Urban landscapes are dotted with skyscrapers and modern architectural wonders. Shopping plazas, entertainment centers, and office complexes are found aplenty, but sadly, not enough attention is paid to enhancing the natural greenery in cities. Concrete and asphalt radiate heat, so cities are getting warmer.
Planting trees in cities is an initiative that can go a long way in combating environmental issues such as global warming, flooding, extreme heat, and climate change. Planting a tree is an easy task but reaps enormous benefits to society. environmentally friendly habits must be encouraged amongst all people in a community.
Health benefits of planting trees in cities
Tackling CO2 emissions is perhaps one of the most significant benefits of planting trees for cities. Many urban citizens suffer from respiratory and other ailments associated with pollution. A larger canopy of trees would mean lesser heat and cleaner air to breathe.
Other benefits of planting trees in cities
- It can help cool the air and reduce the ambient temperature by a few degrees.
- Trees can absorb significant amounts of stormwater. Else this water would need pumping and filtering.
- More trees mean more birds and squirrels, thereby bringing a slice of nature into the urban chaos.
- Trees can provide a barrier against the harmful UV rays of the sun. Trees serve as cool spots in the cities to protect yourself from the blazing sunlight.
- Dust, odours, and other pollutants are trapped by trees, thus enhancing urban air quality. Trees can provide a buffer against urban noises.
- Property prices in areas with tree-lined city streets are higher.
Social Benefits of planting trees in cities
Planting trees for cities and creating green parks or areas where communities can congregate and help foster the social spirit. They serve as safe and natural spots for children to run around and seniors to enjoy a break. Trees and greenery have a considerable positive impact on mental health too. More people will be encouraged to visit these green oases. It will serve as a stress buster and a panacea for those suffering from cardiovascular, hypertension, and mental health issues. This is a crucial step in enhancing social cohesion.
Trees for cities are a simple and noble way to protect the environment. WPJ Heating is a boiler service near you that has embarked on an initiative to plant a tree for every boiler they install. This initiative can help reduce energy costs and the consequent carbon footprint.
For the sustenance of the earth’s ecosystem, we need trees. Trees can survive on their own but animals and humans won’t. This is why trees are mandatory for maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. The cities are suffering from escalated CO2 levels, global warming, and abrupt temperature rise. One of the best ways to tackle these grave problems is to plant trees for cities.
Why plant trees in cities?
- Maintaining a balanced level of O2 and CO2
The balance of O2 and CO2 has to be maintained for the benefit of all the organisms in an ecosystem. The cities are deprived of a healthy level of oxygen. It should be increased for better breathing and healthy living.
- Soaking carbon and CO2
The trees for cities are the best way to soak carbon dioxide from the environment and reduce its level. When the level of this gas reduces, the average temperature of the cities’ atmosphere will also reduce helping us to withstand heat and survive better. It will also keep our breathing systems healthier.
- Cleaner air
Major diseases occur due to bad air conditions. No city has proper breathable air. The suspended air particles in cities are higher in concentration. Lack of proper rainfall also deteriorates the air quality index. In fact, the levels of toxic industrial gases also increase considerably. The trees can help in reducing the level of such obnoxious gases.
- Stopping soil erosion
Trees can also stop soil from eroding due to excessive rain and wind. The roots hold on to the soil and make the surface stronger.
- Providing shade on a hot day
The average temperature below a tree is less than on the roads and buildings. Standing under the shade relaxes us considerably.
These are the prime reasons for planting trees for cities.
Weak water pressure can be a real nuisance. Taking a bath, washing dishes, and watering the lawn all at the same time will be impossible with that trickling water flow. On the other hand, having high water pressure isn’t always good. If it’s too high, then it can damage the pipes and cause leaks.
Managing the water pressure level in your home is not as difficult as you may think. If you follow these tips, you can achieve the right balance.
Test your system
To know whether you are dealing with high or low water pressure, test your system regularly with a water pressure gauge. Attach the gauge to a faucet then turn on the water to check if the pressure is in the ideal level.
Find out the source of the problem
Weak water pressure can be caused by many things such as poor plumbing and leaking pipes. Thus, to really fix the root cause problem, you need to perform a thorough diagnosis. The first step is to check the accessible pipes in your home.
Install pipe reduction apparatus
If the pipes have a diameter that is wider than half an inch, it means that they are old. You may need to change them following the new building regulations. You may also hire a contractor to install a pipe reduction apparatus in your existing pipes. This should improve the water pressure level.
Replace pipes
Old and rusty pipes can also be the reason behind water pressure problems. If that’s the case for your pipes, then the best remedy is to replace them. While you can replace the pipes yourself, it’s best to leave this job to the hands of professional plumbers.
Clean taps and showerheads
Are you only experiencing problematic water pressure level in the bathroom? Perhaps, you are dealing with a clog. This problem can be easily fixed by cleaning the taps or showerheads. You need to uninstall and clean them to remove the gunk and any obstruction. Then reinstall them again.
Install water pressure regulator
To get your pressure to the recommended levels, install a water pressure regulator. If you already have one and yet the water pressure level persists, you may need to have it adjusted. You must call in a professional plumber to do this job.
Bath time with your kids can be a war of worlds. Who’s will is stronger? Your’s or your 3 year old commander in chief? You both have different missions. You just want to wash off the jam in their hair and remove the mud between their toes. They just want to splash around or worse still, not take a bath at all – leading to a torrent of wails and screaming. In reality, bath time can be a golden opportunity to spend quality time, create great sensory experiences and expand their imagination.
Bath Time Senses
Teach your baby about textures, surfaces and senses. A dry towel, a wet flannel, a rubber duck, slippery soap, a squidgy sponge, disappearing body cream, warm and cold. You’ll be teaching them about the world and how to interact with it.
Drop coloured ice cubes in the bath water for toddlers to chase around. It’s an excellent way to teach about warm, cold and different colours. Plus, it’s great fun! To make them, next time you’re filling your ice tray, just add a drop of different food colourings to each section.
Bath Time Crafts
Let your kids use the bathtub as a blank canvas with DIY bath crayons that wipe off. Learn how to make them here.
Another great idea for bathroom crafts is self adhesive fab foam available from hobbycraft or amazon. Best suited to slightly older kids, you can work on lots of different projects and keep kids distracted, making bath time something to look forward to, rather than dread. Just look at this amazing murial from filthwizardry.com.
Make soap, bath bombs and fizzles with your kids prior to bath time. It will make them more enthusiastic about bathing, they won’t be able to wait to use their soapy creations.
This one is really simple. Simply fill two to three spray bottles with a mixture of water and one drop of food colouring and shake it. Then make a foam bath as you would normally and hand the colour filled spray bottle to your little one and let them loose.
Bath Time Science
There are lots of interesting ways to introduce a fun learning environment to bath time.
For fun, write lots of creative messages in invisible ink all around the bathroom for your kids to discover. Then switch off the lights, and with a submersible black light torch, they can play CSI and find all the different messages. It’s a great chance for them to discover how invisible ink works. You can get invisible ink pens from any good crafts store.
Kid’s love science, and weird Get some glow sticks from the pound shop and drop them in the bath for some glowing fun! Or better still, make the whole bathroom glow with glowing bath water. Simply add tonic water (it’s safer than glow water) to the bath as you’re running the taps. Then switch the normal light off and turn the black light on. This simple trick will make the bath water glow blue. Your kids will be in awe.
These quick tips are (largely) hassle free, and it saves you the head ache of having to argue your kids into submission when it’s time to have a bath. Instead, start getting creative and they’ll be begging you to stay in the bathroom for longer!
A new bathroom is possible
It’s time to debunk the myth that to have a luxurious look & feel, you need to invest in a whole new bathroom installation. Not true. In 5 simple steps you can completely overhaul your bathroom without having to hire plumbers and contractors. We’ve collected 5 ways to achieve this without breaking the bank. Let’s jump in:
We are a plumbing & heating company that’s dedicated to quality, from the workmanship that we provide to the boilers and heating systems that we install. Everything we do is done with excellence in mind. To uphold the high standards that we promise and build long-lasting relationships with our customers we choose only to work with high-end boiler and water treatment manufacturers. This is why we use Sentinel, it’s a brand that is well-respected throughout the industry. Sentinel is synonymous with quality and has a proven track record.
We use Sentinel products to maintain our customers’ boilers and heating systems. Servicing boilers properly and on an annual basis is important. It makes the boilers more efficient, last longer and use less gas. It’s of equal importance to maintain the rest of the central heating system – the radiators and pipes. When a job is done correctly and with the right products, customers will experience fewer costly repairs and save money on gas bills. By adding Sentinel water treatment chemicals to the boilers and heating systems that we service, we know that our customers are well protected.
We use around 15 different Sentinel products to match the different heating system jobs we come across, such as boiler installation and boiler servicing and repairs.
THE MAIN SENTINEL PRODUCTS THAT WE REGULARLY USE ARE:
Sentinel’s Sesi is used to protect our customers’ domestic water systems from limescale. These are electrolytic scale inhibitors that reduce the build-up of limescale.
The X100 Quick Test Kit, is a tool we love to use when we service boilers. It’s used to see if a system has the right level of chemicals in circulation and ensure that it is fully protected and will run at optimal level.
Sentinel X100 Inhibitor, a chemical that protects central heating systems against limescale, ferrous sludge and corrosion.
Sentinel X800 Fast Acting Cleaner is a chemical cleaner that quickly removes heavy corrosion deposits and scale from older systems. We use this when cleaning and powerflushing all systems where we install a new boiler.
Sentinel’s great products give us the confidence that we are providing our customers with the high quality service that we promise.
Your home is likely to be your biggest investment thus helping it reach its full value potential is paramount. We’re not talking about giving it a quick lick of paint before you sell, as that is not going to add substantial worth to the property, this is about updating your home to make it a better place to live for you, as well as the next owner when it’s time to move on.
1. Fix structural problems
First and foremost, address any structural issues, such as subsidence, wall cracks, a sagging roof and rising damp. Whilst you may be able to hide these ailments from potential buyers during viewings, they will get flagged up during a valuation and could seriously affect how much your house sells for.
Watch out for the early signs of structural damage as repairs become more disruptive and expensive the later you leave them. If you suspect a problem but are unsure if it is just cosmetic, consult a builder, surveyor or structural engineer to formally identify the issue.
2. Install or upgrade central heating
Central heating can increase your home’s value by up to an incredible 13%1. Considered to be an essential part of the modern home, central heating systems are economical to run and save space, particularly if you choose a combination boiler.
3. Update plumbing
Old pipework can be furred up and lead to poor water flow, unwanted noise and burst pipes.
Consider a pressurised system rather than a gravity-fed one, as it will supply a better flow of cold and hot water. If you have room, you can still keep a cylinder for quick-running baths, but there are plenty of combination boilers with flow rates over 10 litres per minute, which is plenty for a decent power shower.
4. Update electrics
If your electrics are running via an old fuse box, you may need to rewire the house and install a RCD (residual circuit device) for safety. At the same time, you can add extra sockets, update your lighting and add an extractor fan in the bathroom, which can all increase your home’s worth.
5. Add an extra bath/shower room
Ideally, a home should have at least one bathroom for every three bedrooms, and if you can add an en-suite to the master bedroom, you will create real value.
Remodel or extend the existing space you have to create additional bathrooms and shower rooms. Even if that’s just a small 1 metre by 2.5 metres going spare, a professional plumber can fit everything a good wet room needs and still make it look fantastic.
6. Modernise your kitchen
For many, the kitchen is the heart of a home so you want it to look good and be completely functional. If you have the space, it can be a great idea to install fitted cooking appliances, dishwashers, washing machines and waste disposal units, which de-clutter and save potential buyers from undercutting your asking price through fear of not being able to afford the household essentials once they are in the property.
7. Renew your lease
A short lease (70 years or less) can prevent potential buyers and mortgage lenders investing in your property altogether. You can apply to extend your lease once you’ve been in a property for two years, just don’t wait too long, as the application gets more expensive the longer you put it off.
8. Create more storage space
Converting any unused space into extra storage facilities is really appealing, particularly in smaller flats. This isn’t just about the loft or basement; look for hidden room behind plasterboard walls, under the stairs, under the bath and either side of the chimneybreast. You could add shelves, doors, cupboards to the walls, and you could even move a downstairs bathroom to a higher floor to make room for an extra closet.
1 WhatPrice?, 2014. Improvements add value. [Online] Available at: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/housing-market/home-improvements-add-value.html. [Accessed 22nd September 2014].
There are a number of environmental, social and economic considerations to be taken into account when determining whether hard water is bad or not.
The benefits of hard water include:
• Improved taste of water
• Helps reduce heart disease
• Good for the development and maintenance of bones and teeth.
However, the drawbacks are:
• More soap is needed to produce lather so it can become more expensive
• The scum produced by hard water can spoil the appearance of kitchen appliances and bathroom suites
• The efficiency of kettles and heating systems can be reduced if limescale coats the insides of pipes and boilers – this can increase running costs and can cause a breakdown if a blockage occurs.
What causes hard water? Here’s the science:
Rainwater naturally contains carbonic acid, which is formed by the reaction between water and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
When it rains, the water falls over rocks and passes through layers of rock in the ground. Compounds from these rocks then dissolve into the water, and the hardness of the water will depend on which region in the UK this happens, as the rocks vary throughout.
Hard water contains dissolved compounds, usually calcium or magnesium, and carbonic acid in the rainwater reacts with this to produce soluble calcium hydrogencarbonate.
carbonic acid + calcium carbonate = calcium hydrogencarbonate
It’s the presence of calcium ions and magnesium ions in the water that makes it hard. Whilst soft water will readily form lather with soap, it’s more difficult to achieve with hard water, so more soap is needed.
So is hard water bad? Yes and no. It is not unhealthy for you to consume and bath in, but it can cause issues to your plumbing.
To see if your area has hard water click here.
For questions about potential problems to your plumbing caused by hard water in Chelsea call 020 7350 2511 or click here.
A lot can be said about the amount of water one uses when taking a shower. Studies out there say an 8-minute shower can use 62 litres of water, with some power showers using 136 litres for that same 8-minute shower and a typical bath using 80 litres of water. The age-old debate of bath vs shower rages on. But with both water and money seeming to not go as far as it used to, we have come up with a few tips to help you save money and water this summer.
• Installing a water efficient showerhead
Many are available for less than £30 – and the savings on your water and energy bill mean you’ll get that money back in less than a year
• Take a shorter shower
Take a shorter shower – by cutting two minutes off the time you spend under the water you can save about £40 off your combined energy and water bills annually if you’re on a water meter. (And imagine what you could do with the extra 12 hours of time this would save you every year!)
• Turn your water off when brushing
Remember to turn off the tap while brushing your teeth – a running tap wastes over 6 litres per minute.
• Vegetables and fruit
By washing your fruits and veg in a bowl rather than under a running tap, you could cut down on water waste effortlessly. And as an added bonus, you can use the leftover water to feed your houseplants.
These are just a few tips, if you are looking for more ways to save water and money this summer be sure to check out the Waterwise website.
Our boilers are the source of all our hot water and heating in our home. Yet most people don’t think about them until there is an issue. That is why we put together this list of 4 reasons to have your boiler serviced annually.
1: Minor repairs can become major repairs
Major issues with your boilers often develop over time. So having annual boiler service can possibly catch this issues when they are minor and und up saving you money.
2: Save £ on heating costs
When your boiler is serviced, the Gas Safe Registered Engineer that does the service will make sure it is running at its highest efficiency thus making sure you are not wasting any money by heating your home and water.
3: Carbon monoxide is a killer
This is not a scare tactic, having a faulty boiler can cause you to be exposed to carbon monoxide that can kill you. The safety and health of your family is the most important concern when a Gas Safe Registered Engineer comes to your home.
4: It’s the law
If you’re a landlord, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that each of your properties has a current Gas Safety Certificate. Only Gas Safe Register approved engineers are qualified to perform this gas safety check and issue a CP12 Inspection Certificate to prove it.
When having your boiler serviced always check to make sure the company is on the Gas Safe Register and ask the engineer when they arrive to see proof of this. If you are in Fulham and your boiler is due its annual service call 020 7350 2511 or click here to schedule one of our engineers to come out to your home.