Why We Exist

Happy 2012 All,
We hope to give you more reasons to visit this year.  To help encourage us to step up our activity level, we received a comment to one of our videos on You Tube that seems just heaven sent.  Whenever we try to describe the mission of H.O.W. TV, it's sometimes difficult to get the point across.  We basically want to provide resources for getting stuff done to women who want to fully participate in their lives and don't take themselves too seriously.  Women who don't want to be treated with condescension, don't want to be made to feel stupid or inadequate and don't want assumptions and broad generalizations applied to them.

Since we weren't adequately able to respond to this comment within YouTube (character count issue), where better to post the full response than right here.  We had to paraphrase a bit on YouTube, but feel free to visit our channel via the link above to see exactly how we responded to the comment.

YouTube Comment on "The Air That You Breathe":  ARE YOU GIRLS STUPID? HARD TO GET IT DRY? DOMMY. JUST WASH IT, THEN,USE A BLOWER DOMMY TO DRY IT.JUST GIVE 1 HOUR ALONE,AND THEN PUT IT BACK. NO ONE WILL DIE WHILE THE FILTER IS DRYING. YOU SAVE A LOT OF MONEY BUYING STUPID FILTER IN WALMART. SAVE THAT MONEY FOR YOUR OWN OR YOUR FAMILY. HIGHER RATE IN THE FILTER,MORE EXPENSIVE. SO YOU WONT HAVE TO BUY FILTER EVERY MONTH. JUST ONE FOR LIFE

Our Full Response: 

At first, we were just going to point out that our audience consists largely of women who may have never had to think about their furnace filters.   A lot of these women feel that what with washing/cleaning dishes, floors, clothes, bathrooms, windows and whatnot, they aren’t really looking for something else to clean.  In addition, many of these women can be a bit picky about what’s considered “clean” and “dry”.

Instead, we took the time to do a little more research on the subject and found out a couple of things.  First of all it seems to be a given in the HVAC world that washable filters aren’t terribly efficient at trapping small particles of dust and other contaminants.  Since reusable filters should be washed monthly, compared with many pleated and electrostatic furnace filters, which need replacement only every 90 days, they definitely require more of a time commitment in addition to the up-front cost. Also, a reusable furnace filter never gets completely clean after being washed, so dirt buildup can eventually restrict airflow through the furnace, according to many in the industry.  Lastly, I’ve seen end-user reports of mold due to residual moisture.

So, we are neither stupid nor dummies (note - no "o" in the word), but we do try to learn a little something at times.  We thank you for the Christmas gift of providing us with a perfect example of why we thought H.O.W. TV would be a good idea.  We intend to get a good bit of mileage out of it.  Have a wonderful 2012.

The Fabulous Shower Curtain Ring

Just a quick little post this time :)  I have this thing about wanting to hang everything possible.  Unfortunately, not every knick knack and whatnot that pleases my eye comes ready to hang.  As a result, I'm constantly trying to find a quick, cheap way to attach stuff to walls without putting nail or screw holes in stuff.

During a recent redo of my hallway, it became a necessity to do something about some pictures that I have in these cute little frames.  They previously sat on top of a bookcase, but alas that bookcase had to find a new home.  Enter my stash-o shower curtain rings.

It never ceases to amaze me how many times I have drawn from my $1.19 well of plain old shower curtain rings to solve a problem.  To solve this one....

If you have a picture frame with only the little kickstand on the back, take a regular shower curtain ring, insert the kickstand and voila!  You may have to do a little adjusting, but it works fabulously.

Can I Sharpen a Chain Saw

Bette from Tennessee asked us if we had any advice on sharpening a chain saw.  Brand and Beth looked at this during their days with Tools and Techniques on the DIY Network.  They found that most felt it was easier to just have it done professionally. 

These days, a lot of us find ourselves having to do things that we might have paid someone to do for us in easier years.  So, I did a little research - our mission, we'll spend the time and effort so you don't have to.  Did you know that there is actually a http://howtosharpenachainsaw.org ?  Gotta tell ya, this one was a surprise to me.  The article is pretty informative, but for me, refers to parts that they don't identify, so it's a little lacking in the H.O.W. way of doing things.  The best and most informative article that I found comes courtesy of Mother Earth News.  It was the first source that agreed with Beth on the importance of having the right file.  While reading instruction is helpful, I think that combining the guidance in the Mother Earth News article with watching this great video that I found on YouTube.  It's a bit long, but really good.

There are kits, guides and even a chain saw sharpening stone for a Dremel, so it's unlikely that you'll have what you need laying around in your garage.  The one thing that I thought would be the most useful is a chainsaw filing guide.  Once you've done this a few times, you probably don't need it, but until you get used to performing this task it seems like a good idea.  Most of these tools are less than $20, so it still represents a significant savings over having it done professionally.



A helpful hint from one the sources that I reviewed is to use a piece of chalk or crayon or something to mark the first tooth that you sharpen so that you know where to stop.  I want to give this a try myself, but if you get to it before me, let us know how it worked out!