What Causes Ice Dams On Michigan Roofs? Every year I see Michigan homes damaged by ice dams. A lot of people have heard the term "ice dam," but don't really understand what it is, what it does, or how to prevent it. An ice dam is, essentially, a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof. It
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12/26/2010
Efflorescence... It Isn't Mold, But It Could Indicate A Problem Do you see some white chalky stuff around the outside of the house? Worried it is mold? Chances are, it is efflorescence, an accumulation of minerals and salts on brick and cement. We can see it on bricks and blocks, inside and outsi
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12/26/2010
The Bare Bones, At-The-Very-Minimum, Absolutely Basic Homeowner Toolkit I love inspecting houses. I get to meeta lot of great people (and only rarely a not-so-nice person), and find "the story" behind many different homes. But I particularly enjoy inspections for first-timers. And most of the t
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12/26/2010
Understanding Water Filtration Options Are you interested in improving the flavor and quality of your tap water? You may want to consider purchasing a carbon water filtration system. These systems are easy to install, relatively inexpensive, and cover the basic functions of filtration. Water fil
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12/26/2010
Reducing Radon Levels in Michigan Well Water A few days ago, I wrote about radon in Michigan drinking water... specifically, well water. As promised, here is the information on reducing radon -- if you have a dangerous amount in your tested sample. U.S. Standards and Michigan Standards The Enviro
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12/26/2010
NORAD Tracks Santa Online I remember as a kid, NORAD used to track Santa on Christmas Eve and announce his position on the radio throughout the evening. Of course, in 2010, NORAD annouces Santa's location over the Internet nowadays. They even have SantaCams to show clips of Santa flying over are
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12/24/2010
Radon in Michigan's Drinking Water We are all familiar with radon gas and the problem it presents in certain homes... but did you know it can be in the drinking water as well? Radon -- A Quick Primer Radon gas has no color, odor, or taste and comes from the natural radioactive breakdown of uran
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12/22/2010
Strike Up "The Hallelujah Chorus" This Season: The Detroit Lions Win A Road Game! It only took 26 away games and about 3 years and two months, but the Detroit Lions finally found a way to end their long away-game losing streak! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the squad that will go down in the reco
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12/19/2010
The Long-term Effects of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Why is carbon monoxide, also known as CO, such a potentially deadly gas? Why can it have devastating short-term and long-term effects upon your life? Assuming, of course, that it doesn’t kill you. One reason is that CO is the silent killer. We ca
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12/19/2010
Toxic Chemical Releases Decreasing The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing its annual national analysis of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), providing all Americans vital information about their communities. The TRI program publishes information on toxic chemical disposals a
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12/19/2010
