|
|
|
August 12th, 2010
 White pines are easy prey for storms. With all these intense storms that are occuring in 2010 in our area, it might be a good time to take a good look at your large trees.
Trees are down all over the area – particularly white pines. The faster the growing tree, the softer the wood. Evergreens are more prone to failure due to excessive snowfall or storms according to Wayne Knoll, City Forester of Rockville, MD.
White pines really aren’t suitable for most residential neighborhoods – they can grow 75 to 100 feet by 25 feet in diameter and there isn’t enough room for the tree structure and your house on the same lot. After 3-4 years they can grow up to 4 feet a year. That once-pretty screen you planted between the yards can turn into a giant, brittle, flyswatter (see image) that can fall on a home, car, take down live wires, or cause bodily harm. The big white pine has a crown structure that lends itself to big, broken branches. The Norway spruce, the amount of surface on those needles collect ice and snow and become extremely heavy and also a very popular one, the Norway maple which have such big, thick crowns they present themselves as a target for winds, ice, rain and snow – and lightning.
The root system of a tree goes out well beyond what we call the drip line, where those last branches are dripping water. It’s sort of a myth that the roots end there. Any damage that occurs to those roots, especially the root fibrils at the end of the roots is going to have an impact in the crown several years later. This can happen with housing construction, addition of sidewalks, driveways – they all can cause damage down the line.Check with a Certified arborist to assess your trees and advise you before construction.Be aware of any dead and dying branches. Look for any branches that have been pruned in the past, some of the pruning may’ve been done improperly. You also want to be looking for any fungus that may be growing and weakening your tree. Make sure you’ve checked trees that have been trimmed because of power lines, trees with leaves that fall early or the leaves turn brown and brittle.
Consumer Awareness Note: If you do have a downed tree do not fall prey to “lumberjacks”.They are tree cutters who swarm into storm areas from out of town and start knocking on doors. They are uncertified, uninsured, and unlicensed in our areas - it’s against the law. They want to perform the most dangerous of tree care services during times of storm-stress to make a quick buck – with no protection for you. State Departments of Natural Resources have been very busy canvassing neighborhoods and ticketing these characters.
Just in case you need some help, here’s a storm update…
Another powerful storm rolled into the metro area today bringing down trees, power lines, flooding roads and Metro stations.
It became black as night , then the lightning started – “At one point we had over 800 lightning strikes,” says ABC 7 Meteorologist Chris Naille.
ABC 7 Chief Meteorologist Doug Hill says weather trackers reported the rain coming down at a rate of 4 to 5 inches an hour. The storms include half-inch to three-quarter inch hail. The storm is still pounding Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. ”I think we could do this all over again this afternoon,” Hill says.
At 8:24 a.m. Pepco reported 103,009 customers without electricity.
Again: here’s the numbers to call if you need to contact your power company. Print these out while you can!
If you need to contact your electricity company here are the numbers and may we suggest you print these out for late if your power goes out in the future:
Update:
After so many complaints about outages that lasted days during recent storms, Pepco has come out with a five-year plan to increase its reliability.
No. 1 on Pepco’s reliability plan will be the tree trimming. In addition to regular tree trimming of older trees, which will increase the space between overhead wires and existing trees, Pepco will work with communities to remove trees that are dead, in poor health or that would hurt the distribution system if they fell.
Tags: certified arborist, DC, landscaping, MD, No.VA, storms, summer, trees, white pines
Posted in Consumer Awareness, Washington Metro Area, Yard & Garden | No Comments »
August 4th, 2010
 Betty's Azalea Ranch We would like to welcome Betty’s Azalea Ranch to Welcome Home Washington. Betty’s is the largest single garden center in the U.S. As their name proclaims, their specialty is azaleas. You have never seen so many incredible azaleas in one place! The hardest part is picking your favorites from the many varieties and full range of colors. Choose from hardy standards or go for their unusual bi-colors or variegated.
16 Acres holds a lot more than their reknown azaleas & rhododendrons. You’ll find forests of trees, evergreens, ornamentals, shrubs, flowering bushes of every kind, annuals, perennials for every season ready for your purchase – all at discount prices.
Everything for your garden is right here: mulch, soil, tools, fertilizers, pots, statuary (if you want it for your yard and garden it is here) – with lots of friendly, knowledgeable service from the staff.
Need someone to put it all together for you? They have a landscape department that can turn your ideas into showhouse-garden style. Hardscapes, flower beds, landscaped walkways…put the jewel in the crown with expert installation of their healthy, quality stock.
No matter what the season, the scene is always changing at Betty’s Azalea Ranch to serve your needs whether it’s azaleas for Spring, flowers for Summer, planting bulbs and trees for Fall, or decorative indoor plants for Winter like poinsettias.
A one-of-a-kind Discount Garden Center right here- for your enjoyment and shopping- in Fairfax, VA.
Tags: annuals, azaleas, DC, garden supplies, gardening, landscaping, MD, mulch, No.VA, perennials, shrubs, trees, yard
Posted in Shopping, Yard & Garden | No Comments »
August 1st, 2010
Every time you see a storm brewing outside this year,
it will cross your mind…
“am I prepared to handle another power outage?”
Imagine…
- No heat or air conditioning
- No well water
- No home security system
- Cordless phones – useless
- Computers, televisions – not working
- Refrigerated and frozen food – spoiling
- Pipes – freezing
- The basement – flooding
- Coming home to a disaster if the power goes out while you are on vacation or at your second residence
If you can’t see yourself “roughing it” through another power outage without power backup it’s definitely time to look into a generator for your home.
The Washington DC Metro Area has had 2 long-term power outages (so far) this year. Make sure you’re prepared for next time and say good-bye to unexpected “lights out!” in your home. Generators are more affordable than you think when you add up the time and money you may have lost lately – & Safety is priceless.
Tags: DC, electricity, generators, MD, No.VA
Posted in Washington Metro Area | No Comments »
July 28th, 2010
 Summer Storm takes out DC area The hot weather coupled with a quick storm mid-afternoon Sunday, July 25, 2010 has knocked out electricity (along with traffic lights, businesses, cities…) in the Metro DC Area – just when the memory of the blizzard was fading from our memories!
Pepco says about 42,000 customers are still without electricity days after thunderstorms knocked out power for hundreds of thousands. Most of those outages are in Montgomery County.
WHW in Bethesda, MD got electricity at 3:30AM – exactly 2-1/2 days later. Storms happen. Pepco crews are always hard-working and excellent – but isn’t it time we start thinking about burying lines – at least start in heavily wooded areas? There are always trees that come down in our thunderstorms in the older, developed areas. Are we to expect days of outages each storm? Time to plan for the future. There were storm related fires, severe damage, and deaths this time.
The utility says crews expect to have power restored to most customers by Thursday. More than 300,000 Pepco customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia lost power after thunderstorms on Sunday.
Pepco says crews are working around the clock, and 400 workers from outside its service territory have been brought in to help. Thank you for working in sweltering heat and long into the night.
Meanwhile, Baltimore Gas & Electric reports that power has been restored all but about 100 of the more than 120,000 customers who lost service. Dominion Virginia Power says about 200 northern Virginia customers without power, down from 94,000.
Keep up with your area’s POWER OUTAGE REPORTS here:
If you need to contact your electricity company here are the numbers and may we suggest you print these out for late if your power goes out in the future:
Power Outage Tips:
Protecting Your Food
- Keep freezer and refrigerator doors closed; open them only when absolutely necessary. Food will stay frozen for 36 – 48 hours in a fully loaded freezer if you keep the door closed.
- A half-full freezer will generally keep food frozen for 24 hours.
Protecting Your Home and Belongings if Your Power is Out
- Turn off all appliances, including your furnace, air conditioner, water heater, and water pump. That way, you can avoid a circuit overload and another outage that may result when power is restored to all appliances at once.
- Leave on one lamp so you will know that the power has been restored.
Keep cool, Washington, and enjoy your AC while it lasts!
Tags: electricity, storms
Posted in Washington Metro Area | No Comments »
July 16th, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010 at 05:04:47 AM—
An earthquake measuring 3.6 hit the Washington, DC area at around 5:04 am this morning. A smaller aftershock was felt around 10 minutes later. The epicenter was reported 15 km (10 miles) NW of Rockville, Maryland. This was the largest earthquake ever recorded within 30 miles of Washington, DC. The previous record within that time period was a 2.6 magnitude temblor in 1990.
Welcome Home Washington felt the quake in Bethesda, MD, as did residents in No.Virginia. Unlike states like California where earthquakes are common, this was the first earthquake many long time residents in the Washington Metro area have felt. It was enough to rattle the furniture and there was definite rumbling coming from below. WHW immediately thought it was an earthquake because having lived in the DC area our whole lives had never experienced anything like that before. We did consider the possibility of underground blasting for Metro or a gas explosion because of the way it felt it was coming up -unlike a thunderclap, plane, or above-ground explosion.
Police in Washington and in nearby Montgomery County, Md., said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
On the U.S. Geological Survey’s website, people as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia reported feeling the quake.
In Case You Never Knew: from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
What to Do During an Earthquake
Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks and a larger earthquake might occur. Minimize your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place and if you are indoors, stay there until the shaking has stopped and you are sure exiting is safe.
If indoors
- DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
- Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
- Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
- Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
- Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
- Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
- DO NOT use the elevators.
If outdoors
- Stay there.
- Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.
- Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.
If in a moving vehicle
- Stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, and utility wires.
- Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake
If trapped under debris
- Do not light a match.
- Do not move about or kick up dust.
- Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
- Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.
What to Do After an Earthquake
Expect aftershocks. These secondary shockwaves are usually less violent than the main quake but can be strong enough to do additional damage to weakened structures and can occur in the first hours, days, weeks, or even months after the quake.
- Listen to a battery-operated radio or television. Listen for the latest emergency information.
- Use the telephone only for emergency calls
- Open cabinets cautiously. Beware of objects that can fall off shelves.
- Stay away from damaged areas. Stay away unless your assistance has been specifically requested by police, fire, or relief organizations. Return home only when authorities say it is safe.
- Be aware of possible tsunamis if you live in coastal areas. These are also known as seismic sea waves (mistakenly called “tidal waves”). When local authorities issue a tsunami warning, assume that a series of dangerous waves is on the way. Stay away from the beach.
- Help injured or trapped persons. Remember to help your neighbors who may require special assistance such as infants, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Give first aid where appropriate. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in immediate danger of further injury. Call for help.
- Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline or other flammable liquids immediately.
- Leave the area if you smell gas or fumes from other chemicals.
- Inspect the entire length of chimneys for damage. Unnoticed damage could lead to a fire.
- Inspect utilities.
- Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear blowing or hissing noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas at the outside main valve if you can and call the gas company from a neighbor’s home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
- Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell hot insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice.
- Check for sewage and water lines damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber. If water pipes are damaged, contact the water company and avoid using water from the tap. You can obtain safe water by melting ice cubes.
Tags: DC, earthquake, MD, No.VA, summer
Posted in Washington Metro Area | No Comments »
July 12th, 2010
If your daylily blooms, hostas, bushes, impatiens, vegetable garden, etc. have suddenly been devoured- you may have a deer problem. The Washington Area has a burgeoning problem with the deer population. They are driven from the shrinking woodlands to our gardens for food especially during times of drought which we are having right now in MD, DC, & No.VA.
There are several home-made solutions to repelling deer that some people swear by:
-hand a stong soap like Irish Spring or Ivory hung among your plants
-deer hate the smell of eggs (mix eggs and water and spray on your plants, add a little tabasco!)
-four or five mothballs in an onion sack, hang it from a tree about as high as a deer
-human hair sprinkled around the plants
-blood meal
Mechanical:
-a six-foot high wire fence (angled away from the yard) will create a physical and psychological barrier that deer will fear becoming entangled in. The fence must have a 30-degree angle to be effective (deer can jump vertical fences 8 feet high).
-the “scarecross sprinkler”: squirts bursts of water when it detects movement
-deer guard: a fine mesh that comes in rolls or different sizes to place over your plants and bushes
Deer Repellant products (if anyone has used these let us know):
Liquid Fence®
Deer Off®
Milorganite. It is a fertilizer made from human waste, will not burn your plants and does not have to be watered in
The best idea is to plant deer-resistant plants so you have a good head start.
Here’s some great “deer-resistant” plants that do well in our area – Not a guarantee: if a deer is starving, he/she will eat anything.
Lucky 21 favorites of Welcome Home Washington.
Achillea – Yarrow
Aconitum – Monkshood
Ajuga – Bugleweed
Artemisia – Wormwood
Buxus – Boxwood
Carex ¨C Sedge (grasslike plants)
Coreopsis – Tickseed
Dicentra – Bleeding Hearts
Digitalis – Foxglove
Ferns
Geranium – Hardy, Scented Geranium; Cranesbill
Grasses – Ornamental Grass
Helleborus – Hellebore
Iris sibirica – Siberian Iris
Lavandula – Lavender
Monarda – Bee Balm
Perovskia – Russian Sage
Picea – Spruce
Polemonium -Jacob’s Ladder
Potentilla – Cinquefoil
Salvia – Meadow Sage
Good Gardening!
Tags: daylilies, DC, deer, deer deterrents, deer-resistant plants, drought, garden, gardening, landscaping, MD, No.VA, yard
Posted in Washington Metro Area, Yard & Garden | No Comments »
June 26th, 2010
 Dog Days of Summer Record breaking heat of 100° has been hitting the Washington DC Metro area this week. Here are some tips to stay cool in the heat – and what to do if someone gets overheated:
- Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing;
- Wear a hat to shield yourself from the sun;
- Use sunscreen;
- Drink lots of water. Remember that caffeinated beverages can increase the rate of water loss in your body, increasing your risk of heat exhaustion or stroke;
- Hang out in the air conditioning or shade;
- Don’t leave children or pets in the car.
Too much time in the hot weather can make you sick. Here’s what the American Red Cross offers up as advice to recognize and treat heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Signs of Heat Exhaustion
- Normal body temperature;
- May have cool, moist, pale or flushed skin;
- Heavy sweating;
- Headache;
- Nausea or vomiting;
- Dizziness;
- Exhaustion.
What to do about heat exhaustion:
- Get the person out of the heat and into a cooler place.
- Apply cool, wet cloths.
- Give a half glass of cool water every 15 minutes.
Signs of Heat Stroke
- Body temperature as high as 105 degrees;
- Skin that’s red and hot;
- Changes in consciousness;
- Rapid, weak pulse;
- Rapid, shallow breathing.
What to do about heat stroke:
- Help is needed fast.
- Move the person to a cooler place.
- Quickly cool the body.
- Watch for signals of breathing problems.
Home Improvement Remodelers have an especially bad time if they’re working outside, on the roof, or in your attic. They know enough to bring their own hydration but make sure you have these tips handy if someone is having a hard time with the heat wave.
Be Cool! Stay Cool!
Tags: cool, heat, remodelers, roofers, summer
Posted in Washington Metro Area | No Comments »
June 18th, 2010
 New Home? Deep-clean those carpets. Keeping the home healthy and safe is a genuine concern for homeowners everywhere, and carpet cleaning can be a start. We want to ensure that our children and other family members are safe, but there are sometimes health issues that are not readily visible to a naked eye. There are an abundance of dust mites and other allergen triggers, which can cause real problems for those with allergies. Many people discover that allergies flare up once moving into a new home, either because of the environment or previous owners’ pets.
It’s important to get these problems taken care of quickly, and one of the best ways to do this is to hire a professional carpet cleaning team to come in. They can apply dust mite/anti-allergen treatments inorder to rid your home of the unseen problems. Periodic treatments ensures your home stays free of many common allergy triggers. Things such as dust mites, mold, pet dander and other bacteria may contribute to illnesses and chronic conditions such as asthma.
Having your carpet cleaning done regularly and thoroughly has been researched and tested. This has shown that it is one of the quickest and most efficient ways to make your home healthier. When cleaning carpet, the steam cleaning process often results in a long drying time. This promotes breeding grounds for bacteria and mold growth. Hiring a carpet cleaning and upholstery company that utilizes a naturally based process to clean and provides rapid dry time may be the best solution for your home.
Clean carpets not only provide a healthier place to live, since there are fewer allergens in your house. It also makes the home more inviting for family and guests. Homeowners with pets may want to consider having a professional carpet cleaner come in every 6 months in order to keep the pet hair and dander down. This may make a difference for guests, and ultimately home buyers if you ever sell, since it affects the perception people have of your home.
There are many choices in professional carpet and rug cleaning companies, so consider getting your carpets and upholstery cleaned for a cleaner, more appealing environment in your home. Having regular carpet cleaning offers a host of benefits, so make sure your family is safe and happy!
Tags: allergies, carpets, cleaning, dust, mites, moving, professional carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning
Posted in Carpet Cleaning | No Comments »
|
| |
|
|
|
