The GutterBrush Blog

We do not know anybody who likes cleaning rain gutters on their property. It’s time consuming and often, frankly, completely nasty, especially if you do not keep up with it on a somewhat regular basis. If you are like many homeowners and think “I’ll take care of that next weekend”, you could end up with massive clogs in your gutters and downspouts…clogs which will cost hundreds of dollars to repair because you have to call a gutter professional to come out, take down your downspouts, clean them out and put them all back together. Instead of spending all of that time and money, why not just install a gutterbrush gutter guard system?

The original gutterbrush simple gutter guard will save you time and you won’t have to worry about costly clogs in your downspouts. The product looks like a giant pipe cleaning brush and it sits in your rain gutter channel and acts as a barrier for leaves, twigs, seedpods and other debris while still letting water pass through freely and out the downspout.

Installation is simple and fast. The most difficult part is climbing the ladder up to your roof to set the original gutterbrush down inside of it. But that’s it…you’re done! More importantly they are easy to clean if you ever need to do so. All you have to do is climb back up that pesky ladder; pull the brushes out, remove the debris and put them right back into place.

Why spend a bunch of money if you don’t have to? Why spend a bunch of time cleaning something if you don’t have to? The original GutterBrush is very affordable and you can install it yourself in about an hour and a half and it lasts all year (studies have proven they can also keep your gutters from freezing in the winter). Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Don’t be fooled by imitations that are manufactured outside of the USA using sub standard materials. Insist on the original GutterBrush Simple Gutter Guard!

We’ve had a few days of warm weather here on the East Coast lately and we have been running the ceiling fans in our offices to keep the rooms cool without having to turn on our central air conditioner quite yet. Even though its been relatively mild outside we have a few rooms that get a lot of sun and warm up rather quickly.

While sitting in the office yesterday I commented that even though the fan above me was on medium speed that it didn’t feel as though it was cooling the room very well. It was at that moment that I realized I had forgotten to switch the fan direction from “warming” to “cooling.”

You see, most ceiling fans will go in two directions: clockwise and counter-clockwise. Most ceiling fans sold these days have a small switch right “above” the blades (between the fan blades and the ceiling, on the “stem” of the fan) that control the fan blade blowing direction: right or left. Some fan manuals call these directions “forward” and “reverse” but I can never remember which direction is which. This fan direction switch is a pretty important feature because the ceiling fans will move air differently for each direction. You usually just need to flip the switch on the fan to change direction, but remember to use the same safety methods you used when you were cleaning your ceiling fan.

You can tell which way you fan is blowing by turning it on low and watching which way the blades spin. If the fan blades start moving to the right, then your ceiling fan is blowing clockwise. If the ceiling fan blades start moving to the left then your ceiling fan is blowing counter-clockwise. Simple so far… but which direction do you want for most fans?

Ceiling Fan Spinning Counter-Clockwise: Makes a room cooler by blowing the air downward. When the fan is spinning in a counter-clockwise direction you should feel a cool breeze coming down and around the room.

Ceiling Fan Spinning Clockwise: Makes a room warmer by creating subtle updraft which pushes the warm air near the ceiling down along the walls and into the room. When the fan in spinning in a clockwise direction you should not feel as much of a breeze.

Need to remember on the fly? Here’s a phrase that helps the memory: Counter-Clockwise Cooler (You just need to remember there are three C’s when it comes to ceiling fans!)

Stay cool this summer!

As the weather keeps getting warmer, home improvement projects keep getting added to many people’s to-do lists. From cleaning out gutters to painting to cleaning the house from top to bottom, the project list seems never ending. Here are some new tools and tips to make the most common summer home improvement projects a breeze so you can enjoy the warm weather with family and friends.

1. Painting Projects

Once you’ve determined whether you are doing simple indoor touch-ups or completely changing the paint scheme outside of your home, you need the right tools to help make the job easier and mess-free.  For bigger projects use a ladder pail that makes larger painting projects a snap. Fill the pail with up to a gallon of paint and attach it to your ladder with a fixed bracket. This tool prevents you from making multiple trips up and down the ladder.

2. Gutter Cleaning

Cleaning out gutters can be an annoying task, especially when using all sorts of homemade contraptions that dangle from ladders or sit unsteadily on rooftops. Be sure to use a large spoon or specific gutter cleaning scoop to get the debris out. Use water to loosen up caked on dirt and use a gutter scoop to remove. Make sure to flush your gutters with water once you’ve removed the debris — it’ll help them flow during those inevitable summer showers! You might also want to consider using a gutter protection system at the time you clean out your gutters.

Finally, while you’re working on your summer home improvement projects, make it fun! Open the windows, put on some music, and let the warming sun motivate you to get through the tasks so you can enjoy doing something else.

There are many materials available for asphalt driveway maintenance including emulsified liquids, plastic fillers and solid cold-patches. For a complete driveway rejuvenation, you may need all three. Before tackling any maintenance or repair, check your driveway for these conditions:

• Impressions left by car tires after the car has been parked on the drive overnight. This is an indication of poor construction.
• Heaving or tilting during cold weather, or buckling or cracking with the spring thaw. These are signs of poor drainage.

To repair these troubles, you’ll need a new driveway. Fortunately, such problems are not common. More likely problems are minor cracks, crumbling and chuckholes, which are relatively easy to repair. The procedure and materials used depends on whether you’re repairing cracks, filling low spots, patching or seal-coating your driveway. Your local retailer can help you select the products you need for making repairs.

REPAIRING CRACKS

• You should fill any cracks in a blacktop drive as soon as possible to keep water from getting under the slab and causing more serious problems. Cracks that are 1/2″ and wider are filled with asphalt cold-patch, sold in bags and cans. Narrow cracks are treated with crack-filler, which is available in cans, plastic pour bottles and handy caulking cartridges.
• Use a masonry chisel, wire brush or similar tool to dig away chunks of loose and broken material from the crack.
• Sweep out the crack with a stiff-bristled broom. Your shop vacuum will also work well.
• Use a garden hose with a pressure nozzle to clean off all dust. If the area is badly soiled or covered with oil or grease drippings, scrub it with a strong commercial driveway cleaning agent. For a patch to adhere, the crack must be free of all such things. After using a cleaner, rinse the area with water.
• For a deep crack, fill it to within 1/4″ of the top with closed-cell plastic backer rod or sand before applying a patching compound.
• Apply the crack-filler.

FILLING DEPRESSED AREAS

• Depressed areas, sometimes called “birdbaths,” cause water puddles on the driveway. If not too deep–less than an inch–these areas can be filled so they’re even with the surrounding surface. Sweep away all dirt, hose down the area and remove any oil or grease by washing with a detergent or cleaner.
• The surface may be slightly damp when applying the patching material, but make sure there is no standing water.
• To help the new material adhere to the old, prime the area with emulsified liquid asphalt, which is often simply called “driveway coating.”
• Then, use a trowel to spread asphalt cold-patching material into the depression, filling it level with the surrounding surface. Smooth the patch, then tamp it with a metal tamper or a 5′ to 6′ length of 2×8 or 4×4 lumber. Used vertically, the lumber has the surface area and weight for successful tamping.
• Allow your blacktop patch to dry for 24 hours before seal-coating the entire driveway.

PATCHING POTHOLES

• For potholes, first dig out any loose material and dirt down to a solid base. It’s best to undercut the edges slightly to provide a “key” for the patching material (Fig. 6). Make sure the edges of the asphalt around the hole are firm.
• Clean all dust and debris from the hole and surrounding areas.
• If the hole is very deep, fill it to within 4″ of the top with gravel. Tamp this down firmly.
• You don’t have to work with hot-mix patchers as professionals do–cold-mix patching products do an excellent job of repairing driveways. Fluid cold-patches that come in cans may need to be stirred before use. Use a strong stick or a stirring attachment chucked into your electric drill.
• You can prime the repair area by painting it with emulsified asphalt liquid. Priming helps the new material bond to the old. Then apply the cold-patch material, patting it down occasionally with a shovel or trowel to help compact it and prevent air pockets from forming (Fig. 7).
• Put in a 2″ depth of cold-patch and tamp it firmly or roll it with a garden roller. Add more material in 2″ lifts, tamping each lift. The next-to-last lift should fill the hole to within an inch of the top. Tamp it as shown in Fig. 8.
• Now add more patching material, filling the hole and mounding it slightly above the surrounding surface. Tamp it down as firmly as you can. You can tamp it by hand or by repeatedly running your car’s tire over it (Fig. 9).
• Fill in any low areas with more cold-patch mix. Compact it until it’s even with the driveway surface.
• Allow the repaired area to cure for 12 to 36 hours before driving on it, and give it two to five days to cure before seal-coating the entire driveway.

Probably not. But there is no mistake about what’s in this gold plated vending machine.  Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace Hotel became the first place outside Germany to install “gold to go, the world’s first gold vending machine”. Those in the Gulf region who can clearly afford it can now grab “gold to go”, much like a latte or donuts, from a hotel lobby in the United Arab Emirates. Now when the gold fix strikes all you need to do is find one of these machines and presto, gold! Only one day after its inauguration, the shiny machine attracted many spectators of many different nationalities who had gathered to watch whenever an enthusiast was struck with the urge to splurge on a bar of the precious metal. The gold rates are constantly updated inside the shiny machine — itself gold-plated — in the hotel’s lobby, courtesy of a built-in computer connected to a dealer which sells gold online.

How far we have come from the days of the California gold rush!

So to help everyone avoid becoming one of those statistics we wanted to pass along some of the tips presented by the AAOS:

•Warm up for at least 10 minutes with some stretching and light exercise before beginning work in the yard.

•Use a rake that’s comfortable for your height and strength. You can prevent blisters by wearing gloves or using a rake with a padded handle.

•Make sure that hats or scarves don’t block your vision, and watch out for large rocks, low branches, tree stumps or uneven surfaces.

•Vary your movements and alternate your leg and arm positions often. When picking up leaves, bend at the knees, not at the waist.

•Wear shoes or boots with slip-resistant soles.

•Don’t overfill leaf bags, especially if the leaves are wet. You should be able to carry bags comfortably.

•Don’t throw leaves over your shoulder or to the side. That kind of twisting motion places undue stress on your back.

•Inspect ladders for loose screws, hinges or rungs, and make sure it is free of mud, dirt or liquids.

•Make sure all ladder legs rest on a firm, level surface. Don’t use ladders on uneven ground or soft, muddy earth.

•Always face a ladder when climbing and descending.

•Confirm that the ladder is fully open and locked before you climb it.

•Angle ladders about 75 degrees from the ground.

•Don’t sit or stand on the top of the ladder or on its pail shelf.

•Use the right ladder for the job. Step stools or utility ladders are good for working at low or medium heights, while extension ladders should be used outdoors to reach high places.

So now passengers must pay upwards of $8  for a blanket and pillow on American Airlines? An interesting business strategy would be to lobby the TSA to prohibit passengers from bringing their own blankets and pillows to drive revenue from this new plan. While charging for what used to be included in the price is becoming the norm in many industries it is good to be able to hold our pricing here at GutterBrush Guys, LLC. to 2009 levels. Perhaps the airlines could learn a thing or two from us. Unlikely seeing that American Airlines announced, without any fanfare last week, that it would eliminate free blankets in coach and sell an $8 packet that includes a pillow and blanket starting on the first of May this year.

Why would a company that does business in an increasingly reviled industry make this type of move? It seems that American Airlines predicated its decision on consumer surveys. Wait. We are supposed to believe that customers said they were in favor of this added charge in an an increasingly less than enjoyable consumer experience on the airline with the worst-in-the-nation on-time performance, deplorable acumen in baggage-handling or the grotesque state of its fleet of aircraft? Forgive me but I remain skeptical.

While other airlines also charge for various items to make flights more comfortable it seems that no one is asking the consumer what they want. If they did they would likely find out what we have discovered. People want to be treated fairly and with honesty as well as getting the product they were promised. There is no room for deception or taking advantage of your customer base and their disposable income pool. Perhaps when more customers abandon those companies that deliver a less than stellar customer experience those that do will have a chance to shine brighter than ever before. Until then enjoy your $8 blanket and pillow.

Super Bowl ratings poised for all-time high this year!

Super Bowl XLIV may be one for the record books as some early estimates from CBS show the viewership from the game Sunday night rising from last year’s all-time high.

The New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts showdown drew a 46.4 overnight metered-market household rating and an impressive 68 share. That set of measures is up 10% from the household rating of last year’s Pittsburgh vs. Arizona epic battle, which was seen by a record 98.7 million viewers. In fact this Super Bowl could be the first sports program ever to eclipse the 100 million viewers threshold in the USA. If last night’s sporting event sets a new record, it will likely rank second in viewership only to 1983′s final episode of “M*A*S*H,” which holds the title of the most-watched TV event of all time with 121.6 million viewers.

In Los Angeles, CA all new homes, larger developments and some redevelopments will be required by law to capture and reuse water runoff generated by any rain producing storms. This ordinance will require such projects to capture, reuse or infiltrate 100% of runoff generated in a .75″ rainstorm or to pay a storm water pollution fine that would offset the cost of funding  low-impact public developments. This is an interesting and novel approach to offsetting the negative effects of large scale urbanization by minimizing runoff at its source with small, cost-effective natural systems instead of large and very costly treatment facilities. The process of reducing runoff improves water quality and recharges groundwater while in Los Angeles it will prevent 104 million gallons of polluted urban runoff from ending up in the ocean. The quality of the runoff water can be greatly increased by utilizing gutter protection systems that also act as filtration systems such as GutterBrush simple gutter guards. Clean runoff water can be used in ways that greatly reduce the usage of fresh water. Will the splash in LA be enough to carry over to other states, cities, and towns?