Category: Garden Maintenance Dublin

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There are many different types of weathervane ornaments. A weathervane is an instrument to determine the winds direction. Read this interesting article on actually how many kinds of weathervane ornaments were created.

Weathervane,weathervanes,weather,vanes,historic,vane,garden

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A weathervane is a historic outdoor home accessory which embellishes rooftops all over the world. There are many different kinds of weathervanes which were created many, many years ago. These weathervanes can display many different kinds of ornaments as well.

ARROW AND SCROLL WEATHERVANE ORNAMENTS- These ornaments are a basic arrow ornament, a point and fletching attached to a horizontal tube. Sometimes the term “arrow” and the term “scroll” are interchangeable. This depends on the type of fletching, whether there is a point on it and what type of point it is, how intricate the details are, and whether the design contains any actual wrought scrolls.

BANNER AND BANNERET WEATHERVANE ORNAMENTS- These ornaments are derived from medieval pennants and flags, the basic parts of this particular ornament are the points in front and a flat area in the back. Though the terms “banner” and “banneret” also seem to be interchangeable, a banner usually has an area large enough for a date or monogram to be pierced (cut out) or applied to the ornament, while a banneret has an area which might be large but is mainly decorative.

SILHOUETTE WEATHERVANE ORNAMENTS- This style ornament has also been in use for many, many years. In Europe, businesses and guilds would display their specialty using this type of vane ornament. In the old and new worlds, many farmers would carve a simple figure into a piece of wood and use this as a wind indicator on their barns. After 1900, the silhouette weathervane became very popular again, and often displayed fables, sporting events or themes.

SWELL-BODIED WEATHERVANE ORNAMENTS- This is the weathervane ornament which is most closely associated with the American weather vane makers. Molds are created from hammered copper for these ornaments. The molds are then trimmed and soldered together into a hollow form which is a few inches thick. This type of vane can also be formed freehand.

FULL-BODIED WEATHERVANE ORNAMENTS- These ornaments are a 3-dimensional representation of a particular subject.

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Water has been purified with activated carbon for hundreds of years stretching back to ancient India. Most of us have seen activated carbon for sale in pet stores for cleaning water and have used a crude cousin, charcoal, to cook steaks in the backyard.

water, purifiers, activated, carbon, filter, clean, cleaners, purifier

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Water has been purified with activated carbon for hundreds of years stretching back to ancient India. Most of us have seen activated carbon for sale in pet stores for cleaning water and have used a crude cousin, charcoal, to cook steaks in the backyard.

As a refined version of charcoal, activated carbon is made by super heating organic material like wood or coconut shells. This super heating drives out impurities and causes the surface area of the resulting material to become tremendous. It is this large surface area that allows this substance to be used to clean water.

For years the process of cleaning water with activated carbon in water purifiers was referred to as absorption. This term refers to what a sponge does with water and it is easy to visualize the activated carbon acting like a sponge, soaking up contaminants. However, this is not actually how the process works. The molecules inside the activated carbon are passive because they are connected to other molecules around their entire perimeter. The molecules on the surface are not as happy because they are exposed on one side without another carbon molecule as company. Therefore, these exposed carbon molecules are actively seeking something to hook to or bond with. As impurity in the water pass the activated carbon these exposed molecules bond with the impurities through a process of adsorption. When the entire surface area of the activated carbon is covered with impurities is quits adsorbing impurities.

Once the entire surface of the activated carbon is completely covered with impurities the water purifier quits working. At this point it is possible to re-activate the carbon by reheating it and thus driving off the impurities in the air. However, since this is a relatively tricky process and may result in some impurities being picked up from the oven it is probably best to leave this to the experts and simply replace the carbon in the water purifier.

Contact time is the primary attribute that determines the efficiency or effectiveness of water purifiers. Image a flow of water that is moving at a hundred miles per hour though a thin mat of activated carbon. In this scenario not much is going to happen because the water is not in contact with the activated carbon for a sufficient period of time. Therefore the higher the volume of water that the water purifiers is trying to clean the larger the filter should be. This is why a relatively small activated carbon water purifier works great on an ice maker in your home. Not much water is moving though the filter s quarter inch line. This contact time constraint also indicates that it is better to place several medium sized water purifiers around the house than to install a water purifier for the whole house unless you are will to install a very large filter that will have to handle showers and baths.

Now we know that the activated carbon adsorbs rather than absorbs impurities and that contact time is the most important component in the high quality water equation. These facts indicate that it is best to add several water purifiers where needed and to change the activated carbon filters on a regular basis.

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Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water, but water in its raw state is not suitable for drinking. It contains numerous contaminants, which can be dangerous to human health.

water, water filters, water purifiers, water purification, drinking water, water filtration, deionized water, water distiller, reverse osmosis

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The Latin expression Aqua pura is Aqua vitae perhaps best expresses the value of pure water. Translated into English, it literally means pure water is the water of life .

Water is life’s mater and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water, but water in its raw state is not suitable for drinking. It contains numerous contaminants, which can be dangerous to human health.

But, thanks goes to Science that has invented devices to shield civilization against such aqua ailments. A water purifier is one of such devices that purify our drinking water. A water purifier is a wonderful device that converts raw water so that it tastes like nectar; therefore by this process it makes ordinary tap water perfectly suitable for drinking.

Health Benefits of a Water Purifier:

A water purifier is very beneficial for healthy living. Ordinary untreated water can contain numerous contaminants including bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, minerals, and man-made chemical pollutants that cannot be seen with the naked eye. These contaminants are very pernicious for one s health.

A water purifier kills these organisms and filtrates the contaminants to make the water perfectly fit for drinking. Thus water purifiers save us from numerous dangerous bacterial and viral diseases that easily spread when water becomes contaminated.

Water Purification Techniques:

Different water purifiers use different techniques of purification. The common techniques used to purify water include boiling, carbon filtering, distilling, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, electrode ionization, water conditioning and plumbo-solvency reduction.

Carbon filtering: This technique is commonly used in home water filters. Charcoal, a form of carbon with a high surface area due to its mode of preparation, adsorbs many compounds, including some toxic compounds. The water is passed through activated charcoal to remove such contaminants. Granular charcoal filtering and sub-micron solid block carbon filtering are the two types of carbon filtering systems.

Granular charcoal is not very effective for removing contaminants such as mercury, volatile organic chemicals, asbestos, pesticides, disinfections byproduct (trihalomethanes), mtbe, pcbs etc. The sub-micron solid block carbon filter is the better system that removes all of the contaminants.

Home water filters drinking water sometimes also contains silver. These small amounts of silver ions can have a bactericidal effect.

Reverse osmosis: The reverse osmosis water system is the technique in which mechanical pressure is applied to an impure solution to force pure water through a semi-permeable membrane. The process is called reverse osmosis, and is theoretically the most thorough method of large-scale water purification.

Ion exchange: Most common ion exchange systems use a zeolite resin bed and simply replace unwanted Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions with benign (soap friendly) Na+ or K+ ions. This is the common water softener. A more rigorous type of ion exchange swaps H+ ions for unwanted cations and hydroxide (OH-) ions for unwanted anions. The result is H+ + OH- → H2O. This system is recharged with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, respectively. The result is essentially deionized water.

Electrodeionization: It includes passing the water through a positive electrode and a negative electrode. Ion selective membranes allow the positive ions to separate from the water toward the negative electrode and the negative ions toward the positive electrode. It results in high purity de-ionized water. The water is usually passed through a reverse osmosis unit first to remove nonionic organic contaminants.

Water conditioning: This is a method of reducing the effects of hard water. Hardness salts are deposited in water systems subject to heating because the decomposition of bicarbonate ions creates carbonate ions that crystallize out of the saturated solution of calcium or magnesium carbonate. Water with high concentrations of hardness salts can be treated with soda ash (Sodium carbonate) that precipitates out the excess salts, through the common ion effect, as calcium carbonate of very high purity. The precipitated calcium carbonate is traditionally sold to the manufacturers of toothpaste.

Plumbo-solvency reduction: In areas with naturally acidic waters of low conductivity (i.e. surface rainfall in upland mountains of igneous rocks), the water is capable of dissolving lead from any lead pipes that it is carried in. The addition of small quantities of phosphate ion and increasing the pH slightly both assist in greatly reducing plumbo-solvency by creating insoluble lead salts on the inner surfaces of the pipes.

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Water pumps are instruments, which help in movement of water from low pressure to high-pressure area. The movement could be due to pressure or suction.

water pumps,pumps

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Water pumps are instruments, which help in movement of water from low pressure to high-pressure area. The movement could be due to pressure or suction.

Broader Categories
There are two broader categories, which provide the basis of classification. First is the positive displacement type. Here, the fluid moves from a section of reduced volume to the increased one. This ensures a regular flow in spite of the changes in pressure. However it contains a release valve to prevent severe fluctuation. The other is the dynamic one. Here, the movement of fluid relies upon its own momentum. The Dynamic water pumps can be divided into 2 parts depending upon the motion of the fluid.

Rotary Motion- Centrifugal Pump
This type of water pumps has a component called Impeller, which drives the fluid and converts its energy into pressure. The water is stored in a Pump Casing. It is essential to avoid leakage of fluid by using labyrinth seals, mechanical seals or gasket. The motor provides current for the pump to run. It is necessary to use oil to avoid friction and maintain the flow. The actual movement is caused due to the rotation of the fluid therein.

Linear Motion-Jet Pump
The jet water pumps are the most common example of the linear motion of the fluid. These do not possess any moving parts that drive the water inside it. These are also called Eductors or air ejectors. Such pumps works on the principle of creating low pressure. The movement completely relies on the changes in the fluid. But there efficiency decreases with increase in pressure. Hence, instead of pumping water they are commonly used to remove water. These make use of nozzles and a freeder stream. Although care must be given to ignite it properly otherwise it would star pumping water instead of drawing it.

In a nutshell, one can say that Water pumps work on the principle of compression or physical lifting both for pumping water and removing it. They are used in swimming pools for sanitizing the water. These also help in retaining the chlorine composition in the beach water by sucking the water vapor using these pumps.

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Here are some good reasons to protect your home from costly water damage in an affordable manner.

water, leak, detection, detector, alarm, flood, damage

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Those who have experience the pain of a water leak in the past know the headache and hassle of trying to clean up the mess, let alone worry about the expensive repairs. Most likely if you were interested in this article you have experienced a water leak. Unfortunately in our society we usually need to experience a disaster before we will take the means to implement prevention measures for such disasters. A water leak is one such disaster that can be prevented, and there are some simple and affordable prevention options.

There are many reasons to protect your home from water damage. Hardwood floors tend to be a major issue if you experience water damage. In most cases the floor will need to be removed and replaced; this is also true for carpet. In some instances water leaks are not covered by home insurance policies, and almost always flood damage is not. However cleaning up a water leak and paying for the bill to restore the damage done is the most heart wrenching issue of a water leak.

There are a few articles out there about different types of water leak prevention options, here is a quick and easy to understand summary of the different options:

1. Simple Leak Detector
* A device that is place in an area of your home where you think water damage could occur, such as the kitchen, bathroom, or washing machine room.
* The device has sensors that will detect water or moisture and sound a loud alarm to notify you of a potential problem.
* The device does not stop the leak, you must do it manually.
* Cost ranges usually from $15-99 per unit.

2. Appliance Specific Leak Detector & Auto-shutoff
* A device that is directly attached to the water supply of a appliance such as a washing machine, fridge, icemaker, water heater, etc.
* The device may sound an alarm when a leak is detected or it may not.
* The device will automatically shut off the water supply to that specific unit. For example if you have a water heater unit and your water heater leaks it will turn off the water supply to the water heater, all other appliances will still work such as your fridge, washing machine, etc.
* Cost usually ranges from $99-$399 per unit.

3. Complete Detection & Auto-shutoff System
* A complete wired or wireless leak detections system for your entire house.
* Water sensors are placed throughout the house in every room or key locations.
* If any sensor detects a leak it will turn off the main water supply to your entire house.
* Some unit may have built in notification systems to page you or contact your home security service provider if you have one.
* Cost usually ranges from $199-$999

Remember all of these options are good and have pros and cons. You can get protection for as little as $20-40 or a complete system up to $999.

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Which is the best type of water heater you can choose. This information looks at what types of water heaters are available.

water heater, water heating, water heaters, sloar power, solar power water heaters, pool heaters, pool heater, electric water heaters, gas water heaters, stove water heaters, electric water heater, gas water heater, stove water heater

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Well what can I write about water heaters. Well they heat water. Sorry, a bit of a Homer Simpson type answer about them but it shows you how interesting water heaters can be.

They are not really something you can get too exited about but they are something we cannot easily do without. We all want hot water. We need it to wash and bathe in and we need it to clean with. Some of us want to use it to warm our pools up, wash our cars, heat our homes or sit in our hot tubs but at the end of the day we all want hot water and the only easy way to get it is to use a water heater.

So thinking about it then, what types of water heater are there? Well there are four main types but most of us will only need to use one. I have three but I tend to use only one at a time, two at the most.

Solar water heaters. These types of water heaters rely on the power of the sun to heat your water. How efficient they are depends on the amount of sunlight they get so this usually depends on where you live. The more sunlight the better and the more intense the sunlight the better and if the climate is hot in the first place then the water is sort of pre heated to ambient temperature before the action of the sun. They are a good source of some hot water but are not really good enough to be classed as your main water heater so you will need a conventional water heater as a backup. Solar water heaters can also be used to help warm the water in your pool and for this they can be very efficient but again they rely on sunlight to provide a high enough water temperature. I have one of these and I am very impressed about how good it is as a water heater for my pool. It wasn t cheap though.

Stove powered hot water. Using your stove to heat your water is the oldest method around. It has been around for a long time, (if you think about heating water in an iron or clay pot), but these days many of us have water jackets built into our stoves. I have a wood-burning stove so in effect my hot water is free as my stove is often on. It is efficient as a water heater and does the job pretty well. I do not have any grumbles about it and I am also one of these people who care about the environment enough to plant trees on my land to offset the carbon cycle when I burn timber.

Electric water heaters. This is the third type of water heater I have but it is my backup as it is relatively expensive to run but it is useful as within 15 minutes I can have hot water to use for a shower when returning from a vacation and the heating has been off. It is there as a standby for me but is very easy to use as I just switch it on and before long I have hot water. For many people who do not have a stove or fire type water heater this is one of the few choices you have and in this case they are very good. My first house had two sources of hot water. One was an electric powered shower and the other was the electric water heater which heated water in the hot tank. I had nothing else and it worked, but I found it much more expensive than using my wood stove or using solar energy.

The final type of water heater is a gas heater. These tend to heat both your hot water and provide heating for your house as well. Not all areas have a supply to gas although some people can also use a supply of bottled gas but this tends to be much more expensive than a piped supply. Gas heaters operate much faster than an electric water heater and they tend to be much cheaper to operate than electric if it is a piped supply so if you are looking to choose between the two then this may be your best choice.

Whichever system you decide to install, do your research first and work out which is the cheapest to operate. You will also need to look at the costs of the water heaters and the water heating systems you install and work out what is best for you.

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Water garden is one of the nicest things you can have in your garden or backyard, anyone that has planned adding a water garden to a house knows that this is not a simple task, there is a lot of thinking and planning to be done when considering this wonderful addition to the house.

water garden, water gardens, watergarden

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Water garden is one of the nicest things you can have in your garden or backyard, anyone that has planned adding a water garden to a house knows that this is not a simple task, there is a lot of thinking and planning to be done when considering this wonderful addition to the house.

As summer nears many water garden owners realize that there is a significant problem with some water gardens, this is a problem that is not evident and sometimes doesn t even show itself before the early days of the summer.

One major thing with any large body of water that is physically located in the vicinity of any house is the mosquitoes and diseases potential problems. Mosquitoes need water to live and breed, and this makes it very clear that as a water garden owner you will need to find solutions for this problem, mosquitoes can not only cause you real discomfort, they have the potential ability to transmit diseases, some of those diseases are extremely dangerous to humans.

The good thing is that by implementing a few, relatively simple tips you can prevent mosquitoes from breeding in your water garden and decrease the risk of disease significantly. One simple fact is that mosquitoes will only use a passive body of water to lay eggs and avoid laying eggs in running water, if you create a situation in which the water garden has constantly moving water the female mosquitoes will not be able to lay the eggs and you have stopped the problem before it has even begun.

Using a device that will move the water around your water garden will not only help you fight the potential danger of mosquitoes, it is also recommended for general water quality and the overall performance of your water garden. Another thing you can use to fight mosquitoes is getting fish that eat these flying problem makers, in fact there are a few kinds of fish that are enemies of the mosquitoes, and therefore your friends.

Most water garden owners love having fish in their ponds and water, it is one very special aspect of having a water garden and if you have not tried having fish in your water garden yet this may be a good time to try and enjoy this aspect of water gardens, not only you will have a fish helping you fight mosquitoes you can also discover the joy of keeping fish pets.

Another, much more serious solution to the mosquitoes problem is B.t.i. Briquettes, these floating small floating two-inch rings contain bacillus thuringiensis, which is consumed by mosquito larvae and kills them, this is the professional and most efficient way to eliminate the risk of mosquitoes, and B.t.i has been used successfully in many cities in the world already, so this is the best scientific solution for a water garden risk of mosquitoes. The B.t.i. will not cause harm to fish or plants in your water garden so you have no reason to worry about the health of your water garden.

If nothing of the above advice is to your liking, you can always try and find a toad that will rule your water garden and feast on the mosquitoes, whatever you decide you should be aware of the danger in having mosquitoes breed in your backyard and you would do good to research as much as you on preventing this potential danger to you, your family members and neighbors.

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Explores the various types of water fountains to allow you to choose the one most fit for your home.

home decor, water fountains, indoor style, home beauty

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Water fountains, like many of the items we as consumers shop for need to be selected with careful consideration for where they will be placed and how. If such things are overlooked, you risk ruining the particular look in the room in which they will be placed. Since we realize that most of you are dealing with different spaces and budgets, we thought we d elaborate on the various types of indoor water fountains available to give you a better idea of what is most suitable for your home.

On the lower end of the size spectrum are tabletop water fountains. These fountains rest atop a table and run just as any other water fountain does. Like other fountains, these fountains utilize unique materials, including very stones and ceramics. Tabletop fountains have numerous benefits over bigger and bulkier fountains. For one, they can be easily transported to any room in your home without much of a hassle. Further, they make much less noise than bigger fountains and can thus produce a more relaxing atmosphere.

Wall mounted water fountains are another lucrative option that homeowners have. As you could derive from their name, these fountains are hung upon a wall and run as all other fountains do. What s great about wall mounted units is the fact that they waste little space. However, they can t be moved around as easily as other types of fountains can.

Outdoor water fountains are meant for the outsides of your home and can have a major aesthetic impact when combined with a beautiful landscape. It s quite difficult to imagine anything more relaxing than retreating to your backyard while listening to the soothing sound of water tricking down a surface. Outdoor water fountains are not only helpful in terms of relaxation, but they can also act as a great conversation piece whenever you may be entertaining guests.

Water fountains can make a great addition to any home. Take your time as you shop for a fountain as this will ensure you water fountain experience is nothing short of spectacular.

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Looks into how water fountains can increase your relaxation at home.

stress, home, fountains, water

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Let s be honest at times life can be extremely stressful. There are several ways in which you can try to relax, but these typically require a good amount of time. Why not look into something that can help relax you while you re on the run? We thought you might be interested, which is why we ll be discussing indoor water fountains as a means to ease up during a stressful day.

As most of you might know, indoor water fountains utilize water and re-circulate it over decorative stones and whatnot. The sound of the water, in itself, has proven time and time again to be relaxing to many. If the water s not enough to ease up the stress, merely looking at the beauty of the water flowing over the stones should help stress level plummet.

You might be thinking that there s no space in your home for a fountain. There s no need to worry, indoor water fountains come in numerous sizes, allowing just about anyone to purchase one for use. If you d like to have one in more than just one room, why not consider purchasing two? You don t need to enormous fountains for each room in your home. You can elect to buy a bigger fountain for your living room and a table top one for your bedroom. The choice remains yours.

As you shop for an indoor water fountain, be sure to pay close attention to the size and amount of water the specific fountain that interests you uses. The bigger the fountain, the louder it is likely to be. For some people, a bigger fountain may become more irritating than relaxing. See if the particular fountain that interests you is on display and running. This will allow you to get a sense of the amount of noise that the fountain makes.

Indoor water fountains can be very relaxing and are overall a very wise investment. If it s not for their aesthetic appeal, get an indoor water fountain for it s ever relaxing and meditating characteristics.

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Quality water filtration is one of the best investments that one can make for one s health. Good water tastes better and also protects you from infections and diseases that could spread through unfiltered water. The market for water filters is vast and one has a huge range to choose from depending upon how much one wants to spend and if one wants protection from some specific element in water.

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Quality water filtration is one of the best investments that one can make for one s health. Good water tastes better and also protects you from infections and diseases that could spread through unfiltered water. The market for water filters is vast and one has a huge range to choose from depending upon how much one wants to spend and if one wants protection from some specific element in water.

Water Filtration- The Options That You Have

As mentioned above, one has an enormous choice as far as water filters are concerned. The choice ranges from hand made terracotta filters to filtrations add-on s on your refrigerators. Well recently, Kenmore refrigerators are offering Pur water filters in some of their models. It makes water filtration more convenient. Then the market has something called replacement filters . These are interchangeable and are a replacement for your previous water filters. For example a replacement water filter for Pur will fit exactly the same as the PUR water filter model and will also purify the water the same way.

You could also opt for water filters for specific problems. For example, if the percentage of arsenic in your water is more, then you should preferably get a water filter which will be removing or reducing arsenic. Also available are a wide variety of specialty cartridge systems that are designed to handle virtually any water quality problem. There are cartridge systems specially for filtering oil and so on.

Various technologies have also come to be used in water filters like reverse osmosis or UV technology. A UV Water filter will do the function of pathogen killing by using the power ultraviolet and deliver to customers, healthy and great tasting water. If you are looking to save, then you could opt for handmade terracotta filters which are cheaper and offer dual functions of cooling and filtering water. The choice is yours and you can select the filter which best suits your pocket and needs.