If you were to ask a group of consumers whether they prefer a soft or firm mattress, most of them will report that they rather the soft mattress. If you were to ask this same group of consumers which is better for their back, a soft or a firm mattress, most of them will incorrectly reply that the soft mattresses are better. Unfortunately, this is because many people wrongly equate the softness in a mattress with its potential for providing adequate support to them while sleeping.
Many people wonder how comfortable mattresses, that enable you to sleep straight through the night, could be bad for your body. While we all want to sleep on mattresses that have some level of comfort to them, it is important to purchase a mattress not only based on how comfortable the top layer is. When perusing the vast mattress options, you should also consider what materials the internal layers of your mattress consists of. Firm support mattresses, such as those offered by memory foam mattresses, are far superior to the unreliable support provided by metal spring mattresses.
When you are considering purchasing a new mattress, it is important to be knowledgeable on the different types of mattresses available, so that you can be content with one that will provide better support for you back and a better sleep. While a “bouncy” mattress may be comfortable for relaxing on while watching television, beds with too much bounce in them often do not offer the resistance of firmness against your body while you sleep. This usually leaves you sleeping on your back or neck incorrectly and, ultimately, waking up stiff and sore. Not having the correct support underneath you to keep your spine, head, and neck in proper alignment while you sleep, can often cause you to awaken with headaches and stiffened joints.
While being cautious of mattresses that are too soft, you also do not want to go too far in the other direction either. When choosing a firm mattress in attempts to gain the support you need to help you sleep better, it is important to note that a mattress that is akin to sleeping on a hard rock is not one that will let you get much rest. There is a long held belief among many people than putting a hardwood board under your present mattress will provide you with the proper support needed. Many experts agree that this is not only bad for the lifespan of your mattress, but studies have also shown that hardboards placed under mattresses do not offer any health benefits to you.
Consumers need to try to find a happy medium between an overly bouncy, soft mattress, and an extremely firm, hard mattress. It is up to the consumer to properly choose the best mattress that will fit for your body type, sleeping style, and budget. Research should be conducted on brands, materials, lengths, thicknesses, and other features available in mattress styles that will work best for your height and weight. It is also important to take into account when purchasing a mattress, whether you sleep on your back, side, or stomach. Seeking answers from professionals who are knowledgeable about various types of mattresses that are available, and how they work for different kinds of bodies, can be extremely beneficial to you before you make any purchases.
A previously stated, the very popular memory foam mattress can sufficiently provide the firm support needed for you to be able to sleep better and to wake up feeling fully rested and ready to take on the day. There are a few requirements to a good memory foam mattress to be on the lookout for when considering buying them.
• Quality memory foam mattresses only need a platform base underneath them to provide the mattress with enough of the support it needs to function properly. Avoid wasting your money on memory foam mattresses that need a box spring to support them, as they will not give you the same full support as quality made memory foam mattresses.
• Look for a warranty on the memory foam mattress you are considering. Companies are more likely to provide warranties on their quality memory foam mattresses that a knock-off brand. Companies offering inferior memory foam mattresses to consumers are less likely to provide warranties with their mattress products.
If you are not getting the rest and comfort you need while sleeping, it might be the perfect time to invest in a new mattress. The comfort your mattress provides may not be giving you the firm support that your back and body needs, which can cause further problems down the line. Choosing a mattress for the firm support that they may offer over how plush their coverings may be is a smarter way to select a mattress that will overall be better for your back, body, and health. It is important to remember that a comfortable cover on a mattress is worlds away from how well it will work to provide you with the proper support for a good nights sleep.
June 23, 2009
Better for Your Back: Firm or Soft Mattresses
Landscape Minneapolis Into An Artistic Urban Location
Landscaping is so much more than hiring the boy next door to mow the lawn and planting a few flowers. It is an art with a scientific basis. If done properly, landscaping can not only raise the curb appeal of your home, but also the overall value. Landscaping can be both artistic and functional. It not only includes the types of plants one would use, but takes into consideration lighting effects, water, the land topography and any structures that would be used. You may want to create separate areas, or an overall theme for the entire property.
Landscaping has moved from the backyard to all areas of a town or city. A new trend that has emerged in the last decade is the school of thought that it is not the buildings that create a city, but its landscape. As larger metropolitan areas expand, they do so by sprawling, and indeed we can certainly utilize the new thought of landscaping urbanism.
Using this train of thought, let’s look at a major metropolitan centre. Say due to urban sprawl, Minneapolis needs to design suburbs that are functional and beautiful. Rather than placing a focus on the buildings, they decide to follow the new trend. Taking on a job to landscape Minneapolis is one that is full of opportunities that will take a lot of planning; however, any tough job can be done with the proper planning and correct training.
Therefore, if you were starting a task to landscape, Minneapolis can provide you with excellent challenging building locations that you will first need to assess before you go ahead landscaping. What will the environmental factors be? Once the area is assessed, then the concept of designs can take place. The architect would then design areas that are to be designated as parks, or burial places. They would also assess the need and design of any sports fields. Are there any natural features that need to be considered? If there is a fresh, clean lake that can be used for boating or swimming in the summer, and skating in the winter, the architect would want to take advantage of that, and design around it.
While they are finishing the plans to landscape, they will need to make sure all the environmental reports are filed, and the paperwork is done. Once the project begins, it is up to the landscape architect to ensure everything comes in on budget. Maybe while working on this plan, the landscape architect might come up with a plan that could also be used for other parks that have been run down, and this would be an excellent time to start neighborhood revivals. In that case to continue to landscape, Minneapolis can offer you with a good source of supervisors, multiple architects and landscape designers to make your project fit the state standards.
With the proper planning you can landscape Minneapolis with its urban look to something extensively appealing. Not only will the new area being built have beautiful landscaping, areas of the cities that may need to be rejuvenated will get a great head start. A little bit of green can make all the difference.
Granite Cleaning The Green Way – The Means To Saving Mother Earth
Ever since the introduction of the going green campaign, more and more means to living green have been made possible. From wearing eco-attires, remodeling homes to fit the eco-trend to eating organic foods and using other stuffs made from organic materials or doing things that can promote earth-friendliness or help save the planet. Anything that is biodegradable or eco-friendly is definitely in and highly recommended for a better lifestyle that Mother Earth would even prefer.
The best part is, through such movement, you finally get to have better means of cleaning your house particularly your granite-made surfaces such as countertops. Granite cleaning the green way has become apparent and preferred by many households. People cater to this promotion not just because it has become a trend nowadays but due to its remarkable benefits that you never thought possible.
If you are the sort of person who is so anxious of looking for the best and the safest granite cleaners to use for an effective and harmless granite cleaning, then opting for cleaning products which are biodegradable or eco-friendly should be your focus. Through the application of organic cleaning products or natural granite cleaners, you can achieve astounding results you never thought possible. And the best part is, you no longer contribute to the triggers of so many health and environmental threats.
Granite cleaning with the incorporation of green means or those methods which are gentle, natural, thorough, energy-efficient or earth-friendly in each and every aspects. No chemicals, toxins or the use of dangerous elements are involved. Green cleaning methods are also directed towards the use of recyclable materials or organically-made products that can also help you save money while promoting the restoration of the planet. Most of the things considered as a green way can actually help in various aspects of our life making it more improved, healthier and safer.
The atmosphere has been greatly affected by the extreme usage of dangerous stuffs or those enhanced by harsh ingredients such as chemicals and toxins as well as strong acids. From personal care products to household cleaners such as rust or mold removers and granite cleaners; loads of detrimental components are contained into such products making them both a help and a risk. Since the atmosphere is not the only thing that is at risk through the use of chemically-enhanced cleaning products as your health is also in grave danger, it is wise to simply stop using them.
There is always a better way of cleaning granite. The use of dangerous cleaning products should now be brought to an end for safer granite cleaners are now here to lend you a hand for an effective and eco-friendly granite cleaning. Your means of cleaning your granite countertops and floors should no longer involve the use of cleaning products that would only inflict further damage not just to your countertops or natural stones but more importantly to your health and the planet for anything that is dangerous can never be of help.
Solar Swimming Pool Covers and Reels
If you are a swimming pool owner and would like to save money on heating costs and chemical costs, there's a simple way to do just that. By investing in a solar cover and reel for your above ground or in-ground swimming pool, you can enjoy slashed energy bills and significant savings. With their insulating and heat transference properties, solar pool covers also provide you with a number of other great benefits. When attached to solar cover reels, these solar blankets are very easy to use and handle, so you can take advantage of the many benefits of using solar pool covers without any fuss.
As their name suggests, solar pool covers are designed to use the sun's energy to raise the temperature of your swimming pool. They are able to do so as a result of their special design which incorporates advanced solar technology. In particular, solar swimming pool covers have thousands of tiny air pockets which serve to insulate and transfer heat. In other words, solar covers absorb sunlight and transfer heat into the pool water while also retaining heat once it is in the water.
Solar pool covers are available in different grades or thicknesses, with the most typical thicknesses ranging from 8 mm to 16 mm. Although the price will be higher for thicker covers, greater thickness also means better heat transference and heat retention. Solar covers are also available in different colors, with the most common colors being clear and blue. While color does not have any bearing on a cover's ability to prevent water evaporation, it does have an effect on its ability to transfer heat. This is because the color can affect how much sunlight is blocked and prevented from passing through the cover. For example, blue covers typically block between 20 and 40 per cent of the sun's solar energy while clear covers typically block approximately 5 to 15 per cent of the sun's solar energy. Accordingly, clear covers usually provide better heat transference than blue covers do.
As a result of their insulating and heat transference abilities, solar swimming pool covers provide a wide range of advantages. Since these covers can raise the temperature of a swimming pool by 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, you can open your pool earlier and close it later for an extended swimming season. At the same time, you can rely less on your gas or electric heater, thereby enjoying significantly lower heating costs. Furthermore, solar pool covers greatly reduce evaporation of both water and chemicals, so you will also spend less money on pool chemicals each season.
While at first glance, solar covers may seem too heavy and unwieldy to be convenient to use, solar cover reels can easily change that. There are a variety of different solar cover reels available to choose from, including reels with hand cranks and water-driven reels that attach to a standard garden hose. With the help of one of these reels, covering and uncovering your pool with a solar cover is both fast and convenient. Many solar cover reels also make it easy for one person to handle a solar cover, eliminating the need to have at least two people around every time you want to cover or uncover your swimming pool.
Top-quality solar pool covers and reels are constructed from first class materials and are built to last. The best solar covers are made from tough, UV-resistant resins that will withstand wear and tear as well as deterioration from the sun's ultraviolet rays. Super strong seams also enhance a cover's durability, allowing it to tolerate years of use and repeated folding. As for the best solar pool reels, they are constructed from strong, corrosion-proof materials that will withstand exposure to the elements and can fully support the weight of a solar cover.
As a result of their durability and the many benefits that they offer, solar pool covers and reels for above ground pools and in-ground pools provide an excellent long-term investment. While they may seem pricier than standard non-solar covers at first, the savings that you will experience in the long run will more than make up for that. Furthermore, longer swimming seasons and reduced reliance on non-renewable energy sources are additional benefits that make investing in solar pool covers and reels an even more attractive option. So for anyone who wants to save money on heating and chemical costs this swimming season, take a look at the many available solar pool covers and reels for in-ground pools and above ground pools and make the most of the sun's free energy.
Gutter Guards VS. Gutter Cleaning.
Choking of rain gutters can have the rooftop water wash over the walls, windows, and doors, defeating the very purpose they were first installed for. Debris and rotting leaves peeping out of the rooftop gutter is not a very beautiful sight to behold. Hence, cleaning the gutters regularly is necessary. In most parts of the country gutters need to be cleaned at least three times in a year. However, their position and height above the ground make it no ordinary job for a layman. In addition, as time passes by overhanging ledges and rooftops become slippery due to moss and cracking of concrete and wood. It requires workmen and equipment to safely clean all the gutters and spouts on all the floors. Alternatively, installing a gutter guard or gutter cover is an option available to greatly minimize the yearly maintenance required.
Statistics have shown that the number of injuries at home are reported more during the “gutter cleaning” time of the year. These injuries can vary from being minor to fatal. However, with the advent of gutter covers there has been a drastic reduction in such mishaps. Manual cleaning is not restricted to a fixed time of the year. You may have to climb on to such precarious positions even during a thunderstorm because of the leaves, which flew in and blocked your gutters which were squeaky clean earlier in the day.
A gutter guard is always the better option. A gutter guard in general is an accessory for the gutters to prevent falling leaves, accumulation of dust, and other flying debris from entering the gutter system. Some are made of a sheet of metal or PVC with slits at regular intervals. While water flows along the edge into the gutter, the debris jumps over the edge directly to the ground below. Since all the debris fall off the roof, this eliminates the need for regular cleaning. The smooth surface prevents growth of moss and weeds and saves the effort required in plucking them off the concrete or wooden base.
Wire strainers may also, be used to prevent large objects like leaves and pine needles from falling into the gutter. Others consist of a screen of small pores, which can be easily installed and removed for maintenance.
Some gutter guards may have clips, which hold on to the gutter edges and can be opened like a hinged door to enable cleaning at a suitable time. Hybrid gutter guards are completely covered by gutter shingles, and have a fine mesh covering to keep out smaller particles of debris. These guards keep out most of the debris, including buds and seeds, leading to almost no need for yearly cleaning. Besides gutter guards maintain the aesthetics of the home compared to an open and rather discoloured gutter system.
The choice of gutter guards depends on the slope of the roof, presence of trees nearby, type of debris that may fall on the roof top and average rainfall and snow experienced all through the year. Cleaning of such gutters can be done at a safe time of the year and without having to put one’s life and limb in danger. A gutter guard will definitely save you the trouble of climbing the rooftop at odd hours and face the worst of the elements.
