The water filter industry is thriving. And just so you can make an informed decision when you buy a water purification system, we’ve put together the top water filter questions to guide you along the way.

Why shouldn’t I drink tap water? There are still many people who have enough faith in their community water filtration system to feel comfortable drinking their tap water. But that number is quickly decreasing, as public awareness increases. Water testing has shown all kinds of invisible foreign bodies in our drinking water.

If you could see what the lab technicians see under their microscopes, you’d probably run for your life. Or at least, you’d immediately stop drinking tap water. There are some major menaces lurking in there that could make you very sick, or even kill you!

You need to be aware that there are pathogens in your water. That’s the name given to the three types of disease-causing microbes. Those three types are: Protozoa, which includes giardia and cryptosporidium (even the names sound scary); bacteria, like the infamous E. coli; and viruses, like hepatitis. Now do you want to be pouring that into your body? Probably not!

If I’m concerned about water purity, can’t I just buy bottled water? Bottled water is a huge industry, now that it’s clear that our water is anything but clear. But, like most industries, there’s the good and the bad. There’s a lot of bottled water available that’s only partially filtered, so there could still be some contaminants in it.

If you’re really concerned about safe drinking water, make sure you buy a well-known brand that’s proven to be pure.

Is boiling my water enough to remove contaminants? By boiling your water for a couple of minutes, you’ll eliminate many of the E. coli, giardia, crypto, and other such organisms. But it won’t remove any of the harmful metals. In fact, as the water evaporates, the metals become even stronger.

Your best bet is to use a home water filter. It’s much easier than constantly boiling water, and it’s definitely much safer and much more effective.

How do I know what kind of water filter to buy? There are several water filtration systems available. They all do an adequate job of purifying your water. You just have to decide which one suits your water use and lifestyle the best.

You can get a water jug, with a filter, or you can get a filter that fits onto your tap. You can also get an in-line filter that’s mounted on your counter. This type is connected directly to your cold water supply. Or you can get one that’s installed under your sink, with its own independent tap.

Which water filtration system works the best? All home reverse osmosis water filters work well. They do what they’re designed to do. Again, it depends on your use and preferences. A water filtration system forces water through a material, called a media, that allows the water through, but not the impurities.

Or you can use the distillation method, which is, simply put, boiling the impurities out of the water. This is very effective, but you have to pay for the power to run them, and you also have to de-scale them periodically.

The other method, which is also very effective, is called reverse osmosis. This is a very thorough method which goes through several stages in filtering the water. The end result is very pure water, but not all the water that goes into the system comes out clean. There’s a certain amount of waste - the water that carries all the impurities. That goes down the drain.

Is reverse osmosis better than other water filtrations systems? To decide if reverse osmosis is better than other methods, you have to define “better”. It’s probably the most efficient system as far as removing impurities. However, it does have some disadvantages.

Because the system is so thorough, it takes more time, and uses more water. So you need a holding tank - that’s extra equipment, which usually means extra money. Also, it doesn’t work well with hard water, so you need to be living in a soft water area. And you need to have a minimum water pressure of 50 psi to operate the system.

How long will my filters last? Obviously, some filters last longer than others. It depends on which water treatment system you’re using. If you have a water filter jug, then the average use for one filter is about three months. But if you go through a lot of water, like if you have a large family, you may have to change your filter every month.

Usually, the general rule is, the larger the filter, the longer it lasts. You need to check out your owner’s manual for specifics. It’s important to remember that you should always change your filter within the suggested times. If you drink water that’s been passed through an expired filter, you may as well not use it at all because it’s full of contaminants that have already been filtered out.

What type of contaminants do water filters remove? Water filters are designed to improve the taste and odor of the water. Nobody likes to drink water that tastes of chlorine, so that’s one of the most important things that are filtered out. Metals, like copper and lead, are also eliminated.

And, of course, we need to get rid of the bacteria - those giardia and cryptosporidium that can be so harmful, or even fatal.

Why would I need a whole house filtration system? Filtering your drinking water is half the battle, but it’s not the whole war. Bacteria isn’t transferred only by drinking - you can also pass it on by hand, with the water you use in the rest of your house for washing the dishes, washing your hands, etc.

Whole house water filters do a great job of removing the chlorine and other bad tastes and odors, along with the other impurities you don’t want to come into contact with. These filters are hooked up to your main water line into the house, so nothing gets by them. Another great benefit is that you can purify about 100,000 gallons of water before you have to change the filter.

Where’s the best place to buy water filters? Because water purifiers are so popular these days, there are many manufacturers and distributors vying for your business. So the best place shop for your home water filters is on the Internet.

That way, you can get all the information you need, including the best prices, and the most beneficial features, without leaving the comfort of your home.

We all want to drink water that looks clear, not cloudy, and that has no bad taste or odor. And we all want to wash with water that has no bacteria or viruses. And that’s why water filters are the way to go.

We’ll suggest a couple of the many distributors of fine water filters. Check out these brands: PiMag Water Systems, Aqua Gold, or Richard Simmons’ Pure To Go Personal Water Filter System.

There are many more, and you can see all the online water filter merchants right there, and decide which one is best for you. I’ll drink to that!

Installing ceramic tile floors is not as hard as it looks. With a little knowledge and an easy step-by-step guide on how to do it, you can already be tiling your way to your dream floor. Here are some basic ceramic tiling tips you can chew on when you plan on installing ceramic tile floors at your home.

Knowing the kind of subfloor you’ll be installing ceramic tile flooring over is important. There are three main types of subfloors you might encounter: Vinyl, plywood, and concrete floors. Installing ceramic tile flooring directly to your vinyl or linoleum subfloor surfaces is greatly discouraged. One, it may contain asbestos fibers; and two, vinyl flooring is not a solid as good ol’ concrete flooring. When installing ceramic tile on vinyl, experts would recommend rough-sanding, or scarifying, the vinyl floor surface first so your tiling mortar has good grip to set on.

For plywood subfloors, be sure that the wood is at least 1 and 1/8 inches thick and is supported by an equally strong underlayment. Otherwise, your ceramic tiles will dislodge easily, or worse, break and need replacing. Concrete floors are the most ideal subfloor surface to work with. But before you can start installing ceramic tile flooring over it, it must be cleaned thoroughly. For dust and other debris, sweep and then mop your concrete subfloor surface, and allow it to dry completely. Smooth concrete surfaces must be rough sanded just like vinyl floors to allow the tiling mortar some grip.

You can begin window-shopping and canvassing for ceramic tiles once you have the space or area estimated. Ceramic floor tiles come in a variety of prices, shapes, textures and styles. Pick a tile type that’s within your price range and ask to see it in what a palette of colors. The most common ceramic tile size is one square foot. But ceramic tiles may come in a wide array of sizes; from one inch, to two feet.

Average price ranges for ceramic tiles vary from one type to another. Natural stone tiles made from granite or slate may sell for two dollars per square foot. Glazed ceramic tiles run from a dollar to twenty dollars per square foot, while unglazed quarry tiles may average around $2 per square foot.

Remember: When installing ceramic bathroom tiles, use ceramic tiles with a slightly rough textured surface. This is so you won’t encounter accidents on a floor that’s always wet. Smooth glazed ceramic tiles, especially, are ideal for kitchen or back porch flooring. But you shouldn’t use them bathroom floors, as they can be treacherous when wet.

Having the right tools for the job is a must. You can buy most of the tools and materials you’ll need at you neighborhood hardware store, or home center. For equipment that might over your budget like tile cutters, try asking your local home center or tool rental yard if they have the tools you need for rental. Basic ceramic tiling tools include A pair of safety glasses, heavy leather gloves, tile spacers, notched trowel, a handheld tile cutter, and a pair of tile nippers. Have some sandpaper handy for smoothing out cut edges. Sponges and clean dry rags will come in handy for cleaning and wiping off excess mortar material and grout lining from your newly-finished ceramic tiling floor.

If you are hesitant over how to start installing ceramic tile on your floor, consult a professional. From choosing the right tiles and color, to tearing out existing ceramic tile floors without damaging the subfloor, to installing ceramic tile that will last you a lifetime, a home improvement professional will be able to help you with information, at the very least, or assist you when you start installing ceramic tile.

For millions of Americans who are fortunate enough to have retirement funds in some type of IRA account, self-directed IRA investing is becoming more appealing. Why? Consider the following.

Banks are failing, credit is tightening, the housing market is the worst it’s been in decades and even Wall Street firms are broke. What does this mean for the average worker with years of their retirement savings tied up in a regular IRA?

Self-Directed IRA Investing: The Perfect Way to Invest Your Retirement Savings

What it means is that retirement accounts, which are traditionally invested in the stock market, are plunging fast. Many accounts have lost as much as half of their value in this economic crisis - with no end in sight.

Man investors are seeking safer havens for their retirement savings, and self-directed IRA investing is one way to get it. More and more workers are shifting their retirement funds to hard, tangible assets in lieu of investing in the volatility that is the stock market these days.

Self-directed IRA investing allows investors to funnel their retirement funds into real estate and other alternative assets. Most self-directed vehicles offered by large investment firms are limited. They don’t offer the flexibility to invest in anything other than stocks, mutual funds and bonds — the very financial instruments that are rapidly losing value now.

Real estate - in any market - is a tangible investment. Its value doesn’t “disappear” on the whim of a stock market high or low. Real estate is an investment you can see, touch and feel. It stands the test of time. And, a recession is the perfect time to capitalize on it. If you buy low now, when good economic times return, your investment can have doubled, tripled or quadrupled in value. What better way to grow - and protect - your hard-earned retirement dollars?

With the global economy in crisis, timeshare developers are facing a credit crunch that reduces the number of timeshare buyers. With a reduction in overall sales, timeshare companies must tap another source of revenue for some relief to these tough financial times. Timeshare owners have already started receiving notices of abnormally large special assessment fees.

In many cases, owners sign contracts that allow their home resorts to charge them special assessment fees when warranted. The size of the fees are determined by the resorts and can be rather arbitrary. Some owners are unaware of these policies.

Reports of $500 to $3,000 special assessment fees being doled out have recently surfaced. These outrageous amounts are hitting owner pocketbooks at the same time personal incomes are stagnant or falling, and as retirement funds drop like rocks thrown into a pond. The financial blow has opened some eyes as to the fragility and milk-them-for-everything mentality of the timeshare industry.

Even with the bad economy, why are the special assessments so large? In good times, developers can leverage the upfront fees that owners pay or finance to get new commercial loans to build more timeshares. As timeshare sales drop, there may be no income to pay the interest and principal on the loans. The maintenance fees are not enough to cover everything.

But owners should not think about NOT paying those timeshare bills. Through decades of legal precedence, timeshare companies can and do impose stiff penalties for non-compliance. These include high interest rates on principal owed, collecting debt through employers, and placing liens on assets like homes, bank accounts, etc.

What can timeshare owners do to fight back? There is not much relief if they plan to keep their timeshares. The number of owners that try to resell or rent their timeshares spikes up tremendously during economic crisis. Many charities will not accept timeshare deeds as donations knowing the accompanying liabilities.

If you are dealing with salty water, then “yes,” either one of the residential reverse osmosis systems, or a distillation system, is needed. But, if like most of us, you get your water from a chlorinated system with no salt problems, you have simpler and far less expensive options. We will cover one these options in this article called selective filtration.

No doubt you have been hearing about our need to reduce our body’s exposure to toxic chemicals; something now referred to as reducing the “body burden” or the total amount of toxins in our body.

Toxic contaminants in the water we drinks and bathe in has long been a concern to us all, and we should be concerned, but more and more the guys in the white coats are telling us the air quality in our homes is imposing even greater burdens on our bodies. The worst toxic contaminants in the air come from chlorine byproducts such as chloroform.

The EPA said, “Every home in America has an elevated level of chloroform gas (in the air) due to the vaporization of chlorine from tap and shower water.” (Also, while the shower produces the most chloroform in the air, the dishwasher and the washing machine aren’t far behind).

Since whole house units remove chlorine and other toxins from the water, at the point of entry into your home, they greatly improve both the air quality and the water quality.

One of the most compelling reasons to compare RO and SF systems before making your choice is the big difference in their purchase and operating costs.

In today’s world, cost differences might determine whether or not we can even buy a whole house unit. Very good residential selective filtration systems will run about $800. Comparable residential reverse osmosis systems are in the $10,000 range.

What causes the huge price difference?

One of the hardest things to remove from water is salt and, years ago, RO was developed as a cheaper way to clean up salt water than by using distillation. But that was when water and electricity were both very cheap. Today RO is an expensive technology as you will see.

RO systems use the home’s water pressure to force water through a membrane having pores so small only molecules the size of water molecules, or smaller, can pass through, leaving contaminants with larger molecules behind.

Not all contaminants are stopped by the membrane. Chlorine, its byproducts and many other chemical compounds have small molecules that allow them to pass through easily. Carbon filters are added to remove them and to protect the membrane.

The RO systems are faster than distillation, but the smaller units will only produce a gallon of filter water every two or three house. The larger whole house units are good for about 80 gallons an hour. Either system, large or small, uses pressurized storage tanks for delivering larger quantities of water quickly.

The minimum pressure required to operate most of the smaller countertop units is 40 psi (pounds per square inch) and older homes, or some well water systems, may need to add booster pumps. Since more pressure is required to operate the whole house systems, booster pumps are usually included with the unit.

These systems waste a large quantity of water that will not go through the membrane even with sufficient pressure applied. This water is often thrown out with the collected contaminants. The typical system wastes two to five gallons of water for each gallon that is filtered.

While there are systems that do recycle the waste water, it is the cost of the recycling, extra pumps (if needed), electricity, and storage tanks that lead to the higher initial costs, and higher operating costs. Also, the more parts in the system, the more Murphy’s Law is likely to influence required maintenance and further increase operating costs.

If you are on a chlorinated water system (95% of us are), a good option for consideration is selective filtration.

In these systems, redox (reduction/oxidation), mechanical filtration and activated charcoal are integrated into a multistage filtering process that will quickly process the water at the whole house level.

Redox, which is a chemical exchange process, is a new kind of filter media that was developed to remove dissolved lead and other toxic metals from water. Prior to this simple filtration process, only RO or distillation was capable of taking toxic metals from water.

Over 99 percent of the chlorine, chlorine byproducts and other organic chemicals are removed by the adsorptive power of the activated charcoal. The overall process of selective filtration removes bad tastes, odors and sediment from the water and acts somewhat like a water softener, but there is no unhealthy sodium added to the water.

Selective filtration units are simple to install, and work quickly to filter over 7 gallons of water per minute with no waste, and no electricity, storage tanks, or booster pumps required.

For anyone wanting to improve the air and water quality in their home, selective filtration systems are a viable cost saving option to consider.

If you enjoy the outdoors and being close to nature, you probably have a beautiful garden, and are growing many different plants to add color to the outdoors. As you probably realize, gardening and caring for plants can be a great therapy method and it is free. Many plants require specialized care and attention, which is quite therapeutic.

Of course, there are man different kids of plants that you can grow in your own backyard or on your patio. One of the most popular plants, known for its outstanding beauty and color, is the orchid. Taking care of orchid flowers requires dedication, but there are several tips for growing orchid flowers that will bloom abundantly and beautifully. If you follow these tips, you will have a beautiful and thriving orchid plant collection.

To take care of your orchid plants, one of the most essential things you can do is to make sure that you have the right kind of light for them to grow. Successful orchid growing requires the right amount of light. The leaves and flowers of your orchid plant can actually be burned if there is too much light. Particularly when the flowers are in bloom, it is essential that they not receive direct sunlight. However, they will not thrive if they do not receive enough light, so you should make sure they do receive some filtered light.

Besides the right amount of light, you also need to ensure that your plants are kept at the right temperature. Plants like the Lady Palms can live for more than 100 years when provided with the right amount of light. The same goes for orchids. In order to grow beautiful orchid flowers, you need to pay attention to each plant’s individual needs. Some orchid plants have low temperature needs, and these plants can be kept on the floor or on shelves without any additional heating considerations. For those that require warm temperature, you can mount them on trunks of palms near curtained windows, or use an electric fan to circulate warm air near the plants.

When watering and fertilizing your orchid plants, it is again important to understand your plant’s individual needs. Many types of orchid plants require certain amounts of water and fertilizer, and there are optimum times of the day to water and fertilize your plants. Read any information that came with your plants, or consult a nursery salesperson for assistance in determining the right amounts for your plants. If you follow these instructions carefully, you will be able to cultivate a beautiful collection of orchid plants.

Real estate is often known as the safest investment available. Because,real estate investing
executed with correct evaluation of the property (and its true value), can result in good earnings. This is one reason how come a few people engage in real estate investing as their regular job. The dialogue of real property are broadly centered toward residential real estate; commercial real estate seems to be not as popular. All the same, commercial real estate also is a good alternative for investing in property.

Commercial real estate includes many various forms of properties. Most folks associate commercial realty with only office buildings, parks or manufacturers/ industrialized units. Even so, that’s not entirely all of commercial real estate. There’s more to commercial real estate. Health care centers, retail structures and storage warehouse are all good examples of commercial real estate. Even residential properties like apartments (or any property that comprises of more than 4 residential dwelling units) are considered commercial real estate. As a matter of fact, such commercial real estate is much sought after.

So, is commercial real estate really profitable? Well, if it were not Lucrative I wouldn’t of have been writing about commercial real estate at all. So, commercial real estate is productive for sure. The only matter with commercial real property is that acknowledging the opportunity is a little difficult as equated to residential real estate. But commercial real property profits can be real huge (in fact, much bigger than you would anticipate by residential real estate of the same proportion). You could take up commercial real estate for either reselling after appreciation or for letting out to, say retailers.

The commercial real estate development is as a matter of fact handled as the 1st sign for emergence of residential real estate. Once you acknowledge of the possibility of significant commercial growth in the area (either due to tax breaks or whatever), you had better begin assessing the potential for appreciation in the prices of commercial real estate and then go for it promptly (equally soon as you find a good deal). And you must really work towards getting a good deal.

If you find that commercial real estate, e.g. land, is available in large chunks which are too costly for you to purchase, you could look at forming a small investor group (with your friends) and purchase it collectively (and split the profits later). In some cases e.g. when a retail boom is expected in a region, you may determine it profitable to purchase a property that you can change into a warehouse for the intent of renting to small businesses.

So commercial real estate exhibits a whole plethora of investing chances, you just need to seize it.

Do you realize that you might be prevented from renting your investment home? Prohibiting property owners from leasing their properties is a trend that is growing increasingly popular with some developers and many Homeowners’ Associations (HOA).

It’s rare that you can buy a new home in a development that does have a HOA. As a homeowner you are bound by the HOA restrictions found in the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs).

The CC&Rs regulate your use of your property, restricting everything from the color of the house, window coverings, holiday decorations, sports courts, pets, to landscaping and etc.

One of the most recent restrictions that builders are including in their CC&Rs is a restriction that prohibits the homeowner from leasing their property. Builders have a provision in their sales contracts stating that the home will be a primary or secondary residence and that the purchaser will occupy the home. The owner is strictly prohibited from renting the home.

Why this trend? The idea is to limit the number of rentals in a subdivision because lenders believe that a high number of rentals in a community affects the value of the property and can erode the security of their loans.

Existing HOAs like the idea of no rentals and there seems to be a growing movement to amend their CC&Rs to add the “no leasing” provision.

Investors Beware!

The new homebuyer should be made aware of the no leasing restriction when they buy. But what about the investor who buys a home a few years later? If the investor fails to read and understand the CC&Rs he or she may end up owning a property that they cannot rent.

You can’t count on the home seller alerting you to the restriction. They may be the third or fourth owner of the home and not even be aware of the restriction.

Oh sure, you could buy the home, rent it and hope you are not discovered violating the CC&Rs.

However, anyone who has ever dealt with a HOA soon discovers that there are always a few other homeowners with an eagle eye out for the slightest infraction of the CC&Rs. They delight in notifying the HOA management company,,, and the management company is bound to investigate and enforce the rules. For you the investor is no appeal… and there is no recourse.

This is a strong reminder that every investor should have a clause in every purchase contract that says the purchase agreement is contingent upon you receiving, reading and approving a copy of the CC&Rs.

This is a potential ulcer-creating situation that no investor can afford to ignore.

I’ve always thought removal of waste and rubbish was a huge hassle. However since last month, I have found the perfect way to achieve this.

An unfortunate incident involving my car and the front wall left me with a huge repair bill, and vast amounts of rubble. A strange man in a trench coat thought it funny to drive after having six pints, right through my driveway wall, instead of his own forty miles away!

Thankfully he was not injured and even had the audacity to exit his vehicle and request to use my bathroom facilities! Naturally I called the police, he tried to make a run for it, but was apprehended shortly after. He faced a night in custody, whilst I was left to clean up after his destruction. His car was towed, but the remains of my front wall and various car bits remained.

I needed a way to remove this mess swiftly and cleanly, in order to get my house looking like it used to and forget about this whole ordeal. After much deliberation, I came across 5 star Skip Hire, it quickly became apparent that this was the most effective way to clean up.

My trauma from the task, did not help the vast information I was faced with, I needed to liaise with the company in order to establish a convenient time, and as I was taking time off work, to ensure the company was reliable enough to turn up on time, and find money from somewhere in which to pay them. With the hopes that the trench coat man would cough up later. I was inundated with the various forms of skips available for hire, but 5 star Skip Hire, seemed to be the winner in helping me decide.

The service team on the phone got back to me, when they said they would and explained in layman’s terms for me, what the whole process would entail and exactly what was going to happen when. And then to my amazement everything went exactly as they said it would.

This I’m sure you will agree is rare for most companies, but their customer service was immaculate. This ship hire company arrived on time, were extremely helpful on the phone, and made the whole process enjoyable. 5 star skip hire was cost effective and made me feel like collecting my waste in future to such an amount that I would have to use them again!

So if your looking for a clean and effective way to clean up your excess waste, I would strongly recommend 5 star Skip Hire. It makes the whole process much less tedious, and with the right company and people becomes a pleasant experience.

I eventually did get reimbursed by the trench coat man, not only by financial means, but we are now very much in love, and looking to move in together this fall.

Many new organic gardeners are confused about or frustrated with the control of bugs and pests in their gardens. All types of plants, from roses, bushes, or trees, to fruits or vegetables, annuals or perennials, attract bugs which like to eat parts of the plant. Some bugs eat the leaves and stems, while others eat the flowers, and some eat the entire plant. However, there are actually many different natural ways to control these pests.

Although you could simply pick the bugs off your plants as you find them, this can be a very time consuming process, especially in a large garden with many plants. It is not efficient to control pests in this way alone. However, there are many other natural ways you can control bugs in your garden.

The first step you’ll need to take is to effectively control the weeds in your garden. In order to do this, you need to leave enough space between your plants to allow room for pulling up any weeds that you see. Especially in vegetable gardens, you should leave a wide space between the rows, so you can use a hoe, which makes a quick job out of weeding. For best results, be proactive and pull weeds before they become large, because it is much easier to pull them when they are small. They will come out of the dirt easier, and will not have dropped seeds for more weeds, or drawn a lot of bugs into your garden.

Not only can you control pests by removing weeds, but also through planting certain species which help to control pests. Many people do not realize that certain herbs and flowers even repel many common bugs. For example, chives can help prevent scab in apple trees. Also, black spot on roses can be controlled by chives around your rose bushes.

Another plant which can be used to repel pests, Elderberry, is quite effective against garden moles. But is never effective to be one of the indoor houseplants because of its poisonous parts. If you stick branches and leaves of this plant into the mole holes, the moles will leave your garden. A tea or wash made from Elderberry leaves can also help control aphids, carrot root fly, cucumber beetles, or peach tree borers.

Garlic is another plant with many uses in your garden. However, a word of caution when taking care of vegetable gardens: the flavor of garlic can be absorbed by other plants, so be careful when using garlic as a repellant near your vegetable garden, as it should not be used near vegetables which would taste odd with a hint of garlic flavoring.

Yet another all natural garden solution is Lemon Balm. This can be used as a repellant for many bugs and pests. Just sprinkle lemon balm leaves in your garden. Not only this, but crushed lemon balm leaves can also be rubbed directly onto your skin, preventing mosquito bites.