The Citizen, 2002-10-16, Page 17Herman Thalen
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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2002. PAGE 17.
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Preparing your lawn or Old Man Winter
(MS) — All spring and summer
long you've toiled in the front yard
to create a perfect green carpet of
lush, thick grass. However, come
autumn are you supposed to just sit
back and let Mother Nature take her
course and turn your hard work into
a dried-out eyesore?
Lawn experts say no. and in fact.
there are steps you can take early in
the season to prepare your lawn for
next year.
• Watering is one of the most
important preparations for a healthy
lawn come the spring. Although
your lawn goes dormant during
(MS) — You can blame pop
culture or blame the media, but the
truth is, women have always had to
wait around for "Mr. Fix-It" when
things go bump, then crash in the
house.
Well. times are continually
changing, and when "Mr. Fix-It" is
unavailable or worse — not handy at
all — women are rolling up their
sleeves, grabbing a socket wrench
and tackling home improvements.
The winter season is approaching,
and there are several home-
improvement projects lying in wait
for eager hands. Take a look at how
to master them, courtesy of "Dare to
Repair: A Do-It-Herself Guide to
Fixing (Almost) Anything in the
Home" (HarperResource), by Julie
Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-
Tenet,
Filled with detailed step-by-step
illustrations for many of the repairs,
the book is instructive, motivating,
witty in tone and downright fun.
Following are some of the easy
home-improvement projects the
book contains:'
• Winterize plumbing — You may
not be ready to pull out your winter
clothing, but don't put off covering
those exposed water pipes in your
horrie and winterizing your exterior
water faucets. Whether you live in a
new home with a frost-free exterior
faucet or in an older home with a
hose bib (common exterior faucet),
your faucets are vulnerable during a
harsh winter.
The most important thing you can
do to prevent faucets and pipes from
freezing is to rid them of any water
before winter. This project
culminates in capping off exterior
faucets with a cold weather faucet
cover and covering exposed pipes
with insulation. This job requires
relatively few tools, including
lubricating spray, an adjustable
wrench, a rag and a cold weather
faucet cover.
• Clear gutters and downspouts —
Gutters and downspouts are
important parts of your home's
exterior drainage system. They help
prevent leaks in walls and the roof by
draining away rain water and melting
snow every year, so it's important to
maintain them, especially in the fall
and winter.
Decayed leaves and mud can block
the flow of water in the gutters and
mineral deposits can lead to
corrosion.
Cleaning the gutter system is not a
difficult job, but it may be time
consuming depending upon the size
of your home. You'll need a ladder, a
garden hose with spray nozzle, a
bucket or a plastic grocery bag for
collecting the leaves and a garden
trowel or scoop to clear out the
raked-on mess.
You may also want to enlist a
winter months, it is important to
remember the grass is living and
needs moisture for survival.
Water your lawn prior to the "deep
freeze" to keep the soil moist. It
takes much colder air temperatures
to lower the temperature of moist
soil than that of dry soil.
• Make sure the soil is well
fertilized. Slow-release formulas or
winterizing fertilizers are available
to keep your lawn well fed and
healthy.
Or, consider adding a nutritional
boost using a soil product to make
maintaining the lawn even easier.
friend to help you correctly angle the
ladder against the exterior of the
home.
• Bleed hot water radiators —
Many older homes utilize hot water
radiators instead of a forced-air
system. To help the system work
efficiently, you need to clean it
regularly and bleed it every fall. To
bleed a radiator means to remove the
hot air trapped inside that is blocking
the flow of heat. Older radiators
typically require a valve key _to turn
the bleeder valve; if not a
screwdriver might work.
• The secret of the circuit breaker
— Electrical systems are often a
mystery to people, but they are
responsible for running most of the
appliances in your home. If you have
power outage, you should know how
to quickly assess and remedy the
situation.
Every home, whether it's an
apartment or mansion has either
circuit breakers or fuses located in
the main service panel (typically a
metal box). The purpose of circuit
breakers and fuses is not to provide
electricity to your home, but rather to
protect the wires they're connected
to from overheating:
If too much power surges through
the system, the circuit breaker will
trip or the_fuse will blow to cut off
the power to your appliance, lighting
Enriched soil often works better than
native soil, which is often depleted
of the essential nutrients needed to
maintain vibrant, green grass, and
balances the problems of moisture
retention, fertilization and poor soil
composition.
• Rake and pick up fallen leaves.
Autumn foliage makes the time of
year an awe-inspiring spectacle, but
those beautiful falling leaves can
wreak havoc on your lawn. Leaves
compacted on top of the lawn can
cause snow mold development when
winter arrives.
• Fungal diseases thrive best in
fixture or other electrical item.
It's important to know that when
working with a fuse or circuit
breaker, you should only use one
hand, while keeping the other at your
side. The reason is that electricity
will always find the quickest path to
the ground.
Therefore, if you have one hand on
the main service panel and one on a
fuse or circuit breaker, you could
receive an electrical shock.
Whether your living on your own,
trying to save money, or out to prove
a point, you will celebrate the
emotional — and financial —
rewards of mechanical know-how
this season.
Tip:
Why not add a sunroom or
gardenroom to your home.
Sunrooms and gardenrooms are
the easiest way to expand your
living into the outdoors.
Today's technology allows for
year-round enjoyment in all
weather environments. This room
may quickly become your
favourite room in the house.
Sunrooms have glass ceilings
and walls, while gardenrooms
have an insulated ceiling for year-
round use. Both offer a chance for
enjoying your home and property
to the fullest.
cool weather.
Inspect your lawn carefully
through the fall and winter. If you
suspect it has fallen prey to problems
like brown patch, gray leaf spot or
another disease, consult your local
lawn and garden centrefor
recommended treatment.
Here arc a few more winter lawn-
prep pointers:
• Aerate new sod so that water,
food and air can get through the
thick base of the sod squares. '
• Don't cut your lawn too short in
the fall. Mow the grass so that it is at
least 2-inches high.
• Lime lightly and periodically• to
raise your lawn's pH as needed.
Step by step to home repair
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