Let's "Whip That Hair" Out of the Sink!

Everyone has experienced a clogged sink at one point or another! And if you're like me, you wash your hair at home sometimes. And for all the mothers with girls, bless your heart, that's on a regular basis. If can be expensive to call out a professional plumber to unclog your drain. This is an easy do-it-yourself project! I put this post in the home maintenance section because it should be done regularly. I don't suggest waiting until the sink is clogged or the water is draining slow. Schedule cleaning out your drain at least monthly, if you can't do it weekly. The more often you wash hair, using a certain drain, the more often you should clean in it.

Here are different techiniques used to clear a drain:

• Plunger: This is the most common way to unclog your sink. A toilet plunger and a sink plunger are not the same. Go to your local hardware store and request a sink plunger. You'll get better results. Plus, I don't want to use the same plunger in my sink as the toilet. You want to use a rag to clog the over-flow drain before you start. Take your plunger and move it up and down aggressively. Make sure you use gloves. What comes out won't look pretty!
• Drain Auger (Snake): Drains snakes have been used for years. But recently they shorten them and started selling them for DIY. This is my favorite! I first saw them on TV. At first I didn't believe it was that easy. My neighbor suggested I try it; and I loved it. I don't like pusing hair and or chemicals down the drain. I like to pull out what I can and put it in the trash. You put the "snake" in the drain. Make a few turns. The hairs catches on and you can pull it out. It's nasty, but it works! Turn off the electricity to the garbage disposal if you're doing the kitchen sink!
• Chemicals: When you use any chemicals you should always were gloves, mask, and eye protection. These chemicals are not only harsh for your skin, they're not good for your pipes. I recommend only using chemicals when you have a bad clog. This is after the "fishing" and plunging doesn't work.
• Remove P-trap: Turn the water off first! I don't want you to forget you took the pipe apart and run water on the floor. This is the last resort for me. If you don't know how to remove the pipe and put it back; don't! Have someone on standby to help you if you get stuck. A pipe wrench is needed. The P-trap is the U-shaped part of the pipe under the sink. Take it apart using the wrench. Clean the pipe. And before you put it back you want to use "plumbers tape" on the threads of the pipe to prevent leaking. Put the pipe back on using a wrench. Get it as tight as you can. Hint: The longer the handle of the pipe wrench, the more leverage you have. And you can get it tighter.

Again, I wouldn't wait for the sink to get clogged before I clean it. You want to keep your pipes clear and clean as possible!

This post is dedicated to www.frofashionweek.com! I would like to say welcome to all the participants of Spring Fro' Fashion Week! Thank you for visiting my blog! Please stayed tuned there is more to come!

Song for today: 'Whip Your Hair' by Willow Smith

It's Cold Outside!

I think the cold is finally here to stay! The week of Thanksgiving we had temperatures ranging from the upper 50's to 70 degrees. I couldn't believe it! I usually put plastic on my windows in November but it was too warm. And now I know we won't see 60 degrees for awhile, I'm weatherizing my house. We you weatherize your home you not only save money you make your home comfortable. And I love the feel of a comfortable home! I'm a busy mom and I have alot of windows. So I do a few windows a day. Just go to the your local home improvement store and ask for the plastic that you shrink with a blow dryer. When you do it right you can't tell there's plastic on the windows! If it doesn't turn out just right this year, trust me it gets better. Tip: Use electric scissors to cut off the excess once you're finished shrinking all the wrinkles out. Yes, I blowdry it until every wrinkle is out! I'm a perfectionist. What can I say? The cost for 5 large windows is around $7. Depending on the width of your windows you can sometimes do two with what they allow for one. I've had people tell me that the two-sided tap doesn't stick. You should always clean the around the window where the tap will be with a good all-purpose cleaner. The tape needs a good clean surface to stick to. I do the inside of my windows. And I use caulk around the frame of the window to seal the window when needed. In addition to the plastic I change all my curtains to the heavier thermal curtains. When you go to buy them make sure you ask for the thermal curtains. This will also help keep the heat in and the cold out. Starting with your windows will make your home feel comfty. You'll start saving energy immediately which lowers your heating costs.

One more thing to do!

With all the things I have to do as a single mom I have to schedule home maintenance like a doctors appointment. Yes, it that important! Whatever you don't maintain you will lose. You have to maintain your health, relationships, car, home, etc. When you don't maintain your home it costs you more to repair. I have always been the type of person that when I knew better I did better. I just needed to know what I needed to do and how to do it. I own a facilities management company. And I see first hand what happens when you don't give equipment and the building the proper maintenance. The warranties are voided and the equipment fails prematurely. You can prolong the life of almost anything if you take care of it! We know from Oprah you have to teach people how to treat you. And you teach people how to treat your things in your home by what they see you do. My goal for this section of my blog is to educate and motivate women to be proactive instead of reactive. There are some expensive repairs we can prevent by doing maintenance regularly. And most of all we need to save money by reducing costly repairs in our home. As new products are introduced to the market we'll explore them. And we'll try new techniques. I always look for the best way to work and be safe. And I also want to empower women to do for themselves. Sometimes we get in our own way when we say what we can't do and we haven't tried. Now, if it's something you don't want to do, I understand. But I know from what I've seen and what I do, women can do anything!