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Some Ideas For Keeping Your House Cool.

Some Ideas For Keeping Your House Cool.

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I wish to share with you some ideas on how to help keep your house stay cool.  These ideas have come from years of trying different actions and techniques.

  • A real important factor that you should try to achieve is to cool your house the best way you can so as to deeply cool the house structure as possible.  Think of these factors:
    • Cool the core portion of your house for as long as possible.  The cooling concept here is time.  It takes a long time to get the behind the walls to cool down.  Once these areas are cool they then act as sources for cooling.  Reasoning behind this method is if it takes a long time to cool the inner walls of your house then those areas should still be cool the next day when the temperature rises.  Those inner walls should be a cooling source!  So, consider start cooling when the outside temperature drops below your current house temperature.  This may be very late afternoon or early evening.  I have a very good inside the house thermometer (NEST), which I can view on my cell phone.  I compare that temperature with a good reliable Internet service provider web site.  I like The Weather Channel as I have found it to be reliable for my location.  Just a suggestion, you might consider buying a good outside thermometer that is WiFi capable so you can double check what The Weather Channel shows.
    • CAUTION:  Do not think you know the outside and inside temperature by how it feels on your body. Use science by looking at a temperature gauge.
      • Open windows when it gets cooler outside than in your house.
      • Close windows when the outside air gets within one degree of the pending outside temperature rising.
    • If you use any kind of window dressing such as sheer curtains, be aware that they will impede the free flow of air.  I do not like sheer curtains covering any window that I might want to open when it is cool outside.  I typically slide the sheer curtains open and closed as I think best.  If y0u think you need to keep a sheer curtain in place to maintain privacy, consider placing one or two ends of the curtains in line with the window opening so that, if there is a breeze, the curtains will be blown out of the way with the breeze or wind.  You will loose privacy when this happens but the curtains flapping back and forth might meet your requirements for some privacy.
  • Please be aware that turning on lights in a room will add heat into that room.  Tungsten light bulbs typically generate more heat than florescent bulbs but florescent bulbs do add some heat, just less than tungsten.  Compact Florescent Lights (CFL) and LED bulbs emit way less heat.  LED bulbs are the coolest because they emit very little heat.  Reference: https://brennan-electric.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-led-lights/
  • Another option to consider is to install window awnings where sunlight can pass into a window typically from the south, east and west.  Sun light passing into a window will heat the inside of that room.  I do not yet have these installed but I hope to soon.  A small rather nifty advantage is that you might be able to keep a window open when it rains if it has an awning.  Awnings are reported to increase the value of a home some times.

 

Posted:  June 19, 2024
Updated: June 20, 2024
Posted by: Score Card

Vacuum Cleaner Allegedly Caused Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

Vacuum Cleaner Allegedly Caused Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

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I needed a new vacuum cleaner that would run on battery power.  I was getting really annoyed having to plug in my AC vacuum cleaner because it wasted a lot of time for these reasons:

  1.  The AC cord was way too short for my liking.  I had to take time to unplug, find the next outlet and replug.
  2.  The AC vacuum cleaner was large and heavy which increased time using it because it had to be carried up and down stairs.
  3.  This large vacuum cleaner failed to move quickly into different directions.

A battery powered vacuum cleaner is way faster to use for these reasons:

  1. You just pick it up from it’s charge station and use it.
  2. It is lighter weight.
  3. It maneuvers way easier and can be turned in new directions way more easily than the larger AC powered units.  But this feature turned out to cause my carpel tunnel syndrome.
  4. I found that using my AC motor vacuum cleaner raised the temperature one degree in the house due to the hot exhaust from the motor.  The battery powered vacuum runs cooler.

The principle disadvantage of a battery powered vacuum cleaner is it runs out of power after a while.  I have dedicated the use for this device for early morning quick vacuuming jobs that I have found to occur every morning such as:

  1. Vacuuming the cat poop tray particles that I find have found collecting outside the cat poop bin.
  2. Vacuum particles on the floor in areas used by family members such as kitchen floor, passage ways, etc.

I just love my vacuum cleaner’s headlights that illuminate every dust and dirt particle on the floor.  The longer you use this vacuum cleaner with the headlights, you begin to remember areas of the floors that need vacuuming every day.  I have even noticed a few areas of the floor that show small dust balls that seem to grow after a few days that I fail to vacuum that particular location.

After four months of casual research, I decided upon buying a TINECO PURE ONE S15/PET. (see image to the right).  This model offers you a few configurations.  I just loved the option of dropping the vacuum cleaner into a floor stand.  Once the unit is put into the floor stand, it will self charge the battery if plugged into an AC wall power source.

I am guessing that my carpel tunnel syndrome did not develop for at least three or four months of using this vacuum cleaner.  I attribute this injury to the following features of using this type vacuum cleaner:

  1. The main vacuum components such as motor, battery, control head, and the container for the items sucked up you are holding in one of your hands.  The floor ac vacuum cleaner has all the heavy components rolling on the floor.  So with this new type vacuum cleaner, you are holding most of the machine weight in your hand.
  2. This type of vacuum cleaner gives the user a way better and easier ability to turn the floor suction part.  It is my opinion that twisting one’s wrist back and forth really is a significant factor for creating carpel tunnel syndrome.

I have Kaiser Medical and I am currently being treated for this injury.   

Now that I believe that my new vacuum cleaner has caused my carpel tunnel syndrome, I still am using the unit but with my left hand.  This probably sounds rather stupid but, I just love this Tineco vacuum cleaner.

NOTE.  There are a few battery operated vacuum cleaners that work similar.  Here is a partial list:

  • Dyson
  • Shark
  • Moosoo

 

Supporting evidence:

 

Negative points to consider using this vacuum cleaner:

We have two cats and a large cat poop tray which is their bathroom.  The tray is filled with a white colored small sand like particles that we have to use a special tool to scoop out the cat poop at least once a day.  The cats walk into the poop tray to do their stuff and thus their fir coats pick up some of the white sand.  The cats step out of the tray and this results in some of this white sand being deposited on our floor.  There is not a lot of white sand.  It is just scattered here and there.  This vacuum cleaner can properly pick up this sand.  The vacuum suction is not powerful enough, it seems, to deposit the sand into the main storage container.  The sand just sits within the head of the cleaner.  If I lift the vacuum cleaner head off the floor or hit the head of the cleaner on some object, the sand spills out on the floor.  Summary:  This vacuum cleaner is good for vacuuming rugs and fabric furniture.  It is unacceptable cleaning floors with any small particles.

 

Posted:  7-29-2023
Updated 7-14-2024

Wonderful Amazon Experience

Wonderful Amazon Experience

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Our house seems to need Wifi extenders to improve getting good Internet on our computers and cell phones.  I did a fair amount of research and chose the product “eero mesh WiFi system – router replacement for whole-home coverage (3-pack)” which cost me $129.99.  The website rating was pretty good at 4.4 and achieved an Amazon Choice recommendation.  But, after installing the units, we experienced random short periods loosing our Internet.  The cause was the Eero units.  I found some web sites that support that a lot of people were having this problem.  There were a few simple web site solutions that I tried but none worked for me.  I finally gave up and called Amazon customer support.  I talked to a man located in India, a terrific fellow, who understood the problem and immediately approved my returning the extenders.  He sent me a return shipping label to my computer within minutes.  I had saved the original box.  How it was repackaged was real easy and I was able to get my package ready to ship out in less than ten minutes.  I dropped the package off at the FEDEX store and those people accepting the shipment with no problem.  Within less than one hour, I got a message from Amazon that my full purchase price was returned to me!  YIKES!  INCREDIBLE!  Amazon had no way to check to see that I had sent them back all three units!   That really impressed me!

 

 

Posted 5/14/2023

Ring Devices Fail To Provide Alert Sound On Apple Phone.

Ring Devices Fail To Provide Alert Sound On Apple Phone.

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I personally have been very frustrated that my Ring cameras only, some times, fail to make an alert sound on my Apple cell phone. 

Possible Solution that I discovered:  TURN OFF BLUETOOTH.

This sort of makes sense because with bluetooth on, the cell phone is set to send audio to your bluetooth headsets and not your cell phone speaker.  Obviously, most of the time you are not wearing a bluetooth earphone so you should remember to go to cell phone Settings and look down to find Bluetooth and view the toggle switch to run Bluetooth on or off: 

On if wearing bluetooth headsets.  Note that if you are wearing headsets you should hear Ring alerts.
OFF if you want to hear Ring devices from your speaker.

NOTE:  The Apple left side slide switch must be ON to allow the Apple cell phone to provide you the Ring audible alerts.

 

POSTED:  12/10/2022

A Front Door Lock Check Is Important

A Front Door Lock Check Is Important

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For years, when I leave my house after locking the front door, I turn the outside front door to make sure that the door is locked.  I have a habit of turning the knob back and forth a number of times probably to make sure the door is really locked.  A few months ago I sort of noticed that I forgot to lock the door because it would open after turning the outside door knob a few times.  I was very much wrong.  I had NOT forgotten to lock the door.  I finally discovered that turning the outside front door knob after locking the door would unlock the door!  YIKES!

Watch the “Outside Door Knob” to see this happen:

 

Watch in the next video “Faulty Front Door Lock“ what takes place with the inside door lock.  As the outside door lock handle is rotated back and forth the inside lock moves slowly to unlock the door.

 

My wife told me that she thinks our front door lock is twenty years old.  I called a locksmith immediately to have that front door lock replaced.  The locksmith told me that this problem can happen as the door lock ages with corrosion.

 

 

Posted June 9, 2022

 

VORNADO Room Heater Fails To Turn On. Not True.

VORNADO Room Heater Fails To Turn On. Not True.

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VORNADO Room Heater Fails To Turn On. Not True.

 

There is NOTHING wrong with this heater.  The problem was user error.

This is the product Information found at the bottom of the box which the heater comes in:

  • EN1-0097-85
  • DODEL AWRH
  • ITM./ART.  1415862

I purchased this room heater February 15, 2022.  After unpacking the unit out of the box it came in, I plugged it in but the heater would not come on.  I tried the heater in three different AC outlets and still the heater would NOT come on.  Just by chance I found the reason.  There is a safety on/off switch at the bottom of the unit.  If you turn the unit upside down, you will find what looks like a small post leg.  It is actually a switch.  You can easily rotate this protrusion.   This device moves slightly in and out of the heater body.  If this device is out from the bottom just a little from the normal bottom of the heater it will shut off.  Thus, if the unit tips over the unit will turn off because this spring loaded plunger type device will extend and shut off the switch it is connected. 

But, I found that the surface that the heater rests on must be flat and level so the safety switch is moved upward into the unit to turn the unit on.   I had made the mistake of placing the heater down upon a desk where a thin plastic ID card was under the heater.  This thin card was enough to lift the heater up and shut the safety switch off.

So far, I do like this heater.

 

 

Posted February 16, 2022
Improved H1:  July 11, 2022