Winter Tips With Everyday Household Items

Here are some tips for ice and your car, which might be helpful with these messy storm coming.

Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.

Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity

Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on it's way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water---preventing water from freezing!

Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil spray - PAM- on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a Paper towel . The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber.

Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe if off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.

De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!

Larry Banach - Construction Manager

P-U! Is sewage backup covered?

The following was e-mailed to me by United Policyholders, a consumer advocate group for insureds.  This is great information I thought I should share with everyone...

Stinky sewage back-up and overflowing drains are a very common cause of damage to homes and businesses, especially those located in flat areas or near the bottom of slopes. Many policies now exclude coverage for the clean-up and repairs, but for a mere $20 a year you can buy a "Back-up of Sewer or Drain Endorsement" that gives you up to $10,000 in coverage. The catch? A $1,000 deductible. But hey, that's still easy math.”

Larry Banach - Construction Manager

Men of a Certain Age

I am a firm believer in taking good care of your health.  For those of us that are over 50 years old, our doctor will likely recommend a colonoscopy, at least every five years.  The following is a column that Dave Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005, wrote about his first time going through this procedure.  If you don’t think this is funny you’d better check your pulse!

Colonoscopy Journal: 
  
I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.

A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place. 

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Escape That Second Story

I've been in the fire restoration business for 16 years now. I can thankfully say that I have never been part of restoring a home where there was a loss of a life. I can't even begin to imagine the hurt that results when a family member losses their life due to a fire.It's good to keep in mind, especially when it comes to fire, that time is critical. Within 60 seconds a whole house can be engulfed in flames.

When any emergency occurs we have basically three choices: 1) Do nothing 2) Let our emotions get the best of us and act unrationally (that's like "stupid") 3) Remain calm and act with common sense and purpose

I read an article recently that reminded me of an important tool that everyone with a second or third story in their home should have - a fire escape ladder.

You can purchase one very inexpensively (especially compared to the value of a life!) at a website called www.fireescapesystems.com.

They can be purchased in several different styles, and depending on your particular needs, range from under $100 to a little over $300. Please buy one for each 2nd or 3rd story bedroom in your home.2 stp

Of course, I'd never want to suggest that these ladders could be used for any other purpose than escaping a fire. But I'm sure that some of you with some imagination will have some ideas!

Larry Banach - Construction Manager

Cell Phones: Will You Put It Down?

When I got my new cell phone from Verizon, the booklet on the NV Touch had some info on cell phone use and warnings.  My curiosity sent me to www.nhtsa.gov.  

I have highlighted some important points from that website.  Here are a few excepts:

“In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes that involved distracted driving. Distracted driving applies to anything that takes your eyes off the road, your hands off the steering wheel, or interrupts your concentration while driving.  Of special concern is the use of electronic entertainment and communication devices, especially cell phones. The relative risks of the various tasks drivers engage in are still being assessed, but in general the safest course of action is to refrain from using a cell phone while driving, which includes talking, dialing, and texting. 

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CELL PHONE NUMBERS HAVE GONE PUBLIC

This is a reminder to all of us that cell phone numbers go public this month.  Mike Smith said this morning that he has already started getting calls from advertisers.  All cell phone numbers have been released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls too. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone 888-382-1222.  This is the National Do Not Call Registry.  It will take about a minute of your time, but blocks your number for 5 years. You have to call from the phone number you want blocked.  You cannot call from a different phone number.  Most telemarketers should not call your number after it has been registered for 31 days.  If they do, you can file a complaint at www.donotcall.gov

Larry Banach - Construction Manager

Should I Be Concerned About Lead Poisoning During a Renovation Job?

Should I Be Concerned About Lead Poisoning During a Renovation Job?

If your home was built before 1978 there is a good chance that the paint on the walls has lead in it. Lead is a toxic metal that was commonly used in paints manufactured before that date. In fact, the older a home is, the chances that lead is in the paint are even greater. The EPA has a saying, "Lead paint comes with a lifetime guarantee. It'll do damage for generations.""What's on your walls?" That's the EPA slogan. If you have a newer home, you have no worries. But if your home was built prior to 1978, and you have remodeling to be done, your paint should be tested for lead. This is especially important if there are children living in the home. Children under 6 years of age are highly susceptible to lead-based poisoning. In fact, some pediatricians routinely test the children under their care for lead in their system. It is a serious matter since lead-poisoning can cause brain damage.

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Do you I.C.E.?

When there's an emergency often EMS responders don't know who to contact. A movement that started in England has caught on in the US. It turns your cellphone into a way for EMS or hospital personnel to contact your next of kin, doctor, etc. in a case of emergency if you were unconscious or unable to respond. Here's the idea: You list all of your emergency contacts under "ICE" in your cell phone (acronym for In Case of Emergency). You can list ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc to list multiple contacts. Or you could do ICE-wife, ICE-doctor, etc. It's good to put a small sticker on your phone with "I.C.E." on it. 75% of people don't carry any emergency contacts. And a driver's license just doesn't provide enough information. ICE should NOT replace a card that you carry in your wallet or purse with emergency contact numbers, medical conditions, current medications, dangerous allergies, etc. I'm going to ask Summer, our graphics expert, if she will make up a card for all of our Champion personnel that they can fill out and we can laminate and keep with us. Or you can go to medids.com and fill out a form on your computer that you can carry with you and put one on your refrigerator at home. Believe it or not, that's where firemen and other EMS personnel look for contact information! But it will be up to you to "ICE"!

Larry Banach - Construction Department Manager

Wee'r knot nown fur hour speling

Ok, here's the deal.  Champion is well known as one of the premier construction/restoration companies in the south Atlanta area.  But we're not the greatest spellers.  You see, I'm the Construction Manager here, but I have also been given the designation of "Job Processing Program Administrator".  Little did I know what that would involve. 

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The Very Beginning of Champion...

Most people don't know that Champion's Founder, Joel Reets and Champion's Construction Manager, Larry Banach grew up together in Erie, Pennsylvania.  Joel founded Champion in 1970 and Larry joined him in 1994.  Here is a picture we came across of little Joel and Larry together on a construction site.  Who could have know then that it was just the first of many construction projects they would be on together?

Summer Bishop - Marketing Support