3 Tips For Finding The Perfect Commercial Cleaner

July 15, 2018January 16, 2020 Healthy Homes

Finding a commercial cleaner to look after your business or commercial building can be difficult. The options are seemingly endless, and it can be tiring reading through a whole lot of different websites to choose the best cleaner.

Luckily for you, there are a few telltale signs that you can look for that will help you identify the best commercial cleaners for your business. Some things will allow you to eliminate some cleaners immediately, while others will help you build a shortlist of suitable contractors for your business. Our top three tips for finding the perfect commercial cleaner include:

Find Someone Who Is Qualified And Experienced

The first thing that you should look for when it comes to choosing the perfect cleaning company for your commercial needs is their qualifications and experience. While cleaning isn’t necessarily a job which requires a lot of qualifications, they certainly help, and they can provide proof that the cleaner in question is well equipped to handle your work.

Where possible, you should always work with commercial cleaners who have a well established company and who have been in the business for a decent amount of time. Find someone who has qualifications relating to the type of building you have – commercial, residential or industrial – and who has decent cleaning equipment and materials.

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Plumbing Services

May 22, 2018November 30, 2023 Healthy Homes

Be Prepared

A saying states: Make sure you buy a plunger before you need one! While the image the saying might conjure up is not the nicest, it holds true. The same can be said for plumbers. Get to know a plumber before you need a plumber. The professionals at Best Coast Plumbing have provided a list of services you can expect to receive when you call a plumber.

Plumbing and Safety Inspection

According to Complete Bathroom Solutions, you can do that by contacting a plumbing service to carry out a routine check on your home or investment property. It’s a great way to get to know the people in a service you may need in the direst emergency.

One other bit of advice is to keep a record of any plumber you might use if you are satisfied with their work. As mentioned, with any home system, sooner or later, you’ll need the service of the best plumbing company you can find in an emergency or for repair.

Finding the Best Plumbing Service

Since every home in the country has some indoor plumbing, it only makes sense that at one time or another, everyone is going to need the services of the best plumbing service they can find. The challenge is finding someone who is trustworthy, skilled and yet affordable to perform the work. This seems like it should be an easy task to get leaky taps fixed but because plumbing is one skill that is not learned by attending a class or reading books, there should be some way for average home owners to get decent service.

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How A Financial Planner Can Help With Home Renovation

May 1, 2018April 5, 2019 Healthy Homes

If you are thinking about doing any type of home and garden renovation your list of experts to help you might include an electrician, an architect or a landscape gardener. However, have you thought to include a financial planner on your list? It is likely not, as most people think financial planners are only for sorting out investments and pensions. On the contrary, they can assist with any project which requires financing and home renovation is one of them.

There are countless examples of homeowners embarking on a home renovation project, and seeing the whole thing grind to a halt because the project was not planned properly with regards to financing it. The costs might have spiralled out of control, or an expected bill which caused them to reach their credit card limit are just two of the dramas that may have befallen them.

Assuming you don’t want the same to happen to you, the sensible option is to employ the services of a financial planner so that any concerns you may have for your home renovation project are allayed with regards to money and financing.

In practical terms, there are several ways a financial planner can assist you when planning any kind of home or garden renovation. Firstly, they can look at your overall financial health, and suggest ways you might be able to improve your financial situation to make the project more affordable.

Common Fire Types And How They Should Be Treated

March 24, 2018September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

When it comes to office and business safety, fire is a very important consideration. Sure, it’s rare to have a fire in your building, but it is very important to understand that when you do, it isn’t always as simple as grabbing the nearest fire extinguishers and putting it out.

A report out today from Integral Fire Protection, says there are a number of different fires which all behave differently. Obviously, the standard wood or flammable solid based fire is the most common, and is probably the one which we are all familiar with. However, there are at least four other types of fires – classified by the fuel they burn – which should be treated differently to maximise your chance of extinguishing them safely. They are:

Class A Fires – General Combustibles

These are the fires which we are all familiar with. They are fuelled by oxygen, and generally involve common materials like paper, wood, plastic or fabrics burning. They are easily managed, and can usually be controlled by dousing with water, using an appropriate fire extinguisher or covering with sand or a fire blanket.

Class B Fires – Flammable Liquids

Flammable liquids, such as petrol or oil, behave differently to solids when they burn. Since liquids can flow, it is extremely important to never throw water on a liquid fire. The water will sink below the flammable liquid in most cases, evaporating and causing an explosion. Make sure that you use an appropriate fire extinguisher – such as a dry powder or CO2 one – to minimise the risk of making the fire worse.

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The Health Benefits of Spending Time Outdoors

February 26, 2018September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

As a resident of Perth, Australia, you can appreciate the weather as for most of the year it is more than pleasant. The city has heat, and heat waves, but apart from the excessively hot days, people aren’t caged inside like you would be if it was bitterly cold. There are more than 260 sunny days in Perth annually and that makes activities outdoors common for most people. Spending time in your garden that has had the benefit of a nice landscape design can be surprisingly good for you.

What is probably not known is that there are benefits to being outdoors that have been scientifically proven.

FACTS

Being outside improves short term memory.

A study by a US university found that test subjects got 20% better scores on tests they were given after a short walk through trees and outside in sunshine. Similar studies found that depressed individuals increased their working memory after a short walk outside.

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The Good Side of the Fence

January 7, 2018September 16, 2019 Healthy Homes

Getting new fencing is not simply choosing what you want and building it, or having it built. What about the neighbours? If the local council regulations allow the type of fence you want, you probably feel like it’s okay to build it. Unfortunately, while the fence might be in your yard, or more likely on the boundary, the neighbours will be seeing one side of it every day. Like everything else, there is etiquette involved before you get all enthusiastic and start putting up that fence.

Common Boundaries

Even if you are replacing an existent fence, you need to have the property line checked again.

Your land titles should clearly indicate where everything starts and stops with regard to boundaries, but make sure. Get a surveyor to stake the property again so the fence goes in exactly the right position. Additionally, a surveyor can place stakes along the boundary, giving you a clearer idea of exactly where your fence can go.

Communication with the Neighbour

You cannot erect a fence in this country without having the neighbour agree to the design and cost, particularly as they are usually liable for half the cost anyway. Maybe the neighbour was considering a new fence anyway. It’s just common courtesy to have a nice neighbourly chat about it.

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The Importance of Edging in Landscape Design

November 5, 2017November 17, 2017 Healthy Homes

The landscape design process is often prepared with a variety of special accents that can make any garden look attractive. A professional team can assist you with getting a quality edge ready around your garden to make it look more distinctive and unique.

The kind of edging you chose is important in order to establish the way you want your garden and landscaped area to look and what your lifestyle needs are.

It adds an ornamental look to your landscape in general.
It also works as a border for the entire space.
You could even add edges to separate individual spots around your landscape. This is for areas where there are lots of plants that need to be contained in some way to make them more attractive.

As you plan to get an edging ready, a landscaper will be able to advise you on the best kinds to suit your garden and give the kind of look you are aiming for. This could include a review of how well the edging is to be made and where it should be placed for the best effect. A proper diagram should be made with professional ideas for what can be done to help you get the most out of whatever you plan on adding to your garden.

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The Fine Print for Shade Sail Purchase

October 12, 2017February 26, 2018 Healthy Homes

Purchasing a shade sail for your business from Shade Sails Perth is a great idea. It shows your care about the comfort and well-being of your customers when you provide shade for them to sit in while they are at your establishment. But before you sign on the dotted line, it’s a good idea to read all the fine print to ensure you are getting what you really need.

The fine print should contain the following information: –

Durability of the product. You’ll want to know exactly how long you can expect the sail to last so you can calculate the overall cost for that number of years.
Strength – this is not the same as durability. Some things last a long time but are not that strong in some ways. Strength means that the shade sail, posts and fittings should be strong enough to withstand a reasonable amount of adverse weather and the sail itself should not tear in the wind, or due to being over-tensioned.

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10 Home Design Ideas to Make Your Small Space Look Bigger

July 5, 2017September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

Affordable homes are often smaller than more costly ones, but that doesn’t mean the owners can’t truly enjoy living in them. In fact, a smaller home design often creates a warm, intimate atmosphere that can be missing in a larger one. There are many different ways to make your smaller home look larger so you don’t feel like you’re living in a box. Here are some of them.

Know your limits. When space is limited, don’t stuff it with lots of furniture. For instance, rather than having the traditional sofa, 2 lounge chairs and a coffee table set-up in the living room, limit it to just the sofa. Or you could find a lounge suite that is smaller than most, with narrower arms and a low back. Comfortable easy chairs take up less space than the kind of lounge chairs that match the sofa.

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9 Simple Tips for Healthy Living

June 21, 2017September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

Healthy living doesn’t usually come naturally because there are many temptations that lead to bad habits and after that, to bad health. While it is fatally easy to get into those bad habits, it seems somewhat harder to establish the good ones, mostly because they are the opposite of what we’ve become used to. However, if you do a thing for 30 days, experts tell us it becomes a habit, so try following one or more of these simple tips for a month and see what happens.

Drink more water. Water helps to flush the toxins out of the body and cleans the kidneys, one of our waste disposal units. Water keeps your body hydrated and helps to carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. It also helps to keep the skin looking young and fresh and helps you to lose weight. What’s not to like about that?
Eat a healthy diet including fresh fruit and vegetables. Don’t overcook food as that destroys the nutrients in it. Have raw or lightly steamed vegetables for the most nutrients. Brightly coloured foods generally have a lot of antioxidants to keep you healthier.
Have plenty of sleep. If you are constantly tired you become bad-tempered. You’ll also gain weight, since your body craves food to compensate for that tired feeling. Lack of sleep will make you age more quickly, since when you sleep your body restores itself.
Find time to relax and live in the moment. In other words, stop and smell the roses so your stress levels are reduced and you feel calmer. Stress that goes on for too long contributes significantly to many serious diseases.

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Eco Friendly or Fun Ideas For Your Home

May 31, 2017September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

There are many affordable and fun ideas for your home that can enhance your lifestyle or that may have environmentally friendly aspects. Many of them are easy to do and are pleasing to look at, making the home or its surroundings more pleasant in some way. If you are tired of the same old problems or look of your home, consider adding some of these ideas to your life.

If you have a staircase, add a slim slide next to it for the children to come down. This works well with a spiral staircase.
Love cats? Keep them environmentally friendly by adding a cat access transit tunnel around the living room walls to an enclosed space on a balcony or in a nearby tree. One on the outside walls is another good idea to give your cat exercise while keeping it safe.
An indoor outdoor pool might be just what is needed for convenience and privacy, otherwise you might consider having your pool built right next to the back deck. But make sure you have a good fence around it if you have children.

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Health Problems Caused by Gas Heaters

May 1, 2017February 28, 2019 Healthy Homes

If you are considering your health this winter it might be a good idea to take a look at your heating system. According to electrical authority Electrician Perth Experts most electricians who are experienced with gas will tell you that even though unvented gas heaters seem to be popular, they produce not only carbon dioxide, (CO2) but carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

The health hazards of CO are many and dangerous, since it is considered a toxic gas. Any form of heating that is unvented means that the products produced from burning the fuel remain in the room or the whole house. So if you have a gas heater with no vent, you are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, especially if the heater is left on all night and there are few cracks or gaps in the house to let fresh air in and poisons out.

Carbon monoxide is colourless, tasteless, non-irritating and odourless so you won’t even know you are being poisoned. In fact, it is said to poison more people than all other poisons put together and most of this can be attributed to unvented gas heaters or even vented ones that burn incorrectly due to any number of things such as rust on the burner or the improper placement of artificial logs. CO causes both brain damage and organ damage.

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Sustainable Practices in Gardening

December 29, 2016July 26, 2019 Healthy Homes

The value of most homes and the lifestyle of the residents is increased by the addition of a beautiful garden. However, these days it is important to implement sustainability practices, so the garden helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the house rather than increasing it. Gardens and lawns look lovely and enhance your lifestyle, but are notorious for using up lots of water. They also need fertiliser and pesticides to ensure your plants are not eaten up by pesky insects.

Both fertiliser and pesticides tend to get washed into the waterways and in many cases kill things they were not meant to harm. A case in point is the beautiful corals that die due to fertilisers being washed into the ocean. But by using sustainable methods, such harm can be eliminated. Here’s a short guide from our friends at lawncareman.com.au on how to do so;

Minimise water usage

It is easy to minimise the amount of water needed by choosing drought hardy plants for the garden. This will reduce your water costs and save time spent in watering the garden.
Using organic mulch will help prevent the soil from drying out, again reducing the amount of water needed. It also keeps the ground cooler in the hot summer, a fact that many plants love.
Choosing the kind of lawn grass that is drought hardy is also important because most lawns need lots of water to keep them green. Do your research to find what grass is suitable for your area that does not need constant watering.

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9 Tips to Staying Healthy when Landscaping

February 18, 2016September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

Whether you have a job landscaping, work your own business or do it for a hobby on your own property, landscaping is often sheer hard work, so it is important to take care at all times in order to avoid injury. Even if you are fit and love your job, it is still possible to injure yourself if you don’t be careful.

Here are 9 tips to help you stay healthy when doing this kind of work –

Learn the proper way to lift heavy weights. When doing the kind of work involved with gardening or landscaping, you’ll often have to lift things that are not only heavy, but awkward and have no handles. It’s important to use lifting equipment wherever possible, but if you do have to lift by hand you should bend your knees, not your back. And never lift and swing around at the same time. That’s a sure recipe for a bad back that can put you off work for weeks.
Use safety equipment such as goggles, gloves and proper boots. Your eyes are important, but a flying rock or nail can ruin your eyesight for good, while dust and grit can make them sore. Gloves may feel awkward, but they can prevent blisters and scratches that can fester and turn septic. They can also prevent spider bites. The same goes for boots.
Working out in the heat and sun can dehydrate you. There might be a nice breeze so you don’t feel like you are sweating, but you are. Drinking water at regular intervals will keep you hydrated. If it’s mid-summer, choose a drink that contains electrolytes to prevent cramps. Organise your work so the hardest jobs are not done in the midday heat.

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How to Remove Negativity From Your Life

July 5, 2015September 25, 2018 Healthy Homes

When it comes to healthy living, our mental health is just as important as our physical health. If you are negative all the time you won’t be happy and eventually, you won’t be physically healthy either. Being negative often leads to depression or stress and it affects our capacity to enjoy life and have happy relationships. So here are some tips to remove negativity from your life.

Refuse to have negative people in your life. These are people who tend to criticise you all the time, put you down or even are always complaining about things in their own life that they don’t like. It also includes backstabbers who lie about you to others or speak about you in a way that is slanderous or unfair. These people are not your friends and don’t deserve your time or effort.
Get rid of your own negative thoughts. Many people suffer from thinking bad thoughts about themselves. Don’t let yourself think things that put you down or belittle yourself, your body, your actions or the things you do any longer. Every day when you wake up, look in the mirror and say 5 good things about yourself. Do the same thing throughout the day.