About GHMS Blog

Gardens Home Management Services is here to provide you with Daily Tips for your home and general information about our company.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Space Heaters

When using your heating system, remember to keep doors and windows tightly closed to prevent the warm air from leaking outdoors. For a 2,000-square foot house, it will cost about $1 per hour (of unit running time) to heat your home. It typically takes an hour to raise the indoor temperature one degree. Once your home is comfortable, your unit will only have to run about 30 minutes of every hour to keep it that way. 

Space heaters can alleviate cold spots but remember that they can be costly to operate, unreliable and occasionally dangerous. As with your air conditioner, be sure your filters are clean and have your heating system maintained twice a year when you’re A/C unit is serviced.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Protecting Your Flowers From Frost

Protecting Your Flowers From Frost
The National Weather Forecast projects Florida temperatures to reach the low 30's.  It is important to heed the warning when your local forecaster announces 'a chance of frost', and take precautions to protect your flowers. Often times it is possible to extend your growing season by several weeks if you are able to keep your plants alive through a single early frost!
Protection Methods
It is important to cover your flowers before the sun goes down. By the time it gets dark much of the stored heat in the garden has already been lost. If you have time, build a simple frame around the plant, or row of plants. (Even a single stake can be used in many cases.) Then drape a cover of newspaper, cardboard, plastic tarps, bed sheeting or any other lightweight material over the frame to create a tent.

If you don't have time to create a frame, lay the protective cover directly onto the plant. This will help to slow the loss of heat rising from the foliage and the ground. Remove the covers in the morning, once the frost has thawed, to let the light and fresh air back in, and to prevent overheating by the sun. For smaller individual plants you can use glass jars, milk jugs with the bottom removed, paper cups upside down flower pots as heat traps.
Please Contact Gardens Home Management Services and we will act immediately to get your flowers protected.  Cost will be based on time and materials.  Call 561-625-5700 or email us atGardens@homecarepro.com.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Beautiful Weather - Wonderful Weekend

The Weather is going to be in the low 70's this weekend and Sunny.  GHMS hopes everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Clean Those Gutters


Once the leaves fall, remove them and other debris from your home's gutters -- by hand, by scraper or spatula, and finally by a good hose rinse -- so that winter's rain and melting snow can drain. Clogged drains can form ice dams, in which water backs up, freezes and causes water to seep into the house, the Insurance Information Institute says.
As you're hosing out your gutters, look for leaks and misaligned pipes. Also, make sure the downspouts are carrying water away from the house's foundation, where it could cause flooding or other water damage.
"The rule of thumb is that water should be at least 10 feet away from the house," says Michael Broili, the director of the Well Home Program for the Phinney Neighborhood Association, a nationally recognized neighborhood group in Seattle.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Landscape Design

Another reason that landscape design with special attention to tree placement is a wise choice is the fact that they act as windbreaks. Without the wind whipping around the house, there is less energy used for heating. There is not even a need to place trees all around the house to achieve energy savings in windy areas. Simply plant trees on the windward side of the house. This will act as a barrier and can result in you spending a quarter less for your energy bill if you live in an area with high winds.