Laptop computers are made for traveling, but unfortunately that makes them very prone to having someone walk away with them. So we found an incredible software and service company called Absolute Software in Vancouver. You install their software and for a low annual fee, it will call in as ofte...
Just about any chemical can be a hazard if it is in the wrong hands, or gets used wrong. But here we are talking about things we throw away that are still corrosive, explosive, flammable or toxic. These things should not go into the recycling boxes. Store it carefully until your municipality h...
Here are some home made non-toxic cleaners:Copper Cleaner -- Salt & VinegarSilver Cleaner -- Tooth pasteDrain Openers for Grease -- 1 cup Baking Soda; 1 cup vinegar; 1/2 cup salt 20 minutes later slowly pour boiling water down the drainFurniture Polish -- 1 tlb spoon mineral oil or almond o...
We took our TV cameras out to look at some tree limbs that should be trimmed back to protect telephone, cable or electrical wires from extra stress with the weight of winter snow and ice.With or without tree problems, you should take a look outside at all the wires attached to your house. Eac...
To get some adhesion on the top of ice you can of course use sand, but cat litter and fireplace ashes work as well.Of the commercial de-icers, the finer power like ones will tend to go down slowly and do better at thinning the ice. The more rock style will cut their way down to the bottom quic...
Sliding windows and sliding doors are prone to intrusion. There is now a wide variety of hardware to solve this problem. Hockey sticks are a good first line of defense, but there are things that are much better and more discrete.Most important is probably the spacer wedges that can be placed...
Metal reinforcing plates exist that allow you to strengthen broken or weak doors, right in the area where the latches and locks are installed. This material was from Schlage Locks.I also showed a neat way to use a hole saw to cut a hole just slightly offset from an existing hole, something usual...
Jeff Dale from Toronto's Classic Fire Protection service came in to talk about fire extinguishers.Research has shown that one reason people do not have fire extinguishers, or that they don't put them out on the wall where they should be, is that they find that big red can ugly. So something i...
When an earthquake strikes you have two major things to worry about:First, things may move or fall over. This could mean glasses falling out of cupboards, or electrical appliances crashing to the ground (fire hazard) or even the hot water tank tipping over (fire hazard again).Second, the house...
Dr. Don Pinchin of the Pinchin Group in Mississauga, Ontario is an expert in asbestos abatement who usually works on large commercial projects. We got him to show us what forms of asbestos we might still find in our homes, and just how dangerous they might be.The key message was that if it is...
