Prevent

Question: How do you prevent plumbing clogs while saving energy and water? I am trying to do my part to save water and energy by using cold water whenever I can for laundry, washing dishes and hands, etc. I also try to prevent wasting water by not letting the sink and bathtub run, and have installed a tankless water heater for near instant hot water. The problem is that my plumbing frequently backs up due to buildup of soap/shampoo/laundry detergent/dishwashing detergent. I've read that flushing the plumbing once a month with large volumes of hot water will help prevent/treat this problem, but that goes against my principles of trying to save energy and water. Does anyone have good ideas for preventing plumbing clogs from soap/detergent buildup, without wasting a lot of energy or water?

Answer: Simple solution is to use bicarbonate and vinegar. If you clean your toilet with vinegar and sprinkle bicarbonate of soda round the bowl instead of chemical detergents you will have fewer problems to start with. To unblock sinks drains loos etc, pour vinegar into it then sprinkle on baking soda until you get loads and loads of fizzing. Once this has settled, flush or rinse with a small amount of boiling water. Do once a week, vinegar is anti bacterial and bicarbonate of soda deodorizes. If it is really backed up leave overnight then repeat. If you clean with vinegar, salt and bicarbonate of soda, then you do not get as many blocked drains. Similarly if you use them for washing and softening clothes, there are fewer problems with washing machines, less mess and the clothes are much gentler on the skin and soft too. I use vinegar instead of hair conditioner each time I shower, gets rid of any deposits on your hair and keeps the drains clean too.

Question: How do you prevent the sticky fluff you get from wearing plasters with socks? How do you prevent the sticky fluff you get from wearing plasters with socks? How do you prevent the sticky fluff you get stuck to your foot off , which you get from wearing socks and plasters together. It is a real pain to get off, especially when you wear black socks. How do you prevent it and get it off?

Answer: You could try a mild acid wash You could, not, wear socks Don't wear black socks You could throw them "plasters" in the trash And to prevent it, put baggies on your feet before you put on the socks Or spray cooking oil on your feet (WD-40 should work too)

Question: How do you prevent or get rid of freckles? I don't want freckles on my forehead, but they keep popping up! Especially in the middle-around my eyebrows-and at the top of my head. I sometimes cover some of them up with makeup and try to wear sunscreen to prevent them. But my sister says wearing sunscreen won't prevent them....How do I prevent them or even hid them?

Answer: Wearing sunscreen will help prevent them. They are caused by too much sun

Question: How can i prevent leaks and moisture from inside my house? Remodeling my family room. When I pulled up the wall trim, I noticed moisture between the drywall and the existing floor. Not enough for a problem but I would like to prevent future leaks. If I use a silicone caulk between the floor and the drywall, will this A)prevent future leaks, B)lead to other problems? I will be installing hardwood floors and putting the wall trim back, so the caulk will not be noticable. However, I want to do something to prevent any water from ruining the hardwood floors.

Answer: First of all, where is the source of the moisture? You need to stop the moisture at its source. Caulking between the floor and the drywall won't help, the moisture will penetrate the wall and floor around the caulk. Silicone does not generally stick to wet surfaces. I am guessing there is a window above this moisture?

Question: How to prevent killing grass under downspout? Is there any way to prevent killing your grass under the downspout. The hard plastic things you put down work great to prevent erosion, but they pretty much instantly zap the grass underneath in a few days time. Not having anything ends up eroding the spot, so any suggestions other the re-directing the downspout every few days?

Answer: rock it up to resemble a dry stream bed leading from the drain spout down, dig a depression where you would like the water to pool, and plant a native rain garden to soak up all the extra run off. Not only will it provide habitat for native birds and animals, but it also serves to improve water quality through bio-filtration. There are tons of resources on the internet, but i bet your state DNR has some information on what kinds of plants would be best for your region.

Question: How to prevent ingrown hair,bumps and skin irritation down there after wax? Please suggest any lotions or antibacterial that might help prevent these bumps or the irritation after...What to do once you wax down there?What cream or lotion or soap should be used if any particular special ones to prevent all the bumps?

Answer: Baby powder works very well for some skin problems like that. Try some Shower2Shower baby powder. It feels really really good on the skin. You can also try something like Goldbond medicated powder, but it doesn't smell very nice. Also, splashing lots of cold water on irritated skin brings instant relief. Then, the baby powder.

Question: How to prevent branches from growing at the base of the crape myrtle tree? I would like to know if there is any way to prevent the branches from growing at the base of the tree. I have to cut them every 2 months. Is there anything I can do or put on the cut branches to prevent them from growing?? Any help will be greatly appreciate.

Answer: Your problem is that you are cutting them. When you cut them the buds around the cut site them sprout. Better to pull them of carefully at the trunk. You may still have to do this for some time but you will eventually beat it. Be careful when you use 'whipper snipers' and lawnmowers around the base of the tree they may be damaging the bark and encouraging this as well. Also if the tree is not doing so well the under graft may be trying to grow to compensate they are usually tougher than the actual top. If the tree is not doing well fertilize and water well regularly to help correct the problem.

Question: How to prevent chipping on painted rims? I just spray painted my rims with a glossy spray. Any tips as to how to prevent chipping or prevent the paint from removing even from little scratches?

Answer: You can apply several coats of clear coat, but ultimately nothing can prevent any marks at all

Question: How to prevent electrical short circuits in offices and homes? I often hear fire outbreaks in offices and homes due to short circuits in electric lines. Is there any way by which we can prevent the occurrence of short circuits. Is there any device which can be installed to prevent it?

Answer: short circuits occur mainly due to overloading as it leads to heating effect and may result in fire breakout,so prevent overloading and donot use multi plug sockets.

Question: How do you prevent burning on your butt when in a tanning bed? I went tanning today and i got a burn on my butt where it makes direct contact and pressure with the bed. How do i prevent the burning? Should I rotate in my bed? I know i can reduce the time, but i've been going for two weeks and am just now at 9 minutes. I'd say i've had a pretty good base tan as well. So how do i prevent my butt from burning?

Answer: you can make sure you put a tanning lotion on it, reposition yourself throughout your tan (this will also help with preventing white spots from pressure points) or lay on a towel in the bed. the uv light will still be able to penetrate the towel a bit but it will be a lot less than without the towel so you won't be as likely to overexpose

Question: How can I prevent my pants slipping down from my stomach to the waist? I am a guy. I wear pants and shirt usually. I insert my shirt into the pants. Also I wear my pants at my stomach, just above the navel. But frequently my pants pull down to my waist and my shirt get outside. I cannot prevent it eventhough I tie the belt very tight. So I have to pull my pants up and tuck my shirt regularly even at in a stage.How can I prevent the slipping?

Answer: Get longer shirts, that wont slip out of your pants. And men's trousers are not supposed to be belted above the navel but at the hip - just below the navel. That is probably the reason the slip down.

Question: How can I prevent the others to access my computer while I am locking it? I am using Windows XP with a Domain controller. When I am locking my session, the others could break it and access using their accounts, which may cause fatal problems. How can I prevent the others to break my session while I am locking the Windows, and how can I prevent the remote access by other users?

Answer: Make sure your domain account is the only one in the local Administrators group. You have to have administrative access to break a console lock. Unless you want to tick off your network administrators, make sure you leave the "domain admins" group in the administrators group. OR... you could go lo-tec and put a sticky note on your monitor that says "Critical Process Running! Do not log off active user!!!"

Question: How do I prevent music downloading on my site? I've recently installed an MP3 player on my site. But I can't figure out how to prevent people from downloading the songs. Some of which are legally copyrighted to my group. The webpage I got the player from didn't offer any help on this topic and I've already tried JavaScript to prevent right clicking, but that doesn't work on all web browsers. Any help on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Perhaps just use 30 second sample clips instead of whole songs. Or maybe use a completely flash based music player so that its a little more difficult to download em... a quick google search yielded this, havent used it but it might give you an idea: http://musicplayer.sourceforge.net/

Question: How can I prevent pills or balls forming on clothing? I have noticed pilling (or some people call it "balling") on my trousers. I know this is typically caused by friction. It is worse in between the legs, but I also notice it by the foot of the pants, at the bottom where my shoes would be. How can I prevent this? I have heard that Woolite may work. Is it worth the extra cost? I spend a moderate amount on trousers ($50) and expect them to carry me for 3 seasons - is this too much? I notice the pilling after only a season or even less. I have tried the pill removers and they don't work that well. How can I prevent this?

Answer: Always sort your laundry by color and by fabric type: never put your trousers in the same load with towels things with heavier fabrics. Some laundry products are more abrasive than others (I have noticed increased pilling after using clorox 2 for colors); yes, Woolite or a similar product would be less abrasive. If possible, use a "gentle" cycle on your washer, and the shortest cycle available. Fabric softener sheets are not allowed at my house; I don't know if these products promote the "pilling" effect. The pilling occurs at the cuffs where the pants rub against your shoes. You might ask the sales staff at the haberdasher if they can recommend fabrics that would be less prone to this, or if you need to adjust the length of your trousers by a hair one way or the other to minimize the friction. The same can be said for between the legs ... if you can remember to not cross your legs, you can minimize the friction, or perhaps you need a minor alteration that would be beneficial for this problem.

Question: How can you prevent moving german cockroaches to a new residence? About a year ago I moved into an apartment that has a problem with german cockroaches. I'm going to be moving soon and am VERY worried of unknowingly taking these nasty critters to the new place. What can I do to prevent this? I'm afraid they may crawl into the moving boxes. Will tape around all edges prevent that? Also, I'm worried about my new place having a roach problem that I don't know about. Are there any obvious signs of a roach problem when viewing apartments and houses?

Answer: the best thing to do is just extra careful when packing and sealing the moving boxes..the droppings of the German roach will be almost a rough paste like texture up in areas they hang out...the dropping the other poster was talking about (loose pepper looking material) is the droppings from the large outdoor roaches. Here is a picture, though not the best of German roach fecal matter around the hinge of a cabinet. http://www.arrow-pestcontrol.com/groach5.JPG here is another pic of their frass (and a couple of roaches) on a dishwasher door. http://www.arrow-pestcontrol.com/groach3.JPG

Question: How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment? I will be moving into a new apartment soon, and I was wondering: How do I prevent mice from getting into my apartment? I have experienced living in an apartment building that was infested with mice. I had to eventually get a cat, and the problem was solved. They were gone in the same week. The cat even killed a couple of them. But I have a daughter with asthma, and I have a 8-month old baby, and I can't afford to get a cat. I want to prevent the problem before it happens. Any suggestions or tricks that doesn't involve getting a cat, or dealing with traps (I have to pick them up) or poisons (my daughter found a dead one under my bed).

Answer: You should look for holes around your sinks, pipes and windows. Patch them up with hardware supplies (like spackle and new drywall/wood). You can also get spray that smells like fox urine that may deter the mice from entering. There are also electronic mouse repllers that you can plug into an electrical socket to emit a sound that drives them away. Some cost around $50. Also if you move your refridgerator, stove dresser, etc. out to clean behind on a regular basis, it will discourage mice from nesting. They do not like their living quarters to be disrupted. Only eat meals in one room (not a bedroom), and vaccum/sweep up every night. It worked for me. Especially the patching up holes.