throughout the course of a day.  Anti-bacterial soap and hot water is the best way to keep clean, and not spread germs to other people.  If you’re not near a sink and a bottle of soap, then carry around a little bottle of hand sanitizer with you as an alternative.  This is important because there’s a high chance that you’re going to touch another person throughout the course of the day, and that last thing you want to have happen is that person become ill.  

While you’re keeping yourself clean, it’s also a good idea to keep clean around the house with disinfectant sprays.  Make sure you clean your brand new vinyl replacement windows from Wallside Windows as well because while they’ll look better after you clean them, it will also keep from spreading germs when the person after you goes to open the window.  

Stay Healthy

If staying fit isn’t a good enough reason to exercise and eat healthy, not getting sick should make you stay on the treadmill at the gym as well as eating those fruits and veggies.  Staying healthy equals a healthy immune system, and with great health comes getting enough sleep at night because your immune system is also affected by your sleep.  It’s easy to find any healthy food at your local grocery store at a decent cost.  Make sure throughout the course of a day you make sure that all the food groups are being covered including eating enough whole grains.   You can’t always rely on getting a flu vaccination shot every year because there isn’t enough to go around in the time that winter lasts.  It’s important to take these natural, note-worthy steps to stay away from the flu virus, and prevent it from spreading this winter season.  Keep your house as warm as possible with the help of Wallside Windows, and our selection of windows that won’t disappoint you.

Properly Fixing a Leaky Sink Faucet

Drip Drip Drip

We all know when the problem of a leaky faucet arises.  We have to stare at the sink and watch water casually drip out as we try to tighten the faucet handles as hard as we can until the drip goes away, but it never does.  A dripping faucet can lead to a major increase in your water bill, and can also cause a shortage in hot or cold water.  Calling a plumber is too much money for just a leaky faucet, so you want to fix it yourself.  Fixing a leaky faucet yourself can be done in an hour if done properly, and will be at minimum cost as well.  Although it’s cheap and time efficient to do yourself, there are a list of steps that need to be taken in order to be done successfully.  

Preliminary Steps

Before you start going to work on the sink it’s important to turn off the water supply in the house, and not just under the sink, just to be safe.  Close the sink drain and cover it with a rag in case you drop any parts in the sink.  Now although there are many different types of sinks, the leaky faucet is usually because of the same thing with each sink.  We’ll take a look at the compression sink which consists of a separate cold and hot handle.  

Taking Apart the Faucet

Before you disassemble your sink you might be intimidated because of all the different parts you have to take apart and remember where they go, but it’s simpler than you may think.  After you remove the handle on one side of the sink, it’s simple to take a Phillips-head screwdriver.  Before you remove anything though, make sure you’ve added padding to the pliers and wrench you’ll be using with electrical tape so you don’t scratch up or scuff the exterior of the sink.  The one thing about leaky faucets is the problem always consists of worn out washers or O-rings.  Whatever size O-ring you need, make sure you coat it with plumber’s grease to ensure that your handle will turn once you put it all back together.  You can find any new O-ring or washer at your local hardware store at a minimal cost.  

Putting it All Back Together

It’s important that you remember the order in which you took your sink apart because you're going to put it back together in the reverse order.  It’s important to remember to apply plumber's grease to any new part that you installed.  The last thing you want to have happen is get everything back together and then not be able to turn the handle. While you’re replacing things around the house it might be a good idea to check and see if your windows need replacing too.  If your window needs to be replaced, contact Wallside Windows and we’ll send an expert out to do an estimate for you to see what kind of window you need, and how much it will cost you.  After all your repairs are done, you’ll finally be able to relax, but don’t get too comfortable because the next malfunction might be days away.

Properly Cleaning a Chimney

Preparation Before You Clean

Chimney cleaning can be an overwhelming task for anyone who has never done it before.  There’s much more to cleaning it than just scraping the sides off and sweeping up ashes.  First off, you need to determine if you even need to clean it, but if it’s been a year or longer chances are it needs to be cleaned.  Take a plastic utensil to scrape off some of the the creosote that has accumulated on the inside of the chimney.  If the creosote is 1/8 of an inch or thicker, it needs to be cleaned.  You also must clean it in the fall, right before the events where you would have an indoor fire.  This prevents a chimney fire from happening.   

You also must use a flashlight and check the chimney for animals that may have made their way in there over the past year like birds or any sort of rodent.  If you find an animal you must take the proper steps to have it removed.  

Time to Brush Away

To make sure you have enough piping to reach up to the top of the chimney, add six inches on top of your estimate to guarantee yourself you have enough to clean the entire thing.  Your local hardware store should have all the materials you need to successfully clean your chimney properly.  A wire cleaning brush is a necessity along with the extension pipes in order to reach all the way to the top.  It’s also important to make sure that you lay a tarp or towel down below you to catch all the debris that you’re scrapping off from the wall as this can be harmful if not contained.  With that said, it’s also important to wear safety goggles and a dust mask so you don’t inhale any of the soot that comes off the inside of the chimney.  If there are windows near you, you should cover them as well especially, if they’re windows installed by Wallside Windows.

Disposing of the Soot

After taking a hand held wire brush to do the bottom of the chimney, it’s time to dispose of all the debris you’ve cleaned from the inside.  You can’t empty everything into your garbage can, but rather a separate bucket that you can transfer to a waste station and empty.  Call the city to see where the nearest place is that you can empty the creosote.  This is important because the creosote is flammable, and harmful if emptied into a garbage near you.  After all this is completed, you’ve completed cleaning your chimney.  Make sure you wear clothes that you’re not afraid to throw away if need be because of the toxic material that may get on them.  At least you won’t have to clean it for another year, and you and your family can enjoy nice cozy fires all winter long.    

How You Lose Money With Bad Windows

No One Likes Losing Money

When your home encounters a bad window problem it can cost you money besides having to get it fixed or replaced.  That’s why there’s Wallside Windows, and they can have that problem fixed for you in a snap at a reasonable cost.  Check out all the windows Wallside Windows has to offer so they installers know which one to bring onsite.  Worn out or broken windows are a pain to deal with, but you don’t have to deal with those problems any longer because the experts at Wallside Windows want to make sure you have your window properly fixed so you don’t encounter another window problem for years to come.  

It’s Getting Cold in Here

Worn out or old windows may be hard to shut.  After the material on the windows start to erode you’ll also encounter problems where air seeps through the window causing it to chill your house in the winter time when you have the heat high as it is.  The longer you wait to have your worn out window replaced, the colder it’s going to get in your house which causes for the energy bill to rise because of the amount of heat needed for the room to be sustainable.  Plus, letting the cold air seep in may cause you to lose sleep at night, catch unnecessary viruses that are easily avoidable just by having your window fixed or replaced.

Selling or Renting a House

When it comes to selling your house, or trying to rent out the house you’ve already bought to someone else you better be sure the windows are in good shape.  Whether the windows are in good shape or not can be the difference of someone buying the house or not.  Having vinyl replacement windows installed from Wallside Windows can raise the value of your house significantly.  Even if the windows are in decent shape, it might be worth your while to have them replaced with newer looking windows because looks can be everything when trying to find buyers to purchase your house.  

With all things considered, nobody likes dealing with bad, worn out or broken windows.  Leave the work to a professional because you don’t need them to let you know whether you need a new window or not so you already have half of the work done.  All the work that needs to be done is letting them know what kind of a window it is, and for them just to come out and do the replacing.  Once you have your brand new window installed you’ll be thankful you don’t have to go through one more sleepless winter night.  It may cost some to have the replacement done, but we can guarantee that you’ll be much happier with the money you’ll be saving in the long run.       

How to Stay Warm in Your House Without the Heat On

Fires Aren’t Just for Roasting Marshmallows

Imagine that it’s a late night in the middle of January and you’re enjoying a movie with your loved ones all in the living room, then all of the sudden it’s pitch black.  The power goes out, and you can’t see anything, but everyone has their phone they can use as a flashlight.  You call the electric company, and they tell you that the power went out in the whole city.  They also say that the power won’t be back on until the next night so, what do you do next?  Hopefully, you have a fireplace and some candles handy because this is the best way to keep your house warm if your heater isn’t working.  Actually, candles not only give off heat and light, but the smell and aroma of the candles provides a positive atmosphere among everyone to make them not think about the power being out.  

It’s Pretty Windy Out There

Your first action after you start your fire, and light some candles should be to close all the curtains to further keep the wind from coming in.  Winter drafts can drop the temperature significantly in the house, especially with no heat on.  It’s better if you have the curtains with two layers to allow sunlight to come in once it gets sunny out.  If you have windows in your house that don’t have any curtains using towels or clothes serve as a great substitute, as long as the air doesn’t leak into your house.  If you had your vinyl replacement windows installed by Wallside Windows then you shouldn’t have to worry about air leaking through anyway.  

Stay Active

Now, it’s probably not the easiest thing to do when you’re trying to bundle up and stay warm, but yoga and stationary exercises will help you stay warm when there’s no heat in the house.  Putting mind over matter is key in this step to staying warm, because with a few simple yoga poses in your house you can feel much better.  During yoga, one focuses on breathing and maintaining the yoga position that they’re in, and not the cold they might be feeling.  Although the surface of your skin may be cold, you’re training your mind to focus on something else.  This is a great way to tease your own brain while getting some unexpected exercise in at the same time.