Household Stuff

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS (CFLs) save plenty on electricity costs.

RAZOR BLADES: Several multiple blade razors with vibration have appeared on the market in the last couple years. I have extensively used the Gillette M3 Power Nitro 3 blade system & really like it. I have tried the Schick Quattro Power 4 blade system & don't like it, because it's too easy to cut yourself & I find it doesn't shave as well.

FIBREGLASS AXE HANDLE: Recently I purchased a 3.5 pound Mastercraft brand axe from Canadian Tire with a fiberglass plastic handle which I find to be almost indestructible. With a hard wood axe handle, you can't seem to pry the axe sideways very many times before you break the handle, but a fiberglass handle seems to be able to take a lot more prying & punishment, I would highly recommend.

WELDBOND: It's a great water based glue that bonds nearly anything to anything, BUT if it gets frozen, it lumps up & becomes useless. Try some other brand that doesn't get destroyed if it gets frozen.

DRIVEWAY RESURFACER: Rather than repave my asphalt driveway, I try to extend the life & maintain it by periodically filling in minor cracks & low spots (up to .6 CM or 1/4") with Black Knight Driveway Resurfacerwhich cost about $20. CDN for a 10 litre can (about 2.5 U.S. gallons) at Home Depot. This is a trowel grade patch compound that is easy to apply & tools clean up with water. I have used at least 5 or 6 cans of this over the last few years, but I must say that ultimately I am disappointed with this product. I had one bad can that never cured & eventually went mushy. Even the good cans tend to crack or peel & require patching again because there seems to be little or no elasticity to the product. I contacted the manufacturer (U.S.E. Hichson Products Ltd.) & they insisted that the product must be coated with a driveway sealer after it dries, so it doesn't go soft when it gets wet, but nowhere on the label does it mention any need to do this, despite the manufacturer says that this was mentioned on the label. When I asked for a replacement for the defective can, they didn't reply (twice). It appears to me that this product comes with no warranty & a manufacturer who tries to blame problems on improper application that weren't mentioned on the label. September 2004

DRIVEWAY SEALERS: Black Knight Driveway Sealer Airport Grade is thick & seems to cover well (label claims coverage of up to 35 square meters for 17 litre pail). It claims to last up to 3 years.   Black Knight Pro-Gel No Mix Coal Tar Driveway Sealer is thin & watery (not gel like). Despite the huge lettering on the pail that says "NO MIX" the fine print says "A small amount of water separation in the pail is normal" & I found it necessary to stir or mix it quite a bit to get consistency (false advertising). This crap is so thin & watery that the can recommends 2 coats & redoing it once a year. Label claims coverage of 40 square meters (475 square feet) per coat from a 15 litre pail (4 U.S. gallons).  Black Knight Seal & Coat Asphalt Driveway Sealer (coat tar emulsion) is absolute garbage that settles & congeals in a big lump in the can, making it impossible to stir into a consistent liquid again. Label claims coverage of 44 square meters (475 square feet) for a 17 litre (4.5 U.S. gallon) pail. DuraPro DP200 Acrylic Driveway Sealer from Rona, comes in a 15 litre pail that says it covers up to 1500 sq. feet. Instructions say to "apply product when driveway is damp", but I found in damp weather that just made the coverage too watery without good coverage & it didn't dry fast enough. In cooler or damp weather, just apply straight as is to a dry driveway & you'll get good coverage.

GARDEN HOSE SPRAYER NOZZLES: Have you ever noticed how you don't often get more than one season out of your garden hose sprayer no matter how cheap or expensive it was? I have consistently found they leak, fracture, or the trigger simply fails to turn on/off after just one summer, even when I am careful not to drop the nozzle on the ground, or leave it out during winter. This usually seems like a product with built in obsolescence. Here is a picture of 7 sprayer nozzles that have failed on me, including 2 made by Yard Works, 1 by Nelson & 1 by Melnor. Here are some comments by Keith who had a model that actually worked year after year. My old brass "HERCULES" is still working fine after ~25 years (screw type, not trigger - it leaked a bit but I fixed that with an> O-ring). It did get a few years rest under a fence until I found it again. I notice you can still buy shiny new brass nozzles, slightly different design (looks like they have O-rings !!) with a lifetime warranty (MIBRO).  I recently bought a "deluxe" Melnor that leaked "out-of-the-box".

GOLDLINE LONG DISTANCE: Goldline DCall long distance account for Canadians, only 4 cents (including tax) a minute to anywhere in Canada, U.S.A. or Briton. You don't pay a monthly fee, administration or other hidden fee, or sign a contract & you don't have to guess how much long distance you're going to use each month. You charge up your account & you can use the minutes whenever you want from up to 8 different phone numbers (including your cell), or from any phone (by using a pin number). Your account balance credit doesn't expire at the end of the month. I've used this for quite some time now & I'm quite pleased with this plan. June 2004

LOWER YOUR WATER HEATER TEMPERATURE: Lowering the temperature of your water heater to 120 F (48.9 C) eliminates near instant skin burns & reduces the chance that small children or the elderly will be burned by water they can't get out of immediately. At 120 F (48.9 C) water is still hot enough to cause a 3rd degree burn in about 4 minutes & a 1st degree burn (less severe top layer skin burn) in far shorter time (perhaps 30 seconds). Water temperature at 140 F (60 C) will cause a 3rd degree burn in 5 seconds & a near instant 1st degree burn.

SNOW BLOWER: Christmas 2003, we bought a MTD model E640F snow blower from Wal-Mart for $999.99 CDN for my Dad. To date I am not at all impressed with this snow blower. It has a 8 HP Tecumseh Engine & a 26" clearing width. Instructions for assembly we're that great. The turn handle assembly that cranks the throw chute around, is very crudely designed & has a pin holding the rods together which sticks out & can easily scratch somebody. The second time my Dad went to use this snow blower, the electric starting motor burned out, so he tried starting it with the pull cord & it got all tangled up & wouldn't work either. Service took it away & about a week later said they didn't have the starting motor in stock & it would be 2 or 3 weeks more before they had it fixed. By then winter will be nearly over & my Dad won't need it. As it turned out, a gear on the flywheel also broke, so they replaced the main gas engine, which signifies to me that this unit isn't very well designed. I would not recommend buying this snow blower. Add some extra money & buy a quality snow blower like a Toro.

GRASS SEED: In the spring of 2003 I bought three 4.5 kg (9.9 pound) bags of Pickseed GolfPro Canadian Premium grass seed at Costco for $12.79 CDN. each to fill in the blank spots on my lawn. It's made by Nu-Gro in Brantford Ontario. So far I am quite impressed with the growth of grass whether in the sun or the shade, although at first it did seem to take a long time to start to germinate. The mixture is 20% Kentucky Bluegrass, 40% Creeping Red Fescue & 40% Perennial Ryegrass & did not appear to have any weed seeds like some other brands I've purchased. It does not contain any Annual Ryegrass which only lasts one year, has a course ugly blade & pops up faster than other grass types making the lawn need mowing more often. Unfortunately Costco doesn't stock this great grass seed in the early fall (because they've switched over to winter stuff), but early fall is a great time to sow grass seed. Helpful grass type info at http://www.lawnquestions.com/seed/choose_e.php  

GRASS SEED: In the spring of 2007 I bought a 4 kg (8.8 pound) bag of Scotts Supreme Grass Seed www.scotts.com all purpose mix (perennial ryegrass, creeping red fescue & Kentucky bluegrass) designed for sunny & shaded areas. Cost at Costco was $17.99 CDN so you can easily see that quality grass seed has risen by a factor of 1.58 since I bought some 4 years ago at Costco.

ACOUSTIC SOUNDPROOFING OF BRICK VS. SIDING FOR HOUSING: Many houses in Ontario Canada use bricks if it's a bungalow & if the house is a side split, back split, or 2 story then they use brick on the lower level & siding panels (aluminum or plastic) on the upper levels. Brick is far denser that siding & therefore brick deadens sound transmission through the wall far better than siding. Unfortunately bedrooms are usually on the upper level covered with siding & therefore don't get the significant benefit of additional soundproofing that bricks would provide. If you're bothered by the many outside noises from your neighbours that come right through the walls even with the windows shut, such as car doors slamming, kids playing basketball, pool parties, lawn mowers, etc., then make sure your next house has bricks around the bedrooms instead of siding. May 3/2003

NATURAL GAS WATER HEATERS, BUY DON'T RENT: If your water is heated by a natural gas water heater, you probably rent your water heater. In areas that have a low mineral content in the water (such as London Ontario), a gas water heater lasts on average about 15 years or more before it needs to be replaced. If you check out the price of purchasing that water heater & divide that by your monthly or quarterly rental fee, you'll probably discover that you could have paid for the water heater in about 4 years had you purchased it & have it for 11 more years for free, less installation costs & any occasional maintenance costs (I've had no maintenance requirements in the last 15 years). There is usually a substantial saving to be had over the long run ($1000. - $3000,) if you purchase your gas water heater instead of renting it. If you replace your rental water heater with one that you own, you'll probably have to pay the rental company to drain & remove it ($160.), or you could simply pay the private contractor that installs your new tank to drain & deliver the old one back to your rental company. Some gas water heater rental companies (i.e. Union Energy) will also try to scam you into paying them a $40. "closure fee" for closing the books on your account. If you are stupid enough to pay the closure fee, then your deserve to lose your money. Water heater rental companies are no longer regulated by the government in Ontario, so they have enacted this little gem policy on their own (1999) in hopes that most people will pay it without questioning it, but they have no basis in law for charging you a closure fee to NOT do business with them any more, unless you specifically signed a contract with this as a stipulation (which most people haven't). You are not "leasing" the water heater on a long term contract, you are "renting" it on a month by month basis & there is no reason you should have to pay a "closure fee" just because the rental company says it's now their policy. If companies start getting away with scams like closure fees, before you know it, other companies will try to charge you a closure fee when you stop doing business with them, like your cable TV or satellite company, internet service provider, cell & telephone company, long distance plan, etc. You shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of discontinuing to do business with a company.  Written April 29/2003, updated Dec. 2/2003

LAWN & GARDEN BAGS: I purchased a yellow box of 50 clear bags 30" X 48" (76 cm X 122 cm) from Loblaws for bagging leaves & lawn clippings. The box says it's a "no name" & it's made by "Sunfresh Limited". The box also says the bags are "heavy-duty", but they are not heavy duty, they rip apart or poke holes very easily even with dry leaves & require double bagging to get the job done. There is no thickness of plastic listed (i.e. 1.5 mil), so that should have been my first clue that these bags are not very good. A thickness of 3 mil would be considered "Extra Heavy Duty" contractor grade. April 22/2003

SHOWER MASSAGE: Recently our old shower head broke, so I went shopping for another one. I was surprised to find that several of the brands I tried did not have a spray position mode that gave a hard fine spray which washes soap off quickly & with a minimum of water. All the shower heads I tried had a hose attached so you could move the sprayer around, but many had a hose that wasn't very flexible & would kink. Finally I came across the Waterpik (The Original) Shower Massage with 8 spray positions including the hard fine spray type I like. It can be purchased at the Building Box for about $55. CDN (silver/black model) or the very same model can be purchased from Costco for $29.99 CDN (white/grey model)(sometimes Costco sells it for $39.99 CDN). You can pay a lot more than this for a shower head massage, but you won't likely find a better model than this. I would have thought that any brand of shower head in this price range would be really good, but only this one was exceptional. The 5 setting Waterpik (New Visions) shower massage works well too, but the white hose isn't quite as flexible. Jan. 25/2002

By Doug Hembruff.