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Mobile Cart Gives Dogs A Lift
Pooches with hind-quarter paralysis or dysfunction can walk again with a pet mobile, a two-wheeled cart that dogs adapt to easily.
But you shouldn’t buy a cart blind. The sellers need to talk to you first about your dog’s physical condition and dimensions.
Carts prevent sores that develop when a dog drags his rear. Also, they promote normal habits, including unimpeded body-waste functions.
The pooch gets a new leash on life.
•Web site: www.pnx.com/petmobile
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Proper Lighting Eases Study
When you’re setting up a study area for the student in your house, proper lighting is just as important as a comfortable chair, a fast computer and plenty of pencils.
Here are some tips for lighting a study space, courtesy of specialty lighting company Lamps Plus:
•To reduce eyestrain when reading, consider choosing a full-spectrum light. It provides illumination that is very close to natural lighting.
•Fluorescent bulbs generally do a better job of illuminating reading material than regular incandescent bulbs do, plus they use less energy and last longer.
•An adjustable desk lamp provides additional light to the desk and keyboard. Position the lamp so it doesn’t reflect on the computer screen.
•The optimum distance from the desktop to the bottom of the desk lamp’s shade is about 15 inches.
•Position a desk lamp so your hand doesn’t cast shadows on your work. If you’re right-handed, put the light on the left side of the desk.
•Make sure the arm of the desk lamp is sufficiently long and flexible so it can shine light where you need it and be pushed out of your way when light isn’t needed.
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No Need To Lug Vacuum Hose
Hoover has eliminated one of the major annoyances of a central vacuum system, lugging around the vacuum hose, by coming up with a way to store the hose in the wall.
The North Canton, Ohio, company recently introduced Hose Magic, an in-wall unit with a 45-foot hose that is dispensed and retracted at the touch of a button. One Hose Magic station cleans up to 2,000 square feet, so fewer inlets are needed.
The hose has a 120-volt WindTunnel power nozzle, which the company said enhances the system’s efficiency by not allowing very fine dirt particles to escape.
The Hose Magic will work with any Hoover central vacuuming system but is being promoted with its Hoover Hush models. It’s intended for new homes, but retrofitting is possible.
A top-of-the-line Hoover Hush system big enough for a 2,000- to 4,000-square-foot house would cost between $3,000 and $3,500 installed.
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Renovate Home on a Budget
Here’s a home-makeover book for people with more drive than dough.
“Popular Mechanics MoneySmart Makeovers: Living Spaces” is a do-it-yourselfer’s guide to redecorating and renovating living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. Examples are given of makeovers at three budget levels — economy, mid-range and high-end — and the book gives instructions for carrying out all the projects used in the makeovers. A wide variety of projects is covered, including refinishing wood floors, laying carpet, installing cabinets, and tackling simple electrical projects.
•The book is published by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc. and sells for $19.95 in hardcover.
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Close the Book on Musty Odor
Q: Got the old encyclopedias out of the basement to pass on to the grandchildren, but the books have that awful basement (too much moisture) odor. Any suggestions?
A: The Web site of the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Mass., says there’s no guarantee you can remove the musty smell, but it recommends this: Place an odor-absorbing material such as baking soda, charcoal briquettes (without lighter fluid) or kitty litter in the bottom of a large plastic garbage can that has a lid. Then put the books in a smaller plastic garbage can and set it inside the larger one. Put the lid on the larger can and leave it until the odor is reduced, checking periodically.