Creating New Kitchens

Most homeowners will often have water leaks in their basements, if they have one, so it is almost a guarantee that they will look to purchase DIY basement waterproofing products and gather information on how to best resolve their leaks.

Let’s first look at why basements are plagued by water seepage and flooding. Excess moisture in your basement not only limits your use of the space but it also can cause a number of serious problems structurally as well as ruin or destroy furniture and furnishings.

Basements are basically built into a large hole that’s been dug out of the ground. Once the walls and floor of the basement are built, the remainder of the hole is filled in with effectively, loose soil, even if it’s compacted afterwards. Water naturally finds its way through the path of least resistance, and in your case, that will be the looser soil around your basement. So eventually, even though it may take a few years, you will get a build-up of water around and even under, your basement.

This creates hydrostatic pressure on the basement walls and floor. Without adequate basement waterproofing, water will seep through even the smallest crack which then ruins the outside protective coating. This sometimes happens even with systems that are designed to remove water away from the building because pipes get blocked with silt or heavy rainfalls overload the system.

It’s at this point that many people turn to do it yourself basement waterproofing rather than have the basement completely excavated and re-done, usually at great expense. The often-used solution is to tackle the inside rather than the outside, by utilising products such as sealants on the inner walls and floor.

A typical project might involve:

the walls are prepared by removing all loose or crumbled material.
-before starting, take off prior restoration or foreign substance.
– make sure the basement is as dry as possible, hire heaters or large fans if necessary.
Primer is used to prime the walls and floor if needed.
repair all easily seen gaps, flaws, seams, or joints.
A 1″ bead of sealant is used on the wall and floor junctions.
final products which using 2 or 3 coats are enough

There’s nothing more to it. Provided that you are careful about choosing a superior product for this job, on completion your basement will be completely sealed and the waterproofing can be expected to last for several years. Top sealants such as PermaFlex are supposed to be a complete, permanent indoor basement waterproofing system. The quote says that it is the only waterproofing system which totally seals any basement for all times. It could be very wet and deteriorated though. It can then be brushed, rolled over or even be sprayed on.

A full solution would cost homeowners a fraction of the cost and is perfect for do-it-yourself basement waterproofing. It’s also a wonderful solution for those with budget concerns with common and often expensive problems.

27 August 2008 may prove to be a pivotal point in mankind’s war against the much-feared bird flu pandemic. On that day, Sharp Corporation unveiled its latest technological weapon against the unseen enemy! Incorporated in its ionic air purifier, the Plasmacluster Ion Technology (more on this in a later post) has just been scientifically proven to be 99.9% effective in eliminating the bird flu virus known as H5N1.

Every now and then, the press reminds us that bird flu is the prime suspect to cause mankind’s next pandemic. Pandemic does not just sound terrifying. It is. That’s when a highly contagious virus goes global, in a very negative sense. In 1918, an invisible bug is believed to have wiped out 50 million people during the Spanish Flu pandemic! That deadly killer flu was confirmed on 5 October 2005 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be caused by H1N1, a bird flu virus.

If fear is gripping you right now, is it time to PANIC?

Not now. “Only” 245 people infected by the H5N1 virus, as per WHO data as at 10 Sep 2008, have died since 1996 when it first surfaced in China. So what’s the fuss? The greatest nightmare for scientists monitoring the bird flu virus is to see it attain human-to-human transmission capability. Currently, there has been only one probable case of human-to-human transmission recorded in Thailand in September 2004. If indeed the much-feared virus mutation takes place, you can expect pandemonium on a global scale.

Countries are conscientiously preparing for the worse (more on this in a later post). As protectors of our families and loved ones, we should start doing some homework too.

Ok, so what has the Sharp ionic air purifier to do with all this. Is it not just another ordinary ionic air purifier? It is ordinary in that it performs the usual functions of the run-of-the-mill air purifier by getting rid of dust, dirt, smoke, dander, pollen, cuisine and pet odours, pollutants, allergens etc. If there is really a tested defence shield against a deadly virus, why not? And that is precisely what Sharp is telling us; get the whole package with their Plasmacluster Ion Technology.

Obviously, for the value-conscious, the next logical question would be “yes, that makes a whole lot of sense but at what cost”? Per Sharp, not a penny more! They go so far as to say it may in fact be cheaper than any other ordinary ionic air purifier when measured over 5 years. Wow, value for money sure gets my attention! How is it possible in this nothing-is-for-free world?

Sharp says that its definitely possible. Using the Plasmacluster Ionic Air Purifier Model FP-N40CX as the basis, Sharp contends that it is great value for money as there is no filter replacement costs for the first 5 years. Upfront costs at US$399 for the Sharp model is higher than the typical competitor’s US$160. But the latter requires annual filter replacement costs of US$100, adding to a total cost of US$560 over 5 years.

Any feedback on the competitor numbers would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to drop me a note if you have actual numbers.

In the meantime, I will study the Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology more closely. The time to research is now, while bird flu is still not quite at pandemic proportions.

It’ll be way too late when that hits. Believe me, I have seen it. Imagine thousands of frantic people going from drugstore to drugstore looking for the same face mask. The N95 mask was touted as the only effective weapon as a near-pandemic scare gripped Asia. The year was 2003. SARS was a much dreaded acronym. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus started spreading in Asia and infected 8,096 people around the world, resulting in 774 fatalities. As always, being prepared is half the battle won.

Watch this space as we track exciting developments in our pursuit of safe, pure and clean air with nothing more than an ionic air purifier.

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