Peace of Mind Baby-Proofing

Learn how to protect your family from hidden dangers lurking in your home!
The relatively serene days of your contented baby in the swing or playpen seem to end far too quickly, now that your little one is becoming more mobile. Its time to ensure youre providing a safe environment for active playing, growing and learning.

Youve put up a baby gate to prevent falls, carefully covered your electrical outlets, padded the sharp corners on your coffee table, and buckled your tiny passenger into an approved infant carrier. You try to keep your home as bacteria and germ-free as possible, disinfecting thoroughly and then locking up household cleaners away from inquisitive hands and mouths.

Yet there are still an estimated 2.1 million accidental child poisonings each year, with dishwashing liquid the leading cause. Sadly, the damage caused by these products is often gruesome: burned mouth, scarred esophagus, repeated operations to rebuild the throat, sometimes even death. And no matter how diligent you are about keeping your cleaning products out of harms way, you may still be slowly and unwittingly poisoning your child, day after day. How?

If you use products with harsh and harmful chemicals that contain known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) the toxic residues left behind on your floors, furniture and in the air find their way into your childs body through her skin, mouth, and nose. And even your personal care products (soap, shampoo, conditioner, styling aids, deodorants, etc.) can contain dangerous chemicals as well.

Your little one is like a sponge: developing cells in a childs body are more susceptible than in adults, especially in his central nervous system. Even small doses of neurotoxins that would be harmless to an adult can alter his nervous system development. And until your child turns 13, his growing body has virtually no ability to fight biological and neurological damage from toxic chemicals. As much as we tend to think of skin as a protective barrier, in fact its highly permeable, as evidenced by the successful use of skin patches to deliver prescription medication.

Your baby or toddler is most often down at floor level, crawling and exploring, and frequently sticking her hands into her mouth. And in fact, only 10% of health problems from chemicals are a result of ingestion, 90% are caused by inhalation and absorption. Are you confused? How can your brand name household cleaning products and personal care products contain harmful toxins if theyre sold at grocery stores nationwide? The truth is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does NOT regulate personal use products. The workplace and the outdoors are considered legal environments, while your home is not. Did you know that indoor air quality is 3 to 70 times more polluted than the outdoor air in the worst polluted U.S. cities, according to an EPA study? And that women who work from the home have a 54% higher death rate from cancer than those who work outside the home, according to a 17-year EPA study?

Labeling laws simply dont protect the consumer. The U.S. Federal Code of Regulations exempts manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for personal, family or household care! Warning! labels mean that as little as 1 teaspoon of product can harm or kill an adult, Danger! means that as little as 5 drops can harm or kill an adult. Go ahead and take a look at the products in your home, you may be shocked and surprised!

Many conditions such as the rising rate of childhood cancer, asthma, and ADD/ADHD are being linked to increased use of chemicals in our homes. So what can you do to protect your loved ones? Educate yourself on whats really in the products you use to bathe, deodorize and beautify yourself and your family. Study the labels on your household cleaning products; anything that says harmful to humans and domestic animals isnt something thats good for you or your child.

Research your alternatives: responsible manufacturers dont use formaldehyde, phenols, NTA, phosphates, ammonia, or chlorine (bleach) in their products, and trustworthy companies do exist. As a responsible adult and savvy consumer, you owe it to yourself and your child to make informed choices about the products you allow into your environment.

As a concerned parent, you want to provide the very best for your child...so start today to make safer, healthier choices!

Carolyn Beale is a devoted mom of 2 who works full-time from home running a successful online networking business featuring safe, non-caustic, environmentally friendly products manufactured by an award-winning wellness company. For product information or to discover how you too can earn an income from home, visit her website!

Clean Up On the Go! Ten Tips to Deal with Messy Meltdowns.Colleen Langenfeld

Deal with travel messes fast and easy, and stay focused on your vacation fun!
- It's vacation time! The car is packed. You're on the road. Johnnie accidentally bumps his arm and his soda falls on top of sister Suzi, trapped in the seat beside him. She screeches and your husband crouches lower behind the wheel while glaring at you to 'make them stop.'

- The plane has just taken off. Your family has been waiting for this vacation all year! Ten minutes into the flight the baby starts crying...diaper change time! There's very little room to change her and you end up as messy as she is. Are you going to smell like a dirty diaper for the rest of the flight?

Sound familiar? Or just something you want to avoid? While you can't stop messes from happening, you can take the sting (or stink!) out of them and keep them from ruining your family's plans.

The key? Be prepared!

1. Of course, you have packed extra clothes for the baby/toddler. What about you? Roll up and pack one light-weight loose fitting neutral-colored shirt that could work in a pinch for anyone in the family over the age of five. It will carry you through until you can get to your luggage.

2. Always, always, always carry two or three plastic bags for soiled items. These can also be used as a pair of disposable gloves or a seat cover, if necessary.

3. In your car, keep a roll of paper towels. In your purse or bag, a supply of wet wipes. Replace immediately when used!

4. Go disposable when traveling. Bibs, diapers, cups and utensils. What you can throw away you don't have to figure out how to clean. And you'll always have a fresh one to start again.

5. As long as everyone in the family can tolerate it, pack a lotion with a pleasing scent and use liberally. It will help cover up the little smells that hang on in enclosed spaces.

6. Carry a water bottle. Besides drinking, a spot of water can clean hands, faces, and stains in a pinch and it will dry naturally.

7. Check your gear. Sippy cup leaking? Toss it before the trip begins. Make sure cup holders are functioning (and used properly). Everyone needs a napkin or paper towel and must know how to use it!

8. Take only non-messy food and drink on trips. There are a lot of 'treats' out there these days. Choose wisely and everyone will stay happier. (Beware of the boxed drinks with straws. When squeezed, the liquid travels right up the straw and flies into the air!)

9. Don't ask more out of family members than they can handle. If jostling a fast food meal in the car inevitably leads to spills and tears, forget the drive-thru and eat inside the restaurant instead.

10. Don't forget to pack your patience. Crying over spilled milk is truly sweating the small stuff. Laugh a little, encourage everyone to pitch in and help, and be ready with an easy distraction to get people back on track again.

Colleen Langenfeld delivers deals, tips and creative resources to working moms who want the most out of their homes, families and careers at http://www.paintedgold.com . Sign up for our FREE online newsletter and get a digital Creativity Toolkit as our gift to you!

Metal Roofing 101

Today I received a phone call from a nationally published and recognized remodeling magazine in regards to their future article on metal roofing. It turns out that one of their editors tasked with writing an article about metal roofing decided to consult with me after looking at one of the metal roof guides on my metal roofing resource and information library.

Our conversation involve many different aspects of metal roofing and it was what prompted me to publish this metal roofing article, which will hopefully answer a lot of questions that you may have. I believe you will find this guide especially useful if you are considering a re roofing job.

First of all let's address some of the things that you probably already heard about before:

Metal Roofing costs significantly more than regular roofing. Answer to this question is both yes and no.

It turns out that although, initially you will probably pay higher amount for metal roofing than you would with regular roofing material, in the long run metal roofing will pay for itself making a it a no nonsense investment for somebody who is looking for longevity of their roof, its durability, great looks, and energy savings.

What happens is that the higher price you pay for metal roofing initially gets off set by the increased value of the house, or building where metal roofing is installed. In addition to the increased value of your home you will also gain the following benefits:

Long lasting Roof Hopefully you did your homework when selecting a metal roofing contractor, and you chose the knowledgeable and skillful metal roof installers performing the installation of your metal roof. Modern residential metal roofs come with up to 50 years material and labor warranty. Thus you can set it and forget it, figuratively speaking! Thin about how much money you will be saving considering that the average asphalt roof lasts only 17 years.

Beautiful Metal Roof We all love our homes, and with metal roofing our house can attain very desirable and sophisticated looks that could be the envy of the neighborhood! A great variety of metal roofing styles and choices will ensure that every homeowner can find something that they want in residential metal roofing.

Energy Savings Did you know that meta roof can greatly decrease your air conditioning bill during the hot months of summer? One of the significant benefits of metal roofing is that metal has sun reflectivity properties, which allow it to reflect the heat radiation away from your roof keeping your house cool and your energy bill low. That is just one of the ways that metal roof will pay for itself. After all, our monthly air conditioning costs can add up to a big chunk of money during the summer time.

Metal roof Government Tax credit Even the U.S government will provide you with a tax credit incentives if you install the approved select energy star rated metal roof.

Now information above is just common knowledge in regards to metal roofing. Hopefully it has cleared up and answered some of the general questions that you may have had.

Now going back to my todays conversation, I would like to talk about more in depths metal roofing concepts.

Many homeowners have heard about metal roofing before, but have very little idea as to what are the choices and options available to them.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to list three main metal roofing materials used in the industry, as well as touch up on the available metal roofing choices and styles.

Residential Metal Roofing Materials:

Steel: This is the most frequently used metal roofing material today. Steel offers a great degree of durability in metal roofing. It is usually protected by a layer of zinc and aluminum alloy, which protects it from rust and corrosion. Most commonly used steel shingles would be galvanized steel such as G-90, which is sprayed over with Kynar 500, or Hylar 5000.

This type of galvanized steel offers a great degree of protection from corrosion and is known to last over 30 years, in fact Tamko galvanized steel shingles, slates, and tiles come with 50 years material warranty, which shows a great confidence this manufacturer has in their product.

Galvalume steel is another common type of steel metal roofing, it is commonly used in standing seam metal roofing panels that go over many commercial and residential roofs.

Steel has deserved its good reputation as a metal roofing material of choice because of its excellent corrosion resistance and relative affordability.

Aluminum is another popular metal roofing material, which is corrosion resistant and is known to last over 50 years in professionally performed metal roofing applications. It is more expensive than steel, but it is very light weight and very popular among the homeowners.

Copper is perhaps the oldest type of metal roofing material that has been in use for a very long time and is known to last for over 70 years. In fact it is said that copper is getting better as it ages. Copper is highly expensive and that's why it is usually used in limited applications such as the the facial coverings of the windows. There are however complete copper roof systems that are available to be installed over residential properties. They come with a great premium, but there are people who want the best and are willing to pay for it.

Finally, keep in mind that even the best metal roofing system is worthless if it is not installed professionally, so make sure that you do your homework and carefully investigate the prospective metal roofing contractors in your area.

Good luck

Aleksandr Biyevetskiy has been involved with metal roofing installations for many years, and now co owns a Massachusetts based metal roofing company http://www.newenglandmetalroof.com Quality of metal roof installation, and customer satisfaction are the main objectives of new england metal roof. Our website features helpful information about metal roofing, roof prices, and how to guides on roof estimating and measuring.