Getting Rid of Mice the Natural Way

In the world of home ownership, uninvited guests show up from time to time. Everything from In-laws to grown children, from spiders to mice always seem to appear as if out of nowhere, bags of luggage and a used one way ticket in hand. Though there may be no repellent for some of these guests, mice can usually be controlled.

However, controlling mice is easier said than done. Simply asking them to leave falls on deaf (albeit large) ears, setting traps provides them with something to outsmart (and is too cruel for some people), using poison forces you to chance that your pet will find the deceased mouse, eat it, and unknowingly consume the poison as well, and, of course, laying out eviction notices only results in the echo of quiet, yet condescending, mouse laughter. For all these reasons, the plan to rid mice from your home needs some tweaking, tweaking you just might find in a natural home remedy.

Use Odors: Mice, like all creatures, find certain odors repelling. Ammonia and mothballs, for instance, both produce a scent that mice want to stay away from. The flip side, however, is that ammonia and mothballs also produce a scent that people want to stay away from. Luckily, there are also nice smells that mice abhor: peppermint is one of these odors. Saturating cotton balls with peppermint extract or laying mint leaves near the areas where mice invade will help keep them from coming in. Some people also swear that the smell of onions, or even planting onions in a backyard garden, is enough to help keep mice away: their odor will make them peel out.

Get a cat: It is believed that cats were first domesticated to help rid homes of mice. A house with a cat, a mouses natural nemesis, is less likely to have a mice problem than one without a live version of Tom and Jerry. But, of course, this isnt always an option. Some people may be allergic to cats, others may just not like them. Some cats might find hunting mice beneath them (honestly, arent most things beneath them?). And some cats might even initiate the mouse problem by bringing live mice into your home. If this happens, take care of your cat problem by getting a dog.

Use Fox Urine: A predator to mice, the scent of a fox quickly deters mice from making themselves at home; if they believe a fox is on the premises, they will stay away. Luckily for you, you dont need the whole fox to make them believe this: you only need his urine. Simply spraying the mouse infested areas of your house - or the areas where they enter - with fox urine will give the mice cause to move out quickly or stay away altogether. Filled with convenience, it's sold in bottles as a mouse deterrent: you dont have to go around asking the local foxes for urine samples; lets face it, that kind of makes an awkward situation for everyone.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor for http://www.etodoors.com. Someone who changes her mind every five minutes, her house is in a perpetual state of home improvement.

Glass Shower Doors - The Earth Friendly Option

Going green is a new phrase you hear more and more about these days. Basically going green refers to living in such a way that you do not impact the earth negatively. If also refers to the products we buy for our homes.

Going green is here to stay; it is not just another trend or fad that people are buying into. Our planet is heating up - fact. Looking after our earth should be part of everyone daily routine. Because lets face it, without our earth we would have nowhere to live. Unless we start looking after our planet it won't be long before it heats up creating inhabitable conditions for our great great grandkids. And we can't exactly move onto the moon or another planet just yet. So looking after our planet is very important and we need to be an example to our children so they look after the earth when we have gone.

If you are interested in 'going green' there are plenty things you can do. Recycling your food packaging would be a good start. All cardboard, paper, plastics and aluminum cans can be recycled. Glass is recyclable as are our clothes. Most towns have recycle centers where you can recycle all of your household goods which means your doing your bit for the environment.

Air pollution is another green issue, but most of us think about the outside air being polluted not the air in our homes. But the air in our homes could also be polluted because of PVC items like shower curtains.

A study has shown that PVC shower curtains can be hazardous to your health because they can release up to 108 toxic chemicals in the air. These chemicals can have an adverse affect on your lungs, central nervous system, liver and kidneys according to the US based Centre for Health Environment and Justice. It is quite possible in the future PVC curtains could be banned from production and quite rightly so. Also PVC is very bad for the environment because it never breaks down.

To improve the quality of the air in your home you need to replace your vinyl shower curtains with organic cotton or glass. The trouble with cotton is that you will find it hard to keep them looking new and clean, whereas a glass shower door is very easy to keep clean and it will look fabulous for years to come.

Glass Shower doors are very popular and can be found in most hotels and homes.
Apart from looking a lot better than the old environmentally bad plastic curtains they are much more hygienic and can look fantastic too. They also actually work better at holding the water in the shower or bath than the old plastic shower curtains.

You will be spoilt for choice when shopping for a glass shower door. They come in many different options. Maybe you like the idea of a swing door or a sliding door. You could even have a custom designed shower door made with your exact specifications. Whatever type of door you choose, the choice of glass is important and worth thinking about. You can get just about any type of glass although it has to be strong if you want it without a frame.

Whatever glass shower door you choose, you can rest your mind that you are not polluting your air or causing unnecessary damage to the environment

For More information on glass shower doors and their impact on earth please visit http://www.glassforbath.com

How To Kill Termites Effectively

There's no need to move to another town just because termites have started nesting in your home. There are ways and methods to learn how to kill termites as well as various companies that will do it for you. Know how to kill termites now and save your property.

Detecting Termites

Learning how to kill termites should not be the concern of homeowners with existing termite problems alone. Even if you do not have a problem yet you should also know how to kill termites. This is because termites can survive almost anywhere. If your house has wooden components in it and you have moist surroundings, then you are in danger of termite infestation.

Some cases of termite infestation may not be easily detected unless the damage has been done. It would therefore be a sensible idea to be watchful of winged termites, mud tunnels or hollowed wood that may all indicate the presence of termites.

Consulting Experts

In some cases, we may be tempted to perform the termite inspection and control ourselves. There is nothing really wrong with doing things yourself but asking experts to inspect your property and apply effective treatments is the rea5B4l answer to the question of how to kill termites. Extermination companies know better how to kill termites and stop them from coming back. Your only real task is to find a good company. You can do that by asking people you trust to recommend you one and comparing prices and services before choosing one.

Pre Treatment

Contractors know the right methods and techniques for pre treatment in order to prevent termite breeding. Before building a home, you can have your soil and wood pre treated with chemicals. You can also talk to your contractor about making sure that wooden parts and structures are safely elevated from the soil.

Baiting

The newest method of killing termites effectively is by baiting. Exterminators who use this method may use wooden monitors to first attract termites and then replace the monitors with treated ones. Treated baits contain chemicals that can be ingested by workers and taken back to the colony. Once fed to the other members, the treatment can inhibit molting and can eventually result in the death of colony members.

Chemical Barrier

Another method used by exterminators is the chemical barrier. In this method, trenches and hole may be made on the areas surrounding the foundation. The trenches can then be filled with chemicals that can prevent termites from reaching the house or returning to the soil. Non-repellent chemicals may also be used and when ingested can result in termite5AA death.

Tenting

Tenting is a complicated and aggressive answer to how to kill termites. As the name suggests, it involves enclosing the house in a tent and fumigating it. Of course, this would mean vacating the house and taking with you any edible items or medications that may be contaminated. The extermination company will usually inform you what you should remove from the house and what else you should do. Common sense also says that you should inform your neighbors about your tenting procedure so they can keep away from the area.

Discover how to kill termites effectively. For the top do it yourself termite control, trust only the advice of experts.

Picking The Best Bathroom Flooring

There are two considerations when it comes to flooring (as with many choices that you have to make in your bathroom renovation pro1C4Fject). Can we describe them as style and substance to borrow from the old aphorism. Do you want your floor to be all style and no substance, all substance and no style or a bit of an all rounder. An all rounder is the obvious response but you may have other things in the room that you want to set the style of the room, like an elaborate statue, modern vanity units or an unusual whirlpool tub. In this case you want a functional flooring that helps to show off these features. If you have no other features that you want to show off then maybe your flooring can be super stylish or have an elaborate pattern and be the main feature of the room. Of course these choices come down to your personal likes and your budget. This article will examine some considerations when picking the best bathroom flooring.

In terms of cost tiling is probably the most expensive flooring. Then comes laminates and vinyl. Some people use carpet in their bathrooms but this is generally going out of fashion as it is harder to clean and doesn't really react very well to moisture. It pays to shop around either physically or on the internet for good deals for these types of materials. Often there will be an end of line material that is going cheap so you may end up getting a cheaper tile flooring that may be a few years old than the latest vinyl patterns. If you do this however, ensure that there is enough of this material to cover your bathroom (with a few spare tiles for any mishaps during the installation).

Another consideration with bathroom flooring is who will install the flooring. Whilst it is a good learning experience to lay the bathroom flooring you probably don't want to learn this skill on a super expensive Italian ceramic tiling that costs $20 a square foot. You probably want to hire a professional or even the person that sold you the tiling to install it. If you are installing a vinyl tiling or sheeting then this is relatively inexpensive and could be a good project to get your feet wet. This all comes down to cost in the end.

Ceramic tiling looks great and is the best way to make a statement in your bathroom. This is your all style material however it has many practical qualities. It is extremely durable and will last a lifetime.

Laminate is a fairly new material in the bathroom (and homes in general). It is cheaper than tiling and can come in some impressive designs, like pine flooring or a stone effect. It is easy to install. It comes with an underlay that gives it a sense of give and dampens any noise when you walk on it.

Vinyl comes in sheets or tiles. Vinyl sheeting is probably the cheapest and easiest to install. It is a great material to use for DIY projects. This is because you can make mistakes and it won't cost too much. Vinyl is also durable but will wear out quicker than the other materials. It is also liable for fad in terms of color and pattern over time.

If you want to breathe new life into your home or are simply looking for a little inspiration then visit http://www.finehomeideas.com The site gives tips and advice for home renovation and interior design, including a review of bamboo flooring and tips for laying bathroom tiles. Adrian Whittle writes about ideas for making your home special.

Tile Shower Pan - 3 Different Types

Your tile shower pan can be of three types. If you are considering installing a new shower you should know your choices. If you have problems with your current shower leaking, knowing how the shower is put together helps you talk to a tradesman who will work on it.

Traditional Tile Shower Pans

Most likely your existing shower pan is made using traditional methods. That means the shower floor is built up with masonry or a cement mix. The concept used for this method is simple, but there are several tricks and some art involved. This method if properly done will produce ceramic showers that work great for many decades.

Very briefly the traditional pan is built as follows. First, set a special shower drain in place with the drain top at the height of the finished floor. Make sure you have a good solid sub floor topped with roofing felt. Then pour in mortar mix and slope it to the drain. The next layer is a waterproof vinyl membrane. This sheet is the waterproof barrier which is glued to the drain. Above the membrane or liner goes the top layer of masonry sloped to the drain. Then finally install the tile and grout to finish the floor.

Know that the masonry and grout in a shower floor are not waterproof. Only the vinyl liner is waterproof. If installed properly, you have a long-lasting set-up. If mistakes are made, you have a problem. Also the shower floor is not maintenance free. The joints at the floor to walls must be checked regularly and may require caulking from time to time.

Fiberglass Shower Pans

A quick and easy way to build a shower pan is to install a fiberglass pan made for this purpose. These are the pans you see at building stores. Tile cannot be installed on these pans. It's fast and relatively easy but fiberglass pans have negatives. These pans do not last as long as traditional pans. They are easily scratched and damaged. And a fiberglass shower pan does not have the luxury look and feel of a ceramic tile shower.

Tile Ready Shower Pans

There are several systems now that make installing a shower pan faster than the traditional way. All the systems use a vinyl pan with an integral drain designed for installation of ceramic tile over the top of the pan. Methods vary, but systems contain material to line the walls and make a completely waterproof shower. Some systems use a mortar base for the shower pan to sit on. Others use a special foam base.

The advantages of these systems over traditional systems is speed. No waiting for mortar layers to dry. Also the level of art and skill for the installer is less. The disadvantage is cost. Typically the tile ready showers are far more expensive than a traditional tile shower pan. The material is sometimes as expensive as the whole job cost the traditional way.

Puzzled about how to build a ceramic tile shower? Need more information? Visit our site for tile shower pan tips.

We invite you to visit http://www.installingceramictile.net for answers to your ceramic shower questions.

The Effect of Lighting on Solid Surface Material

One thing about solid surface counter tops and showers that some people do not take into consideration is the way that lighting in a room affects the appearance of the surface.

My most recent case of this is a Corian shower. The color is Cocoa Brown. There are only 2 walls and there is a shower pan. Just to the left of the shower there is a small window and it is the only outside light coming into the bathroom.

On this particular shower, the wall panels had to be polished to a high gloss. The shower pan also needed to be polished. Because of this, I decided to bring the first wall panel into the shower before making all the cuts for fitting so the homeowner could inspect and approve the polishing job on the pieces.

Before I even had the panel resting comfortably on the shower pan the homeowner said, "Those pieces don't match." Immediately I looked down and sure enough, it looked like 2 very different colors. Now, I knew that they were not two different colors but even though I knew it, for one quick second I even had to second guess the colors between the panel and the shower pan.

Immediately my helper was on the phone with the fabricator (I wasn't the fabricator, I was just helping the fabricator on this job) trying to figure out how they could have made such a mistake.

I had the piece of material that was cut out to allow for the hot/cold controls. I put it on the shower pan and it was the exact same color as the shower pan. However, when we held the cutout up on the wall, it then became the same color as the wall panel. They both looked very different but they were the same after all.

So, what caused the drastic difference in color? The light from that one small window. As soon as the "problem" was noticed, I took a picture. While we were waiting for the designer to show up and inspect things, we went to lunch for about 45 minutes.

When the designer got there, the lighting had changed so drastically in that bathroom that she walked in, looked at it and said, "It looks the same to me." Sure enough, the wall panels looked the same as the shower pan. I went ahead with the rest of the installation and when I was done, the lighting had changed again and once again it looked like two different colors. I turned the bathroom lights on and off and each time the color went from different, back to the same.

Basically, the point of this story is this.

Light can really do funny things to your solid surface material. Window light in particular can play some serious tricks on the appearance of the color and also in the correct light angles, you can see more scratches and smudges and just plain busyness (new word) on your surface.

These light tricks are not unique to solid surface. Natural stone and manufactured stone also have the same lighting issues but for some reason solid surface really seems to get picked on for this. The difference I guess is the "sameness" factor that people expect to see from one piece of solid surface to the next. It should all look alike. Period.

Stone products are natural and therefore everyone automatically knows to expect some variation from piece to piece.

I think the important thing is to make sure that the customer is aware of this issue ahead of time and to expect it to a certain degree. It's all about building the proper expectations and then coming through on those expectations.

Bryan Dix is the owner of Complete Solid Surface Refinishing. North Carolina's first and best solid surface counter top "repair only" fabricator. CSSR Blog is packed with photos of different repairs and situations. Questions that customers and others ask will be addressed here. CSSR Blog.

Completing the Job - A Final Checklist For Building and Home Improvement Projects

When you make the final payment you eliminate your greatest point of leverage with the contractor. Before you sign off on the completion of your building or home improvement project and make that payment, use this checklist to make sure the job is complete.

Check that:

All work meets or exceeds the standards that are spelled out in the contract.

You have all written warranties for materials, fixtures and workmanship. You should also have any owner's manuals for appliances or other devices.

You have proof that all of the subcontractors and suppliers have been paid in full. This is important for protecting yourself from mechanics liens.

The work site has been cleaned up as agreed and cleared of any excess materials, as well as, tools and equipment.

You have inspected and approved all of the completed work. Be sure to check that all fixtures, appliances, etc. are hooked up and working properly.

Where to Complain

If you have a problem with your contractor or project, try to resolve it with the contractor first. If approached correctly many disputes can be resolved at this level. Follow up any phone conversations with a written letter restating your understanding. Send it by certified mail and request a return receipt so that you can prove that the company received your letter. Be sure to keep a copy for your files.

If you have done your best to work things out with the contractor and still can't get satisfaction, you may want to consider contacting the following organizations for further information and help:

Your State and/or local consumer protection offices.

Your state or local Builders Association or Remodelor's Association or Council.

Your local Better Business Bureau.

Your local Action Line

Consumer reporters. Check with local newspaper, TV and radio stations for contacts.

Local dispute resolution programs.

The best way to avoid getting to this point is to follow the guidelines for contractor.html" target="_blank">hiring a contractor, spell everything out in writing, make sure you are paying attention throughout the project and keep the communication lines open.

Learn to find and hire the right contractor.html">remodeling contractor by visiting http://easyhouseremodeling.com, a popular house remodeling website that offers information, tips and free remodeling and home improvement advice.