Family Living Focus Bob Thee Lancaster County Wet Weather Brings Molds and Mildew After a dry summer, we’ve been catching up on rainfall. Sometimes in a big hurry. As a result, many households are ex periencing problems with mold and mildew growth in the home. For some people, it is only a nui sance to have the black spots growing on the walls, furniture, and elsewhere throughout the house. For others, it aggravates their allergies causing respiratory difficulties among other prob lems. If you are concerned about the effects on your health that may be related to biological pollutants such as mold and mildew, before discussing your concerns with your doctor, you should know the answers to the following questions. This information can help the doctor determine wheth er your health problems may be related to biological pollution. Does anyone in the family have frequent headaches, fevers, itchy watery eyes, a stuffy nose, dry throat, or a cough? Does anyone complain of feeling tired or dizzy all the time? Is anyone wheezing or having difficulties breathing on a regular basis? Did these symptoms appear after you moved to a new or different home? Do the symptoms disap pear when you go to school or the office or go away on a trip, arid return when you get back? Do visitors to your home expe rience the same symptoms? Are the problems worse in one room or part of the house than in an other? Have you recently remod eled your home or done any en ergy conservation work, such as installing insulation, storm win dows, or weather stripping? Did your symptoms occur during or after these activities? Does your home feel humid? Can you see moisture on the win dows or on other surfaces, such as walls and ceilings? What is the usual temperature in your home? Is it very hot or cold? Have you recently had water damage? Is your basement wet or damp? Does any part of your home have a musty or moldy TT /•—jj CLOSED SUNDAYS, NEW YEAR, EASTER MONDAY, ASCENSION DAY, WHIT MONDAY, OCT. 11. THANKSGIVING, flHlllll CHRISTMAS A DECEMBER 26TH FISHER’S FURNITURE, INC. NEW AND USED FURNITURE USED COAL & WOOD HEATERS COUNTRY FURNITURE & ANTIQUES BUS. HRS. BOX 57 MON.-THURS. 8-5 1129 GEORGETOWN RD. FRI. 8-8, SAT. 8-12 BART. PA 17503 W Get Lost At The Mlfflinburg Corn Craze! Jy w Our maze covers over 6 acres with AJ y more than 9500’ of trails. We are /i/r JA located 1/4 mile north of Rt. 45-end W fir 1/2 mile east oI Mifflinburg. Open (jL through November 5 Saturdays & Sundays 1-5 pm XV Admission price; Adults $5, )) age 4-10 $2.50,3 & under free Group rates available For more information call m # 570/966*4867 3. odor? Is the air stale? Do your houseplants show signs of mold? Have the air conditioners or hu midifiers not been properly cleaned? The answers to these questions can also help pinpoint the source of the problem. There is no simple and cheap way to sample the air in your home to determine the level of all biological pollutants. Sampling the air is not a useful problem solving tool according to experts because it is almost impossible to know which biological pollu tants) cause various symptoms of health problems. A better approach to a solution is a self-inspection or walk through of your home using your nose and eyes. Two likely cul prits are high moisture and lack of ventilation or air circulation. Dust and construction materi als such as wood, wallboard, and insulation contain nutrients that allow biological pollutants to grow. Firewood stored indoors is a source of moisture, fungi, and insects. Appliances such as hu midifiers, kerosene and gas heat ers, and gas ranges add moisture to the air. Musty odors, surface moisture, or water stains may be coming from air conditioning units, base ments, attics, crawlspaces, bath rooms, carpets, heating and air conditioning ducts, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and refrigera tor drip pans. What can you do to control the moisture in your home? First, fix any leaks or seepage. If water is entering from the outside, your options range from cleaning or adjusting the downspouts and gutters, adjusting the grading of the soil around the house to in crease the slope, to extensive ex cavation and waterproofing. Water leaks in pipes and around tubs and showers should also be repaired. A plastic cover over dirt in crawlspaces will prevent mois ture from coming in from the ground. Crawl spaces should also be well ventilated to prevent build-up of moisture that can rot the joists. Always use (NAPS) Here’s a tip to take advantage of. Reading a new book full of timely tips may help you manage your time, home and money. The book Family Circle 2000 Hints and Tips (Doubleday, $12.95) was created by Family Circle, a magazine which has been described as “the family’s best friend.” Here are a few use ful tips to remember: • To hammer in a nail with out splitting plaster or drywall, drop the nail in a pot of boiling water for 15 seconds, drain, re move, and hammer in. • Keep apple and banana slic es from turning brown by placing them on a plate containing a small amount of lemon-lime soft drink. • To silence creaky floors, sprinkle talcum powder between the floorboards. • To keep the bathroom mir ror fog-free after a shower, clean it regularly with shaving cream instead of glass cleaner. • A little rubbing alcohol on a rag will remove felt-tip ink stains from kitchen countertops. Hair spray removes ink from most fabrics. The book contains a stain re moval chart, fix-it advice for ev erything from leaky faucets to a gouge in a wood floor, tips on saving at the supermarket, and a list of handy web sites. the exhaust fan in the bathroom and over the range to expel excess moisture. Dehu- The book is available wherever books are sold. M£\ FALL FIX-UP TIME • 5", 6" & 7" Seamless Gutters in 32 Colors • Half Round Gutters • Gutter Protech™ • Windows & Doors • Tubular Skylights 265 E Meadow Valley Rd LiUtz, PA 17543 717-733-7160 • 717-627-6886 1-800-247-2107 ■Ek! H Financing Available mm midifiers and air conditioners will reduce the moisture level of the air in your home. Pay special attention to carpet on concrete floors. Carpet can absorb moisture and serve as a place for biological contaminants to grow. Instead, use area rugs that can be washed often. For more information on bio logical contaminants in the home such as molds and mildew, check out the following web site at EPA: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ biologic.html. To leam how to re move molds and mildew from various surfaces in the home check out http;// www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/ hous2/MF2I4I.PDF. Tips Make Life Easier Ways To Spend Less Learning how to spend less can almost be a full-time job. It takes skill and practice to find the best ways to stretch your family’s dollar. Here are 10 ideas to help you think of ways to cut your spending. Talk about these ideas with other people. See how many examples you can get for each of the 10 cost-cutting ideas. • Don’t Buy It. Apply this idea first. Ask yourself if you re ally need this item. If it’s a “want” item, ask yourself if there is anything else you want more. Give yourself time to think about it. There are very few items to buy that won’t wait a day or two. A “last chance” isn’t often the last chance. If you have a very hard time not buying, stay out of stores. When you do go, take only the money you must have for your real needs. • Borrow. Sometimes you can borrow an item you need, espe cially if it’s something you don’t need very often. Borrowed things need to be returned in good con dition. What things do you have that you are willing to loan? Re member the library or other pub lic services when it comes to bor rowing. • Share. Often we can stretch our money by learning to share items with our family and friends. Neighbors can some times share the price of a bushel of apples and save money. We share recipes, ideas and some times our skills with others. Sharing usually means that ev eryone benefits as a result of get ting together on an idea or proj ect. • Substitute. When you go to buy something, ask yourself if something at a lower price would do the job almost as well. Many products have very good substi tutes, and sometimes you find the substitute was better than the original. • Use Wisely. One way of stretching money is to find ways to make the things we buy last longer. Almost every product we buy needs some kind of care. See if you can find ways to make the Pennsylvania Poultry Ambassador Selected LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) Rijelle M.A. Kraft is the newly-appointed Pennsylvania Whh a str inter est in poul- Poultry Ambassador. The Lan caster County Poultry Associa- try, Rijelle, a York Catholic High tion appointed Rijelle to repre- School senior, has been active in sent the industry and promote local and national 4-H activities. Reservations are now being accepted for next year due to the limited space on this very unique and popular tour Fly to Seattle and tour Vancouver and Gastown, BC Board HOLLAND AMERICA AND CRUISE ALASKA'S INSIDE PASSAGE for a week Visit Ketchikan, Juneau, Glacier Bay and Skagway After the cruise enjoy a 6 day Pacific Northwest tour f Mjtry including Penticton BC, Grand Cooley Dam, Lake Coeur d’ Alene, Big Sky Country, I Jig I YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole and Salt Lake City Imagine this 15 day tour & cruise from $2057 plus $179 port charge So hurry and call today' WMWmam Open Sunday - PPDO Mahoning Outdoor Furnaces Cut Your Heating Costs With Our Outdoor Furnace • Standard Model Burns Wood, Coal or Wood by-products • Multi-Fuel Model Burns Wood, Coal, Oil or Gas Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 14, 2000-B9 items you buy wear longer, last longer or keep from spoiling be fore you use them up. • Find The Best Buy. It often takes time and energy to find the best buy. The best buy for you is the item that will serve your needs best at the lowest possible price. Finding the best buy may mean looking in several places a catalog, newspapers and two or three different stores. Sometimes secondhand stores offer the best buy. If you know exactly what you need or want, it will be easier to find the best buy for you. • Make It. Sometimes you can get something for less money by making it. This means you sup ply some of your know-how, labor, and time. The cost of the materials should be cheaper than the finished product. Be sure to check prices before you decide to make it. Sometimes a factory can turn out an item for less money than we would need to pay for supplies to make it. • Rent Or Hire. When you need something for only a short time, it could be cheaper to rent it. What kinds of things can you rent in your community? Count such things as coin-op laundries. Sometimes we rent things when the cost of equipment is too high for our budget. • Find It Free. The goods and services we can get for free really help to stretch our money. Our tax dollars buy things for the community that everyone can use. Parks, playgrounds, commu nity health services, and many other items may be available to you. • Trade. Do you have things in your home that you no longer need or want? Sometimes these things have value to other peo ple. Sometimes you can trade them for things you need. Some times you can sell them to others who can make use of them. What items could you trade to others? What skills do you have that you could trade with a neighbor or friend for something they may have that you do not? poultry and eggs throughout the state. Call for free brochure 1-800-888-8204
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers