Monday, July 23, 2012

Adirondack Chairs - Combining Comfort With Timeless Style




Adirondack chairs have been around for over a century, but their timeless design is still as popular as ever among those of us looking for comfortable and relaxing outdoor furniture.  The original Adirondack chair was invented in 1903 by a man called Thomas Lee, whilst vacationing with his family in Westport, New York.  The simple but sturdy design, incorporating the characteristic slanted back and wide armrests, was patented by Harry Bunnel, who named this new style of outdoor chair after the nearby Adirondack region.  He went on to successfully sell his Adirondack chairs made from hemlock to summer residents of the resort of Westport for the next 20 years.  And the classic design continues to be a favorite to this day.

The enduring appeal of Adirondack furniture lies in the fact that not only does it look great in almost any recreational setting, from porches to lawns, decks to patios, it is also incredibly comfortable to sit in.  Adirondack chairs are made from different types of wood, including cedar, teak and mahogany.  The wood can be left to weather naturally, stained to preserve its natural color, or painted in any shade you choose.  Modern alternatives that are virtually maintenance free are recycled plastic chairs, which do look amazingly like real wood.

These days, the original design has been adapted to create various different styles of furniture, including Adirondack rocking chairs and porch swings.  Reclining chairs with cushions for extra comfort are a favorite, as are all-in-one styles that come with a retractable ottoman.  For a totally coordinated new look, there are all kinds of Adirondack sets to choose from, such as those with matching side tables, footrests and ottomans.  The wide armrests are perfect for holding drinks or books, and it's really no wonder that this traditional type of outdoor furniture is still so sought after today.  An Adirondack chair is the ideal place to relax and unwind on a long sunny day!

Shop for Adirondack Chairs Now!!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

About Clean Air And Air Conditioners

When it’s scorching hot outside, air conditioners can really work wonders in keeping you cool! You need not be surprised if you find people darting through the street merely to rush into an air-conditioned room. But remember, that cooling yourself is not the last thing; staying healthy and fresh is what should be uppermost in your mind. This is exactly what a good air conditioner should do for you, because apart from cooling the room, an air conditioner also filters the air flowing into it. A quality air conditioning machine has a proper set up which thoroughly filters the outside air and allows only the clean air to enter.

What you need, is an air conditioner that comes with an inbuilt air filter. The air conditioners available in the market are not quite capable of draining out everything harmful for you. So if you are really concerned that a regular inhaling of dust, fumes and smoke can affect your health in the long run, you should go for a high quality air conditioner, which has a proper air cleaner in it.

This type of air conditioning machine in your home or office becomes all the more useful if you or any one in your family happen to suffer from allergies or chronic breathing problems. Having a good air conditioner is not enough, so remember to let your doors and windows open from time to time and purge the impure air out of your room. Your house keeping style should also be taken care of.

To make sure that your air conditioner lasts long and your air filtration set up functions properly, you will have to pay a regular attention to the maintenance of your machine. Don’t defer your maintenance job until your machine finally stops working, or the inside air stops being so pure as it used to be. In fact, experts in this field will suggest you to change your filter every month to ensure the best functioning. But alas! Some people do not bother to budge for even years!

Make it a point to clean and change the filter regularly. This way your air conditioner will drain out the bad air and allow only the clean and filtered air to flow in. So if you want clean air to flow through your home, your only option is to maintain your conditioner regularly. A filter, which is poorly maintained, is unable to clean air properly and decreases the cooling capacity of the machine. On top of that, it uses up more energy, and ultimately leads to a shorter longevity of the air conditioner.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

A Look At The Different Types Of Heat Exchangers

The Heat Exchanger is a device built for efficient transferring of heat energy from one fluid to another across a solid surface. In a heat exchanger design both the convection and conduction principle of heat transfer is used. There is no radiative transfer of heat energy between the exchanger and the environment unless the exchanger is uninsulated or its external surfaces are very hot. The heat exchanger has wide use in engineering processes. The most common example of a heat exchanger is the radiator in a car. Here the hot fluid in the radiator is cooled by the air flow over the radiator surface.

Some other examples of heat exchanger are preheaters, intercoolers, boilers, condensers, etc. that are used in the power plants. They are also used in refrigeration, air conditioning, chemical processing and power production.

Different types of Heat Exchangers:

There are different types of heat exchangers. They can be classified according to its construction into the following types i.e. shell and tube heat exchanger and plate and frame heat exchanger.

- Shell and tube heat exchanger: This is a typical heat exchanger. The shell and tube heat exchanger is consisting of a series of finned tubes through which one of the fluids runs and the other fluid which is to be heated or cooled runs over the finned tubes.

- Plate and frame heat exchanger: In a plate and frame heat exchanger, the fluids are separated by plates with a large surface area. Here the flow is directed through the baffles.
The heat exchangers classified according to its uses are recuperative type, regenerative type and evaporative type.

- Recuperative type: In recuperative type heat exchanger the heat from the fluids on either side of a dividing wall is exchanged.

- Regenerative type: In regenerative type heat exchanger the hot and cold fluids are allowed to occupy the same space containing a matrix of material that works alternatively as a sink or source for heat flow.

- Evaporative type: In evaporative type heat exchanger the fluid is evaporatively cooled in the same space as coolant such as a cooling tower.

- The recuperative type of heat exchanger again can be designed according to one of the following types i.e. Parallel-flow, Counter-flow and Cross-flow.

- Parallel-flow heat exchanger: In this type of heat exchanger both the fluids exchanges heat by flowing in the same direction through individual pipes.

- Counter-flow heat exchanger: In this type of heat exchanger the fluids exchanges heat by flowing in the opposite direction through individual pipes.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

6 Tips to Stop Mold Growing in Your Home

It is normal to find mold spores in a homes indoor air and surfaces such as clothes, walls, and furniture. Most of the time mold spores found indoors are from outside sources. Regular housekeeping cleaning helps keep mold levels low. Cleaning small areas of visible mold, like the mold around your shower, is obligatory to maintain sanitary conditions.

When you should be more concerned is when your home has a large-scale of active mold growing. Such problems are most likely to happen when there’s been an on-going water leak, flood, or excessively high levels of humidity in the home. Indoor mold growth may lead to high levels of airborne mold spores, which, in turn, can trigger the spread of mold growth from the original source to additional areas of the home having high moisture levels.

Extensive mold growth will damage your home and furnishings, like carpets, sofas and cabinets. Over a period of time, uncontrolled mold growth can even instigate damage to structural elements of your home. While there is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment, keeping your home clean and dry can avert extensive mold growth and the ensuing damage.

Damage to your home and possessions is not the only reason to be concerned with mold.  Although most people are exposed to small amounts of mold or their spores on a daily basis without apparent harm, mold is an unsanitary condition that may present potential health risks to certain individuals.
Possible adverse health effects produced by molds can include allergic, irritating, or toxigenic effects, and even infections, allergic reactions being the most common. Symptoms reported by affected people include: respiratory conditions, such as wheezing, difficulty breathing, and shortness of breath, sneezing and/or nasal congestion, eye and/or throat irritation, headaches and fatigue.

Here are a few tips to keep moisture from becoming a breeding ground in your home for molds.

1. Ensure that bathrooms, dryers and other moisture-creating sources are vented to the outside
2. Take care not to block any of your house’s air conditioning vents
3. Install de-humidifiers in basements and crawlspaces.
4. Use your kitchen’s exhaust fans when cooking
5. Install insulation on cold surfaces like piping, air ducts or basement walls to lessen possibilities of condensation
6. Install moisture sensor alarms in potential water back-up and overflow areas to alert you when a leak occurs. Shop for Water Alarms