The Home Improvement Thread

How else to learn about a Boring Accident?

Yes Howard County.  You pass the Scaggsville exit heading from DC to Baltimore on 95 (Or heading from Baltimore to DC on 95).

Starsky wrote:
Just not familiar with those either…is this in Howard County?

Cock wrote:
  You pass the Scaggsville exit

pretty much we all do that, I guess you take it

Starsky wrote:
Where is Scaggsville?

Where the Scaggs live.

Then I looked it up and I wasn't wrong

"The town is named for the Scaggs family, who settled 700 acres (2.8 km2) of farmland in the 1830s and continue to live in the region. The area also used the name "Hells Corner" as a postal address in Civil War times"

Does anybody have experience with humidifiers and air scrubbers?

Combined, a humidifier and air scrubber are going to cost me $2100. Most of it the air scrubber.

I have terrible allergies…dust, mold, pollen, etc., and my daughter inherited them from me. So any relief is worth the money, if they work significantly.

Do they?

Humidifier is an excellent addition to your HVAC IMO
not sure about allergies, but definitely helps my breathing in winter months

but it does require Maintenace and attention…if something goes wrong, you could be spreading mildew and mold in your system

Space wrote:
Does anybody have experience with humidifiers and air scrubbers?

Combined, a humidifier and air scrubber are going to cost me $2100. Most of it the air scrubber.

I have terrible allergies…dust, mold, pollen, etc., and my daughter inherited them from me. So any relief is worth the money, if they work significantly.

Do they?

You could also clean your house more than semi annually.

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:
Does anybody have experience with humidifiers and air scrubbers?

Combined, a humidifier and air scrubber are going to cost me $2100. Most of it the air scrubber.

I have terrible allergies…dust, mold, pollen, etc., and my daughter inherited them from me. So any relief is worth the money, if they work significantly.

Do they?

You could also clean your house more than semi annually.

POTW.

Space wrote:
Does anybody have experience with humidifiers and air scrubbers?

we have a few portable "room air filters", so not connected to HVAC.  they're running 24/7 these days as we are in the middle of a cloud of forest fire smoke.  AQI 2.5 is over 200, per PurpleAir, and peaked over 300 earlier this morning.  it's fucking disgusting out there: smoke is completely hiding mountains, sunlight is orange, school is cancelled.  spending more than a few minutes outside leads to burning nose and throat, and a headache.  we're under house arrest, essentially.  the room air filters work: typically cut down air particulate by at least half.

we're having a really eff'ed up autumn here: normally the rainy season should have started a week or two ago, instead we haven't seen precipitation since june.  bone-dry conditions have led to a forest fire about a dozen miles away from my house.  thanks, climate change.

those are totally different though, but adding humidity makes a lot of the dust/tiny things fall to the ground

Dropping this here because we don't have a furniture thread, guaranteed to improve any home



https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnS3FmwacAATdvP?format=jpg&name=small

Couple of weeks ago I notices the smoke alarm wasn't working.

I didn't have any 9V batteries and kept forgetting to buy any. I figured it wasn't a big deal since how often do houses in my middle class neighborhood burn down? We've been here for 19 years and zero fires in the neighborhood.

I got some batteries Sunday and set my smoke alarm back in action.

The very next day, a neighbor's (same block, next street over) house burns to a crisp.

Damn dude it was meant to be you. Close call.

Space wrote:. I figured it wasn't a big deal since how often do houses in my middle class neighborhood burn down?

About 10 years ago there was a fire in my neighborhood and a mother and daughter died, I think the smoke detectors were not working

IncludingAHat wrote:

Space wrote:. I figured it wasn't a big deal since how often do houses in my middle class neighborhood burn down?

About 10 years ago there was a fire in my neighborhood and a mother and daughter died, I think the smoke detectors were not working

Wow, that's terrible.

This fire took place in the broad daylight of the morning. Whole family got out safely.

We also have a fire extinguisher that has been sitting there in our kitchen unused for at least 19 years. How long are those things supposed to last and how do you test them?

Space wrote:
We also have a fire extinguisher that has been sitting there in our kitchen unused for at least 19 years. How long are those things supposed to last and how do you test them?

You don't test them, I'd read the label they typically say
but most consumer ones are only 1-time use is my understanding

Space wrote:
We also have a fire extinguisher that has been sitting there in our kitchen unused for at least 19 years. How long are those things supposed to last and how do you test them?

the chemicals inside the extinguisher don't go bad.  your main concern is pressure.  check the gauge on the the extinguisher, should tell you if there is sufficient pressure in there or not.

Just shake it really hard! If it shakes violently and you hear a crazy gurgle rumble you are good!

We have several internal doors and doorframes that are in desperate need of repair or replacement. I won't say how they got broken. Who do we contact? A handyman? Some kind of carpenter? Some kind of door company? Do they get the door for you, or are you supposed to have it? These are all interior doors, not doors that lead to the outside.

I'd think you need to work on the cause, not the symptom.