How to Choose the Right Single Sink for Your Bathroom

If you’ve never chosen a sink before you’re unlikely to understand the amount of work that goes into the process of making this decision. With the average bathroom renovation costing 5 figures, you don’t want to get it wrong either. Today we’re going to look at the biggest considerations for sink choices. We’ll be working off the assumption that you’re using a single sink, as this is most common. The advice is easily adaptable to multi-basin setups as well though.

Types of Sink

The first big choice is what type of sink you want. Here’s a quick rundown of the main ones.

Drop in sinks are those which sit inside a countertop with the top part visible just above it. The sink is literally placed in the top of the counter, giving it the ‘drop in’ name. These are the most common types of sink.

Undermount sinks are fitted in the same kind of location as a drop in – the top of a cabinet. This time though, they’re fitted entirely from underneath the counter surface, being mounted beneath it. The finished look leaves a flat countertop which can be easily wiped, with any bits falling into the sink.

Wall Mounted sinks ignore the cabinet entirely and are directly attached to the wall. This can be great if targeting a specific style in your bathroom, or if floor space is an issue for you.

Pedestal sinks are those which don’t have a cabinet, but which stand on a ‘column’. This column usually hides the pipework, making this type of sink less work than something like a wall mounted one. It gives you more floor space than a cabinet too, so it can be a good middle ground.

Vessel sinks are custom designed creations which come with their own specially designed faucets. These can be almost any shape, size or design so they’re perfect for anybody wanting to build a perfect, stylish bathroom and who has the budget to afford one.

Vanity sinks are like a mid-point between a drop in and an undermount sink. It uses the top of the cabinet as the top of the sink, so the sink is usually built in as part of the cabinet top. This gives the best of both worlds but can cost a little extra too. Places like Unique Vanities give a good range of sinks like this and other styles.

Material

The material of your sink has a big effect on how it looks in your bathroom too. The look is usually the biggest factor but budget plays a part too. Different materials do have different characteristics too. Cast iron tends to be heavy and very hard-wearing, capable of standing up to a lot of damage without showing any marks or deformation. Porcelain is a lot easier to clean, but at the price of being more fragile than iron – although it usually won’t be an issue if you’re sensible.

Stone or granite sinks are also very durable and have a more unique appearance. You can also consider getting Concrete Sinks, as they too can be durable and strong, while also giving the bathroom a sleek, minimalist look. There are other specialist materials for different appearances as well, including fireclay and tempered glass designs. Of course, the old stainless steel sink works just fine for many bathrooms too.

Faucet Setup

Depending on your choice in a sink, you may need to modify your faucet setup as well. You can look into the Best Plumbers Sydney has to offer if you would like to make the process easier but it is doable if you have some DIY knowledge. An under-mounted sink usually needs separate faucets for example, whilst a wall mounted one will need a wall mounted faucet to go with it.

Once you have the location decided, you still need to pick the faucets. Again, the material is important as is the choice of having separate faucets or mixer tap. The design of faucet should also be compatible with the sink you’ve chosen – remember that some special designs, like the vanity styles, might need a certain faucet to work properly. Of course, should you ever have an issue with your faucets, there are professionals out there, like Make It Drain (https://makeitdrainplumbing.com/plumbing-services/faucet-repair/), who will be able to come out and carry out any repair work that is needed to get things working as they should once again. Hopefully, this won’t be necessary, but it’s better to be prepared, just in case.

Household Hacks: 6 Methods for Cleaning Your Jewelry at Home

After wearing it for years, it’s not difficult to notice that your jewelry doesn’t shine anymore. Grime, dirt, and dust build up with time, and this may end up affecting the shiny look of your jewelry. The good news is; you don’t require a professional cleaner to restore your jewelry’s appearance. Here are 6 methods you can use to clean your jewelry at home.

1. Toothbrush

A toothbrush with clean, soft bristles is the right tool for fighting dirty jewelry. With a toothbrush, you will be in a position to access the nooks and crannies that are difficult to reach. You can use water to scrub away the light spots but when there is a buildup of dirt, you can dilute toothpaste with water before scrubbing the jewelry. Rinse the jewelry after the entire process and allow it to dry.

2. Boil

Hard metal jewelry requires hot water to clean. Heat causes the dirt and debris to loosen, making it easy to wipe away. Boil your jewelry in a heatproof container for some time and then wipe off the dirt from its surface. You need to remember that this technique does not work with opals, pearls, or other gemstones although it is ideal for gold, silver, diamonds, and platinum.

3. Baking Soda

Baking soda along with the effervescent tablets results in a chemical reaction when water is added. The fizz and bubbles produced by this reaction can help get rid of the dirt on the surface of your jewelry. Allow the jewelry to soak for a few minutes before wiping it with a clean cloth. This technique is ideal for silver jewelry and diamond ring but not suited for pearls or gemstones. With this simple maintenance technique, you don’t have to worry about owning jewelry. You can visit this website for some of the exceptional jewelry you can own.

4. Antibacterial Cleaner

A multipurpose antibacterial cleaner can be a suitable option for cleaning your jewelry. Pour a small quantity of this cleaner into a glass bowl and allow your jewelry to sit in the liquid for about five minutes. The dirt buildup should start falling off your jewelry. After the five minutes are over, you can take out the jewelry and scrub it using a clean, soft-bristled brush and allow it to dry.

5. Soap and Water

Water and soap are an excellent cleaning combination for a reason. Though a simple solution, water, and soap work effectively on stains, spots, and general grime. You can mix a few drops of the liquid soap with water and place the jewelry inside the solution for a few minutes. Remove the jewelry and rub its surface with a clean cloth and allow it to dry.

6. Ammonia

Ammonia work wells when it comes to cleaning diamond. Place your jewelry into a bowl or a jar of ammonia solution (a full cup of water and fourth cup ammonia) and allow it to sit for approximately 15 minutes. After soaking, use a soft-bristled brush to scrub off the dirt.

Wrap Up

The above are some of the effective jewelry cleaning techniques you can use at home. Utilizing one or more of the processes above will ensure your jewelry retains its shiny look throughout.

4 Essential Items You Need to Pack for a Family Road Trip

A road trip with your family is a great time to experience something new and spend quality time together. Whether you’re camping in Illinois, traveling to different landmarks and eating in posh restaurants, or taking a ‘survival’ trip and backpacking – it’s great to have time together. If you are backpacking, and it’s the first time you’ve all taken part in this type of adventure, websites such as Rilor Wilderness provide reviews on the best equipment to pack before you leave. Unavoidably, there is some planning you must do – unless you want to find yourself in a troublesome situation that requires cancelling the whole thing and returning back home just to get it fixed. In other words, certain items must find their way on your planning list if you want to have a way out if things go wrong. Here are just a couple of examples:

1. Power Bank

Nowadays, electronic gadgets are second nature to us; since they’ve become an integral part of our lives, we take them for granted. Since we don’t have to deal with power issues in an urbanized setting, it’s easy to forget their battery life isn’t exactly unlimited. Therefore, taking a power bank with you is a good idea. While having to see your kid’s handheld console die out would only result in a bit of dissatisfaction and a bad mood, having to go through the same ordeal with your phone could lead to more serious consequences. Finding yourself in a medical emergency without a way of calling for help is not exactly a fun place to be. Speaking of which…

2. First Aid Kit

A first aid kit is one of the most essential items to bring with you on a family road trip. Bandages, painkillers, ice packs, and disinfectants should all be contained within. Besides, a first aid kit is something that should be in your vehicle anyway. And if you’re just in the process of shopping for one, make sure to browse a Forest River RV dealers online to make the comparisons needed before settling on the final choice. RV’s an ideal type of vehicle for any kind of camping trip imaginable.

3. GPS

Getting lost in the middle of a forest is the last thing anyone would want to go through. Alas, this is what often tends to happen if you’re exploring new territory for the first time without some form of navigation. With that in mind, don’t forget to download the appropriate map packs from the web before you embark on your adventure.

4. Smartphone Holder

Without keeping your eyes on the road at all times while driving, you’re putting your entire family in danger. At the same time, you may want to answer important business calls or run one of the apps you’ve installed on your smartphone. Well, the good news is that there’s no need to either choose one or the other; simply install a smartphone holder, and you can safely use your smartphone without it being too much of a distraction.

Conclusion

And that concludes our list of essential items you should take with you on a family road trip! That being said, these are the bare essentials – don’t forget to bring fun items with you as well. Board games, a hanging net, a backpacking pillow, some books, wine, and plenty of smiles; these are all a great start. But don’t get too fixated on having a perfect trip either. As long as you and your loved ones are having fun, all is fine and well.

Resurfacing Your Garage Floor: Weighing the Options

Garages typically act as the catch-all for storage. However, some garages actually do house cars and workshops, and for these garages having a durable and long-lasting floor surface is crucial. Unfortunately, regular concrete slabs wear-out, crack and settle over time. Therefore, when it is time to resurface your garage floor, you owe it to yourself to look into the different Organized flooring solutions available in Toronto.

Staining or Painting

The first and most affordable option is to paint or stain the surface. Unfortunately, this application does not provide a significant amount of protection. Stains offer essentially no durability to falls, but they do provide some resistance for spills because they do fill in the pores of the concrete. Paint can provide limited protection, depending on the type of paint being used. An outdoor enamel-based paint does offer a hard topcoat that is resilient to some falls and also provides superior spill protection.

Laying Out Mats

Mats provide a level of durability and versatility. However, they are not permanent and may not protect against all types of spills, especially those that occur outside of their border. Mats do offer padding and support for work areas, but they may not always be suited for automobiles. There are rollout mats that can be removed when not in use, but that adds to labor and necessary storage. However, if you do need to keep snow off garage floor and other materials that may spill or harm the floor, you could opt for containment mats that suit your needs from companies such as AutoFloorGuard and alike.

Coating with Epoxy

A compromise when resurfacing garage floor is to choose epoxy. Epoxy coatings offer the strength and durability of tiles but without a significant price tag. The price is somewhere in between paint and tile. Epoxy is like applying a tough rubber or plastic coating onto your entire garage floor. However, while there are DIY kits available, the specifics of this treatment make it more suited toward professional application. You could consult firms like RenuKrete for High quality garage floor installation.

Choosing Tile

Another viable option is to click together flooring. While there are vinyl click-together tiles used for indoor applications, the tiles referenced here are specific to garages. These tiles are typically vented to allow for spills and are made of hard plastics. They are strong enough to park on and durable enough to handle falls. Additionally, if a tile gets damaged, they are easy to replace. Unfortunately, tiles may be the most expensive option on the list.

There are plenty of options available for resurfacing your concrete garage floor, but which choice is right for you depends on your needs. If you use the garage as secondary storage, then a fresh coat of paint may suffice. However, if your garage is used for a variety of activities, like parking, shop work, and storage, then you may be better off with a garage tile or an epoxy coating.

5 Benefits of Buying a Juicer You’ll Wish You’d Known Before

With juicers running as high as $1,000, you’ll want to know what you didn’t know about juicing before. You might work yourself up to such an investment, only after you have confirmed juicing is your way of life.

If you make the occasional glass or grapefruit juice, you should shop and buy with that in mind. Now, juicers differ from blenders even though some blenders have enough power to chop up some already cut rinds. But juicers will squeeze the juice out of just about any fruit or vegetable you want and remove the pulp while it’s at it.

Before shopping, you should decide on your planned use. More and more customers are juicing several times a day for benefits you may not have considered.

5 Benefits to Juicing:

  • Efficient nutrition. When you juice fruits, vegetables, greens, and herbs, you create a power drink. But, you must consider what your body type, health condition, and metabolism require. You can overdo the intake, especially when the drink is tasty.

For example, just because you can produce a drink with heavy fiber content doesn’t mean that much fiber is good for you. You must also remember fruits and vegetables contain sugars, but you shouldn’t load more than 25 grams of sugar to your diet.

  • Varies your diet. According to different recipes, you can combine vegetables the family doesn’t like with tastes they do. You can balance sweets and sours to add flavor and spice to otherwise flat tastes.

Juicing lets you incorporate leafy grasses, herbs, and cruciferous vegetable into all-veggie juices or even into fruit juice bases. You can call this “stealth juicing.”

  • Healthy habit. Juicing will notch up even good eating habits. For example, it only delivers immune-boosting nutrients. It extracts enzymes from fiber and delivers a “purer” juice to your digestive system more quickly.

In removing insoluble fiber from your ingredients, juicing increases the body’s absorption of nutrients that would take longer to metabolize after eating whole fruits and vegetables.

  • Resists disease. Dr. Oz confirms, “These [juicing] nutrients can help protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer and various inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis. Valuable compounds called flavonoids and anthocyanins are abundant in a variety of fruits and vegetables and guard against oxidative cellular damage, which comes from everyday cellular maintenance and is exacerbated by exposure to chemicals and pollution.”

But he warns to wash any ingredients and to avoid overconsumption when your diet intake should remain at 2,000 calories per day.

  • Juicers differ. Juicer Land reminds you there are three types of juicers:
  • Centrifugal Juicer blades rotate at high speed. They work fast but add air to the mixture and they are noisy.
  • Masticating Juicers take up more room. However, they extract juice from leaves, herbs, soft greens, and dense greens and vegetables. They will also make nut butters, baby foods, sorbets, and pasta.
  • Triturating Juicers have twin augers that vary in speed with the high speed masticating soft foods and the low torque processing low-moisture ingredients. Huffington Post says, “Because they don’t produce as much heat, they keep more of the fresh ingredients’ nutrients intact.”

Last bit of advice

Buy what you need. It may be different than what you want. Considering your budget, you should buy to fit or improve your nutrition habits.