How to Fix a Yard Full of Weeds

Are you inviting weeds to live on your lawn? If you’re not practicing good lawn care, you are!

You can fix a weedy, thin or even patchy lawn just by providing good care and giving the lawn what it needs. While it takes some effort on your part, a beautiful lawn is well worth it.

What Causes Weedy Lawns?

Lawn weeds appear because the grass lacks proper care. If you’re not providing good, necessary lawn maintenance, you can’t expect to grow a lush, healthy lawn.

Thin lawns are an open invitation for weeds. Mowing your lawn correctly and at the right height keeps the lawn dense and helps prevent some weed growth.

Lawn weeds are usually in one of three broad categories:

1. Annual weeds: Produce seeds in one season. Grasses, like crabgrass and witchgrass, are good examples.
2. Biennial weeds: Produce seeds in one season. Wild carrot and thistle are good examples.
3. Perennial weeds: Emerge, grow and produce roots that allow them to overwinter, become dormant and begin growing again the next spring. Dandelions are a good example.

You can take a little time to learn more about various types of lawn weeds and their control.

What Can You Do?

Proper care means doing a few things for your lawn during the growing season.

Dethatching and Aerating  

Thatch is the layer of dead grass, roots and stems that build up lawn soil. A thin layer of thatch isn’t a big deal, but if you allow it to build up to 1/2 inch or thicker, it can block water from absorbing into the soil and reaching grass roots. Causes of thatch can include excess nitrogen or even too much water, but you can take care of thatch by using a cavex rake for small lawns. Larger lawns require you to use a vertical mower to cut through the thatch. Proper aeration also helps prevent thatch.

Aerating the soil means using hand or power tools to push a narrow tube into the soil, remove a short column of soil and leave an open hole. This process is particularly necessary on high-traffic lawns or certain soil types, like clay. How often you aerate and dethatch depend on your soil and other factors.

Applying Fertilizers

Timing is important when fertilizing your lawn because lawn fertilizers are applied to warm-season and cool-season grasses depending on their growth cycles. You can apply fertilizer to warm-season grasses in mid-spring through summer and cool-season grasses in late summer or fall.

Fertilizing at the appropriate times ensures your lawn gets the nutrients it needs. You can set up your own program for fertilizing your lawn based on your location and the type of grass growing on your property.

Watering  

When and how to water your lawn depends on several factors, such the type of soil and grass that make up your lawn and the climate where you live.

You can use a few tests to determine if you lawn needs watered.

• Screwdriver test: If you can easily push a long screwdriver at least 6 inches into your lawn, it is most likely moist enough.
• Rolled grass: Look closely at your grass. If the leaf blades are rolled and grayish in color, then your soil is too dry.

Most lawns need about 1 ½ inches of water per week, but this can vary based on the factors above, so you need to learn more about proper watering practices to maintain a healthy lawn.

Once you understand proper lawn care, you can snuff out most of the weeds. While you might not be completely weed-free, a lush lawn is achievable!

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from Homey Improvements http://homeyimprovements.com/fix-yard-full-weeds/

A Pluming DIY: How to Fix a Clogged Toilet

Clogged toilets can be a scary inconvenience, but in most cases, it’s an easy problem to fix. This process is less complex than replacing a toilet altogether or even fixing the components inside the tank. Clogs can happen suddenly when a user attempts to flush an object that’s too large, or they can build up over time and happen unexpectedly. Learn how to unclog a toilet with this quick tutorial.

Step 1: Shut off the water supply by turning the knob at the base of the tank where the plumbing connects to the wall. You should hear the water stop running; if you still hear it, tighten the knob. This will prevent the toilet from overflowing.

Step 2: Gently position the plunger at the base of the toilet bowl with the plunger centered over the opening. Press in gently to begin as the air in the plunger can cause the contents of the bowl to spray if you push in too vigorously.

Tip: Use a bell-shaped rubber plunger with an extension flange at the base. These may be a bit more expensive than the basic rubber domed shaped plungers, but they work better and are worth the cost.

Step 3: Maintain a constant position with the plunger to avoid breaking the seal over the toilet bowl opening. Press the plunger up and down quite vigorously for about 30 seconds.

Step 4: Check to see if the clog has cleared by taking the lid off the toilet tank and lifting the flapper valve. The water should flow down from the bowl into the pipes easily. If it does not, your toilet is still clogged. DO NOT FLUSH until you are certain the clog has cleared. Use the flapper valve until then.

Tip: If repeated plunging forces all the water out of the bowl and your toilet tank is empty, open up the water supply valve long enough to let the tank refill, then close it again. It’s important to keep water in the bowl to maintain pressure and indicate whether the clog has cleared.

Step 5: Continue plunging and testing (alternating between steps 3 and 4) until the clog is clear. You’ll know the clog is clear either when the blocked material in the bowl drains easily and rapidly. A slow-emptying bowl indicates that some blockage is likely still intact.

Step 6: Your toilet bowl should be empty when the clog is clear. You can turn the water supply back on and push the handle to refill the bowl, then flush again to test. Turn off the water supply to the tank after this test flush just in case the blockage hasn’t actually cleared. This will help prevent overflowing. If flushing does not proceed as normal, your toilet is still blocked.

Step 7: When plunging doesn’t work, you may need to use a plumbing snake or toilet auger to get the job done. You can also call a qualified local emergency plumbing company to diagnose the issue and fix your clogged toilet.

Author Bio:

Leo is the owner of Northridge-based plumbing company Rooters On-Time of Northridge. On his free time, he enjoys writing how-to articles and tutorials to help others.

from Home My Heaven: Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2017/05/how-to-fix-clogged-toilet-diy.html

Basic Water Well Maintenance Guide

We’ve asked SimpleWater to share their knowledge about well maintenance and their new product Tap Score. Enjoy, DIY Folks

While we’ve come a long way since the hand-dug wells of Egypt and other ancient civilizations, modern wells are still susceptible to a range of issues that may affect the quality of your home’s drinking water.

Thirty-eight percent of America’s population relies on groundwater for its drinking supply.  Private wells must be properly installed, inspected, and tested on a regular basis in order to ensure groundwater quality. And the thing is… you are responsible for the maintenance and care of your private well system.

If you’re one of the 38%, what can you do to ensure your well water is safe and contaminant-free?

Answer: Quite a lot, actually. The following is a quick and simple how-to guide:

1. Check your well for proper construction and installation.

While you’ll surely be in a pickle if your well was originally constructed in a poor fashion, it’s important to first determine whether you’re at risk of water woes due to the nature of your well’s installation.

There are a few matters to check for here. First, the casing of your well should be capped off by a sanitary seal/concrete cover that stands approximately 12” above ground. This keeps unwanted pests and surface water out. Second, you’ll want to make sure that your well was installed a minimum of 50 feet from your septic tank and at least 100 feet from the septic system’s drainage field, although these distances can vary depending upon state regulations. Finally, the ground surrounding your well should slope away from the well in order to prevent water pooling.

2. Clear the area around your well.

It’s important to keep the area surrounding your well free of undesirable elements, including fertilizers, pesticides, motor oil, and general debris. Any of these examples—including other forms of waste—can contaminate your well if used or stored  in close proximity.

3. Perform regular well inspections.

You should give your well a close look at least once a year, even if you know your well was properly constructed. Over time, cracks and other forms of corrosion can occur that compromise the integrity of your well and the quality of your home’s drinking water. If you observe that there may be an issue, or if it has been over three years since a professional has inspected your well, contact a contractor licensed to perform well inspections.

4. Close off wells no longer in use.

Improperly abandoned wells pose a threat. Those that have not been sealed off can act  as a surface water conduit that might contaminate groundwater. Wells no longer in use can be correctly sealed by a licensed well contractor before they are abandoned.

5. Have your water tested yearly.

Even if your well has been properly built, placed, and has passed all inspections, it is still important to test your drinking water. Off-the-shelf at-home water tests are not usually complete, but they can be useful initial screens, especially if you know what to test for. Tap Score, powered by SimpleWater, is developed with private well owners in mind. Tap Score tests for lead, arsenic, nitrate, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other known well-water contaminants. We test for over 100 contaminants and then provide you with a personalized water quality report, complete with actionable recommendations.

 

Note from the caring folks at SimpleWater —

SimpleWater is a science and health services company educating you to improve your drinking water. We offer the only water testing service with Personalized Health Analysis and Treatment Recommendations

We serve homes, families and businesses asking: “what’s in my water, what does it mean, and how do I ensure the safety of what I’m drinking?”

SimpleWater’s national team of certified laboratory scientists, engineers, health experts and designers provide each customer with a personalized Tap Score Water Quality Report. SimpleWater’s Tap Score is the Nation’s First Smart Water Testing Service for affordable and informative contaminant screening and personalized treatment recommendations.

Call Anytime:: 888 34 MY WATER (+1-888-346-9928)

Learn more about Tap Score and Find Out What’s In Your Water at MyTapScore.Com

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from Homey Improvements http://homeyimprovements.com/basic-water-well-maintenance-guide/