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Oct

Fire Safety for Your Home

October is Fire Safety Month so it’s the perfect time to go around your home and make sure that you have all the equipment you need to keep your family and home as safe as possible.

Let’s start with fire alarms. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you install smoke alarms and fire alarms (or a combo unit) on every level of your home and outside sleeping areas. This ensures that no matter where or when a fire breaks out your family will be alerted so they can escape to safety. Remember, though, you’re only alerted if you have a working smoke or fire alarm, so when you turn the clocks back this fall, replace your batteries!

Keeping matches and lighters hidden away, and teach young children to “stop, drop, and roll” in the event that their clothing catches fire, is also important. Keeping children away from the stove, never leaving candles, fireplaces, or fire pits unattended, and other common-sense rules will make fire prevention a simple and easy plan to put into practice.

Be wary of space heaters. Space heaters cause more than 25,000 fires and more than 300 fire deaths a year. You should be aware of all space heater and portable heater locations; and make sure they’re not too close to drapes or other flammable surfaces and that they’re in good working order before turning them on for the winter season. Frayed cords—in particular—are important to address, so when buying space heaters pick one with a tip-over safety shut off. Remember, fire prevention is always your best bet.

Keep a fire extinguisher in any room with a space heater, as well as in the kitchen, and make sure the ones you do have are not expired. If you don’t have any pick some up at your local Brinkmann’s Hardware store. They’ll have fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, fire alarms, and CO2 alarms to keep your family safe.

Once you have all the fire safety equipment you need, it’s important to make sure your family is prepared in the event of a fire. Practice a home fire escape plan with your family in case a fire does occur. Know which doors and windows are useful to escape, and where to meet once you are outside. Remember, once you’re outside the house call for help and never go back inside for any reason. Your family should practice a fire escape plan at least once a year, particularly if there are small children in the house. Keeping your family safe should be a year-round goal, not just for fire prevention month, so keep these tips in mind and you’ll be better prepared should a fire ever happen.

Oct

How to Winterize Your Home

If you live in New York chances are there’s going to be a period of time during the winter months when your house feels cold and drafty. Freezing temperatures and harsh winter conditions are not only uncomfortable during these times, but they can also do damage to your house. The following tips can help keep your pipes from bursting and keep you warm and comfortable during the upcoming cold weather.

Fighting drafts should be your first step toward preparing for winterization. Caulking windows and placing weather stripping around gaps in door frames can significantly cut down on the cold winter air that comes into the home. You may also want to replace screens with storm windows and doors to add an extra layer of protection. There is even a special kind of shrink wrap that can be placed over windows, which acts as an insulator. These items can all be purchased at your local Brinkmann’s Hardware and will help to make your home more efficient during the harsh winter months.

The next step to winterizing your home is to check your hot water heater. If it’s in a drafty area it may have to work harder to heat up your water, causing your utility bills to jump. Insulating the tank and the pipes leading away from your water tank can help prevent heat loss and lower your energy costs. Remember that newer tanks usually have insulation built-in, so you only have to insulate the pipes leading away from them.

Check upstairs and down. Before winter comes check your attic to ensure that it is properly insulated. Poor attic insulation can let heat escape, leaving you cold and uncomfortable. After you check your attic check the basement and your garage. Exposed pipes in these areas can freeze in cold weather, so make sure you’re using pipe insulation in these areas.

Change your furnace filter. A dirty filter means an inefficient furnace, so be sure to change it out at least twice a year. The beginning of fall and the beginning of spring are easy times to remember, but in case you forgot, do it now. Look for high MERV ratings to ensure that even the smallest particles are captured in the filter.

Finally, take a look outside. Winter storms can be windy and cause just as much havoc as summer storms, so put away anything that might blow around in wild weather. You should also check for loose shingles and roofing, which could be made worse by ice and snow. If you do see something awry it’s better to have it fixed before a leak happens than to wait for a problem to arise.

Sep

STIHL Blowers, Which One Is the Right Choice for Your Yard?

It’s that time of year again. Soon, your yard will be piled high with leaves. While they’re beautiful on the trees, once they hit the ground they become a job to do. Luckily, STIHL makes blowers of all types to make the job a bit easier for you, saving you time and hassle.

The size of your lot and what you expect to get done will help you decide which type of STIHL blower is the right one for you. Do you have a small urban lot, a larger suburban one, or a bigger piece of property? Do you want a blower that just blows leaves and grass clippings, or are you looking for a shredder vac? There is a STIHL blower for every need.

STIHL Blowers For the Smaller Jobs:

For smaller lots, a handheld battery-powered leaf blower is a great choice. STIHL handheld blowers are lightweight and still have plenty of power to get the job done while offering great battery life so you’re not constantly stopping to charge the battery.

For the Bigger Jobs:

Have a bigger lot, or need even more power? There is an entire line of STIHL products designed with you in mind: their BG 50 is the lightest gas blower in their line; the BG 86 is their most powerful handheld model; and the BR 200 is a backpack model focused on fuel efficiency, with a lightweight design and anti-vibration technology.

Finally, for larger properties, there is a professional line of easy to start pack and handheld blowers. The gas-powered BG66L and BG86, while being on the smaller end, pack a real punch when it comes to clearing away leaves and other debris. On the most powerful end, the BR 800 x Magnum and BR 800 C-E Magnum are the most powerful blowers in the STIHL line. These backpack blowers feature a variety of pro-quality features such as a multi-function control handle and 20% more power than the BR 700, letting you get through jobs quickly and easily. No matter the job, there’s a STIHL that can handle it.

When you’re ready to invest in a new blower for whatever your needs, from grass clippings to construction debris, your local Brinkmann’s is a certified STIHL dealer and offers full service and repairs on your existing STIHL products, so visit them today.

Sep

Winter Prep For Your Home

The winter months will be here before you know it and taking some time to Winter prep your home and car now will make your life a lot easier once they’re here.

Water Heater:

Start with your water heater. If it is warm to the touch, an insulation blanket—which you can find at your local Brinkmann’s—will help keep the heat from being wasted. You may also want to turn the temperature down to save your skin and make your heater more energy efficient. The water line too, should be insulated to keep it from getting too cold in the winter. Any lines that run through crawl spaces should be properly insulated with pipe insulation. This will prevent leaks and bursting in the cold temperatures winter brings. Check your home for air leaks around water pipes, such as under sinks, which can cause them to burst in very cold weather.

Carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, also available at Brinkmann’s, are imperative to have in your home. Test them and replace the batteries before the winter months. When heaters with blocked vents from ice and snow can cause carbon monoxide build-up or a fire. Remember, holiday decorations can and do cause fires, so always check for frayed wires. If you have a real Christmas Tree be sure to keep it watered so it’s less likely to catch fire.

Car Winter Prep:

Readiness for cold weather isn’t limited to your home. Your car should also be made ready for winter. Keeping cat litter in your truck is a good idea to help provide traction should you get stuck on ice. Plain clay litter scattered on ice will allow your tires to grip better in winter storms. Monitoring and keeping up on your tire pressure is also important for traction. Remember that as temperatures drop your tire pressure often does too. Refill your tires when necessary to keep yourself safe when driving in the colder winter months.

Pouring a fuel antifreeze in your gas tank to keep your fuel line from freezing in extreme temperatures is also a good idea, in addition to the antifreeze you’re used to using in the radiator.

Storm Kit:

Finally, make sure that you have a winter storm kit including a cell phone charger, a flashlight, road flares, snacks in your car, as well as a blanket in case you find yourself stuck in a storm.

A little advanced winter prep work will keep you and your family safe over the winter, whether you’re at home or on the road. So take the time to prepare and have a safe winter season!

Aug

What Makes for the Best Cooler This Summer?

Coolers have come a long way from polystyrene ice chests. Nowadays, rotor-molded coolers such as the Yeti cooler bring state-of-the-art technology to the age-old need to hold ice.

Rotor-molded coolers are made through a process where powdered plastic is melted into a hollow mold as it is rotated to ensure that it fills every part of the mold. This results in a unibody plastic cast of the mold and allows for the durability and retention of today’s modern coolers. Their unibody construction also makes it easy to clean.

Some of the best coolers on the market are in the Yeti line. Yeti coolers come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors from soft-sided coolers with shoulder straps and backpack coolers to heavy-duty wheeled coolers perfect for a camping trip or going fishing. Many are available at your local Brinkmann’s hardware store. A good cooler should be able to keep ice frozen for at least 24 hours, which is more than enough for most food and drink needs. Some of the heavy-duty coolers in the Yeti line have been tested to hold ice for over a week, making it perfect for that long camping trip.

Getting the Most out of Your Cooler:

To get the most out of your ice chest you’ll want to pre-chill the inside. Using either ice packs or ice, fill the cooler and leave it overnight to drop the interior temperature of the cooler. The next day when you plan to use it dump out the old ice or packs and refill it with new ice. You’ll find you get a much longer chill using this method. If possible, use solid blocks of ice rather than ice cubes. You can make these yourself by filling milk cartons or other containers with water and freezing them. Solid blocks of ice last longer than ice cubes because they have less surface area.

When packing your cooler, use layers. First, add a layer of ice on the bottom. If you’re using ice blocks add ice cubes on top of them to fill in the spaces. Then add your food and drink and finally top it off with additional ice. Using this method will guarantee that everything stays cool as long as possible.

By following these tips you’ll keep your food and drinks ice cold and your gathering going long into the night!

Aug

The Basics of Bird Feeding

For many people, there is no greater joy than that of seeing feathered visitors appearing in their yard, and having backyard bird feeding stations is one of the best ways to ensure that they make their appearance. The following tips will help to make sure that your bird feeding efforts benefit both the view and the birds!

Keep It Full:

Backyard birds will make use of feeders year-round, however, they won’t keep coming back to feeders that aren’t reliably full. Once you begin feeding, make sure to keep your feeders full at all times, or the birds will find another place to go.

Choosing The Right Kind of Bird Feeders:

There are many different kinds of bird feeding stations, and each kind has pros and cons. Some of the most common kinds are hopper feeders or house feeders (these tend to look like a little house and can either hang or be placed on a platform. They have walls and a small roof surrounding the seed to keep it dry. Tube feeders have a central refillable tube and either has holes along the tube, or deposit seed on a tray, or a combination of both. Usually, these feeders are hung to help avoid seed theft by squirrels. Tube feeders with smaller holes attract finches as they hold thistle seeds or nyjer seed. Suet feeders are cage-like containers which hold chunks of fat which help attract the birds through the winter. Instead of suet, in the summer, you’ll want to use peanut butter and cracked corn in your suet feeders, as suet can go rancid in summer. Your local hardware store such as Brinkmann’s will have these, and many other types of feeders.

Experts suggest having more than one type of feeder in more than one location in your yard to attract the widest variety of bird species to your yard.

Which Type of Food:

The type of birds you’re looking to attract will help you decide what type of food to choose from. Black oil sunflower seed is the most popular seed. This type of oil, along with many other types, can be found at your local Brinkmann’s. These natural oils can be used to attract a wide variety of birds including blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, and sparrows. If you’re looking for a “starter seed” to get into the hobby, black oil sunflower seed is a great place to start. Other seed choices include “no mess” seed mixes which have been de-hulled and will cut down on the mess below your feeder or even fruits such as raisins and currants soaked in water overnight. This will attract fruit eaters such as robins, waxwings, bluebirds, and mockingbirds. Once you start feeding in summer and fall, it’s best to keep feeding through the winter as birds use many more calories to survive in the cold.

Give Them A Bath:

Finally, another way to attract a variety of birds to your yard and to see their natural behavior is to have a birdbath. Wild birds need to wash their feathers and they are attracted to birdbaths to do just that. Be sure to put mosquito dunks in your birdbaths and to clean them often! Just as you
want clean water for your bath, so do the birds.

Jul

Deck or fence looking old? Consider an Exterior Stain!

Summer is the season we spend the most time outdoors and enjoying our yards, but it’s also a great time to give something back to our decks or fences: a little TLC in the form of an exterior stain for wood.

What is Exterior Stain?

Wood stain is actually a kind of paint (which is why you’ll find it in the paint department of your local Brinkmann’s) and it’s used to protect and enhance the look of the natural wood grain. Stain soaks into your wood rather than creating a barrier on top of the wood like a varnish, so it’s mostly used for aesthetic reasons rather than for protection, however, it does prevent warping and helps to preserve the wood. If you follow up with a clear coat, you’ll also gain protection against water, stains, and even certain kinds of insects, mold, and mildew.

When using Exterior Stain, some people prefer a transparent wood shade. This will allow a light wood like pine, for example, to obtain the color of rich, dark mahogany while still allowing the natural wood grain to show through. There are dozens of natural wood shades available in a semi-transparent stain. There is also the option of solid color stains, which act more like paint in that they completely change the look of wood, but they won’t crack or peel as paint would. Solid stains can be mixed in any color, just like regular paint.

Solid exterior stains should be reapplied about every five years, and transparent stains should be reapplied yearly. A UV-rated weatherproofing seal can also greatly extend the time between re-staining. It will protect against both the weather and the sun.

A good way to check whether your deck or fence needs a new coat of stain is to watch when it rains. Is the water beading up? You’re probably good for a while. If not, break out the brushes, it’s time to get to work.

Before you stain your deck, be sure that you have a few days of dry weather coming up. Once you’ve applied a stain, you’ll want to wait a couple of days before using your deck again, and the dryer the weather, the faster the stain will dry.

A few more important points about new decks and fences:

Pressure-treated lumber needs to dry for at least 6 months before wood treatments are applied, so don’t go staining that brand new deck!

Kiln-dried lumber will need about two months to dry before staining or painting, so if you’ve just built your deck or fence, give it 8 weeks to settle in before getting your paintbrush and stain out

Jul

Buzz buzz SLAP! Mosquitoes are the Official Buzz of Summer.

It’s that time of year again, step outside for just a minute and they’re on you: mosquitoes. If you rarely get bitten, consider yourself lucky; for the rest of us they’re a pest at best and adanger at worst. Carrying mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile Virus, the Zika Virus (which can cause birth defects in pregnant women), and Encephalitis, mosquitoes are one of the more annoying parts of summer and can sometimes be a real danger to the public health.

Preventing Mosquitoes:

Prevention is the key when it comes to mosquitoes looking for a blood meal and there are a few things you can do to help keep mosquitoes away from you and your family.

Wearing long sleeves and long pants can help, but in the summer convincing kids (and most adults) to bundle up is generally a no-go. So what else can you try? Head over to your local Brinkmann’s Hardware and pick up some insect repellant that contains DEET. DEET is NOT meant to be used on the skin, it’s meant to be used on clothing, but it does provide effective mosquito control when used properly. There are even some clothes on the market that contain DEET in the fabric. Other sprays that prevent mosquito bites and can be used directly on the skin include Eucalyptus, Lemon Essential Oil, and Picaridin as ingredients.

Yard sprays are another way for you to avoid mosquito bites. If you look in the garden section you’ll find mosquito repellents in the form of a spray you can use on your grass and bushes, which will help keep the area clear of pests for a time.

Mosquito Traps:

There are also CO2 mosquito traps that attract and then kill mosquitoes. Put one in the far corner of your yard, and you’ll see a lot fewer mosquito bites.

Finally, you can help to avoid getting bitten by interrupting the life cycle of mosquitoes by getting rid of any standing water where they breed. Even a bottle cap’s worth of water can be a breeding ground for these pesky insects, and mosquito larvae transform into adult mosquitos extremely quickly. If you have a birdbath or other standing water that you would prefer not to dump out, pick up some mosquito dunks at Brinkmann’s. These are safe for birds and other animals, but won’t let mosquito eggs hatch out.

By combining all of these strategies you’ll give yourself the best possible chance to get through the summer without getting bitten by those pesky little buzzers.

Jun

The Basics of Swimming Pool Care

Having fun in the summer is a lot easier when you have your own pool; but that doesn’t mean that owning a pool is all parties and unicorn-shaped floats! Pool care is an important part of pool ownership and ensures that your water is clean, clear, and safe for swimming.

The most basic part of pool care and pool maintenance is circulation.

Make sure that your pool pump runs for at least 12 hours a day to ensure that your water is not stagnant and has the chance to run through your filter at least a few times every day. Cloudy pools usually don’t have very good circulation.

Pool Filters:

Cleaning your pool means making sure that your pool filter is doing its job. There are several kinds of filters available for pools including sand filters, saltwater chlorinators, cartridge filters, and diatomaceous earth filters. No matter what kind your pool uses, they all have the same job: to remove dirt and debris—from the biggest leaves to the smallest particles—from your water before it is returned back into your pool. Everything from leaves and pollen to sand and sunscreen ends up in your pool water, so running the pump and ensuring that water flows through your filter is key to keeping your water clean, clear, and healthy.

Pool Skimming:

In addition to using your filter to circulate the water you’ll want to manually skim the surface of your pool and brush your pool walls regularly so debris that builds up there can fall to the bottom where, if you have an in-ground pool, it will be sucked into the drains in the bottom of the deep end. If you have an above ground pool you’ll want to attach your pool vacuum to your filter system and put the vacuum upside down in the middle of the pool at the bottom. When you turn it on it will act in the same way as the main drain in an in-ground pool. An automatic pool cleaner can help to take care of these tasks, but you’ll still want to manually skim and brush a bit to make sure the job is complete.

Pool Care Chemicals:

Finally, in order to maintain water balance, it is important to use the proper pool chemicals and water testing kit. You can find all of these at your local Brinkmann’s hardware store, including pool salt for those with salt water pools. There are three main components you’ll want to test for when testing the water with your test strips: pH levels, alkalinity, and your sanitizer levels.

The ideal pH range for your pool is from 7.4-7.6. Alkalinity serves as a buffer for your pH, helping to keep it from swinging from basic to acidic and vice versa. The ideal range for your alkalinity levels is from 100 to 150 ppm. Finally, your sanitizer levels represent the chlorine level in your pool (unless your pool utilizes bromine or another type of sanitizer). Knowing your water testing results will guide you when it’s time to add chemicals to the water to adjust your water balance. Be careful when adding chemicals, read all of the directions, and if you have any questions call your chemical supplier.

Jun

It’s Summertime, Bring On The Grilling!

Now that the weather is warmer, more of us are turning the great outdoors into our kitchen by grilling our favorite foods. There are a lot of choices for fuel, but the most common by far is a propane grill.

Why a Propane Grill?

Propane gas is sometimes called LP-gas, or liquefied petroleum gas. Propane is non-toxic, colorless, and almost completely odorless. That smell you detect when lighting your grill is the additive safety feature which has been added into the gas so that you will notice if there’s a leak. Almost all of the propane in use today has been produced in North America and propane produces very few carbon emissions when burned. Now that you know a bit about propane, let’s talk about why it’s so popular as a grilling fuel choice.

Propane is easy! With charcoal grills, you have to prep the coals and wait for them to heat up before you can cook. There’s also the issue of lighter fluid, which can be stinky. However, with propane, the cooking is simple. You just turn the switch and whoosh! You have your flame ready to go. You also don’t have to handle the sooty clean up left behind by charcoal. Just turn off the flame, brush the grate, and you’re ready for the next meal. Propane tanks also last a while, so you can run to your local Brinkmann’s for a refill knowing you’ve got many meals coming out of that one fill up. Plus, most propane grills store the tank right inside so you don’t have bags of charcoal to store away.

A propane grill will give you a steady heat. With a propane grill, the heat is determined by how high you set your burner. Want high heat? Turn it up! Want a lower, slow burn? Just turn the burner down. Charcoal grills are more unpredictable and may die out before you’re done with the cooking.

Most importantly, TASTE! That smoky flavor that people talk about with referring to charcoal grills is largely imparted on steaks and chops, but proper seasoning ensures that even these cuts will taste delicious on a propane grill. Further, it’s vital to be careful with charcoal that you don’t use too much lighter fluid, because traces of it will end up on your food, and no one wants butane for dinner. For delicate flavors like chicken, fish, veggies, and fruits (yup, you can even grill fruits like peaches and pineapple for a delicious treat,) grilling with propane is a great choice.

Environmental Reasons:

Finally, there’s the environment to consider. Charcoal briquettes can release up to 105 times more Co2 into the air than propane, as well as volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), which can cause a number of health problems including cancer. While propane grills burn a non-renewable fuel, it produces far fewer carbon emissions and only generates 5.6 pounds of Co2 per hour vs. the 11 lbs. per hour of charcoal.

These are just a few of the reasons that people choose propane for their outdoor grilling. So the next time you’re out looking for a new grill, consider a propane model. You’ll be getting the ease of use, ease of cooking, great taste and you’ll even be doing the environment a favor!

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