Latest / Repcolite Home Improvement Show / Pre-Holiday Hustle: Quick Home Upgrades; the Best Games; and Space Heater Safety

Transcript

Pre-Holiday Hustle: Quick Home Upgrades; the Best Games; and Space Heater Safety · Repcolite Home Improvement Show

0:02
Speaker 1: Well, good morning everybody out there. Happy middle middle of December.
0:07
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Rep Coal Light home improvement show
0:10
Speaker 1: sponsored by Benjamin Moore, and yeah, middle of December. Seriously,
0:15
Speaker 1: how in the world do we slow this down? We
0:18
Speaker 1: need to get together and figure that out. I'd like
0:20
Speaker 1: to pump the brakes here a little bit. Are you
0:22
Speaker 1: feeling that too or is it just me? You know?
0:24
Speaker 1: For me, there aren't enough hours in the day. I've
0:27
Speaker 1: got parties to plan, aarrands to run, gifts to buy,
0:30
Speaker 1: so many gifts to buy, and really, honestly, I'm absolutely
0:34
Speaker 1: stinking at gifts this year, stinking, and it's stressing me
0:39
Speaker 1: out normally, Normally, by now I've completed all of my
0:43
Speaker 1: shopping and I've completed it brilliantly in most situations. You know,
0:48
Speaker 1: we're being honest here, no false humility, pretty brilliant when
0:52
Speaker 1: it comes to gifts this year. This year, I'm stinking.
0:56
Speaker 1: Unless I come up with some kind of inspiration. Unless
0:59
Speaker 1: that strikes really, really soon, we're heading for one of
1:02
Speaker 1: those Christmases right. I certainly wouldn't want to be my
1:06
Speaker 1: kids this year, at least not yet. Anyway, I hope
1:08
Speaker 1: you're all doing a ton better than I am. Hope
1:11
Speaker 1: you're more on top of things. Hope you're feeling really festive,
1:14
Speaker 1: really ready for what's coming, and just feeling really accomplished.
1:18
Speaker 1: But just in case you're feeling a little bit of
1:21
Speaker 1: anxiety like I am, I've got some help for you today. Later,
1:26
Speaker 1: I'm going to be talking with Jeff Redfield from Out
1:28
Speaker 1: of the Box Games in Holland and Zealand, and we're
1:30
Speaker 1: going to talk about some great games for Christmas gifts
1:33
Speaker 1: or family parties. So if the gift giving stress is
1:36
Speaker 1: getting to you, stick around for that, all right, that
1:39
Speaker 1: will help. We're also going to be diving into space
1:42
Speaker 1: heater safety, and I know that doesn't sound the most exciting,
1:45
Speaker 1: right it doesn't sound terribly exciting, but trust me, those
1:48
Speaker 1: little heaters they can be life savers in the winner,
1:51
Speaker 1: but only if you use them right. Otherwise, well, if
1:53
Speaker 1: you don't, they can really cost some trouble. So we'll
1:56
Speaker 1: talk about that, and I've also got some strategies for
2:00
Speaker 1: painting in tight spaces. I am super pumped about this
2:03
Speaker 1: this topic. I love it. It's a lot of fun,
2:05
Speaker 1: it's pretty funny. And that's coming up next. But right now,
2:09
Speaker 1: let's get to the paint point for the week. And
2:10
Speaker 1: to do that, I want to circle back to the
2:13
Speaker 1: whole holiday stress thing. Like I said, I've been feeling it.
2:16
Speaker 1: Maybe you've been feeling it. But here's the difference. You know,
2:19
Speaker 1: here's here's me realizing. This is me growing up a
2:23
Speaker 1: little bit. It's me realizing that I'm not the only
2:26
Speaker 1: one in the universe here. The only people that are
2:29
Speaker 1: coming over to my house for a party or for
2:32
Speaker 1: any kind of festive activities. The only people coming to
2:35
Speaker 1: my house are the ones who live there. You know,
2:37
Speaker 1: they already know about the junkie parts. They're not gonna
2:40
Speaker 1: be surprised. They're not going to open a closet and go,
2:42
Speaker 1: oh my goodness, I can't believe you crammed all that
2:45
Speaker 1: into here. They know it's crammed into there. They helped
2:48
Speaker 1: cram it in. They're not gonna be disappointed. They're not
2:50
Speaker 1: gonna be grossed out. Oh man, this tastes like dog hair.
2:54
Speaker 1: It's because it is right. It's full of dog hair.
2:56
Speaker 1: It's more dog hair than lasagna. Eat it. You know,
2:59
Speaker 1: they're not gonna be gross stout. It's just home to them.
3:03
Speaker 1: But some of you, some of you are hosting big events,
3:06
Speaker 1: you've got guests coming over. I wonder what that's like.
3:09
Speaker 1: I don't want to know what that's like. And my
3:11
Speaker 1: guests don't want to be a part of it. Not well,
3:13
Speaker 1: i've got dogs. But maybe you've got that going on.
3:17
Speaker 1: Maybe they're even staying with you over an extended period
3:21
Speaker 1: of time. If so, you're feeling the stress to make
3:23
Speaker 1: your home shine, and if that's you, if that happens
3:27
Speaker 1: to be the spot that you find yourself in. Let's
3:29
Speaker 1: talk about some quick ways to spruce up your space
3:33
Speaker 1: without taking on a full paint project. And first off,
3:37
Speaker 1: start with the walls. And a lot of the time,
3:40
Speaker 1: walls don't need to be repainted, you know, they just
3:42
Speaker 1: need to be cleaned. A magic eraser or even a
3:45
Speaker 1: simple solution of warm water, dish soap and white vinegar
3:48
Speaker 1: can work. Wonders on scuffs, fingerprints, marks, who knows, spaghetti, sauce,
3:54
Speaker 1: whatever's on your walls. You can get that off pretty easily.
3:57
Speaker 1: It's amazing how much brighter and fresher a room can
4:01
Speaker 1: look with clean walls. Wash the walls down and you realize, man,
4:06
Speaker 1: we were living in a hovel. You know, this is
4:09
Speaker 1: pretty nice. Doesn't need to be repainted. It just needed
4:12
Speaker 1: to have the spaghetti washed off, right, So maybe you
4:15
Speaker 1: can find that out. Maybe that's the case in your home.
4:17
Speaker 1: Who knows some things to consider if you do go,
4:20
Speaker 1: you know, the magic eraser route. They're brilliant for removing marks,
4:24
Speaker 1: but if you use them with too much pressure on
4:26
Speaker 1: delicate surfaces or on matt or flat finished walls, there's
4:30
Speaker 1: a really good chance you're gonna remove paint or burnish
4:33
Speaker 1: the finish, you know, make the spots look shiny. You
4:35
Speaker 1: don't want to go the magic eraser route and then
4:38
Speaker 1: end up making the situation worse. So first, if you're
4:41
Speaker 1: gonna use one, test it out in an out of
4:43
Speaker 1: the way area to make sure that you're not gonna
4:45
Speaker 1: have a bigger problem down the road. And also use
4:48
Speaker 1: gentle pressure and dampen the eraser before starting. If you've
4:52
Speaker 1: got a flat or matte finish on your wall and
4:55
Speaker 1: you're thinking about using the magic eraser, I guess maybe try,
4:59
Speaker 1: but may maybe keeping the back pocket your back pocket
5:02
Speaker 1: that the next best thing that you could do in
5:04
Speaker 1: those situations is to touch up, you know, do a
5:07
Speaker 1: little touch up painting. And that's my second idea. You know,
5:10
Speaker 1: if you've got nail holes or scratches, grab a bit
5:13
Speaker 1: of lightweight spackle, fill the nail holes, sand them smooth,
5:16
Speaker 1: and then if you've got some left over paint from
5:18
Speaker 1: the original wall color, touch it up. You know, it's
5:20
Speaker 1: ideal to use the same tool when you're touching up
5:23
Speaker 1: that you originally used to apply the paint. A lot
5:26
Speaker 1: of people don't think about that, but if you roll
5:28
Speaker 1: the wall, you should use a roller for your touch up.
5:31
Speaker 1: If you brush the surface, touch it up with a brush.
5:34
Speaker 1: If you have tiny nail holes and you need to
5:36
Speaker 1: touch that up but you don't want to get a
5:37
Speaker 1: roller out, a quick trick is to use a Q tip.
5:41
Speaker 1: You basically just get one, hold it on its side
5:43
Speaker 1: against the wall, and then rotate it over the area.
5:46
Speaker 1: It really quickly and easily becomes a makeshift micro roller,
5:49
Speaker 1: and it does a really good job for nail holes,
5:51
Speaker 1: small scratches, things like that. So if you're doing your
5:54
Speaker 1: touch ups, feather them out and most of the time
5:57
Speaker 1: you can blend them away entirely. The spots don't blend
6:01
Speaker 1: perfectly away, you can do a more complete repaint later,
6:05
Speaker 1: you know, after the busyness of the holidays, But most
6:07
Speaker 1: of the time, a slightly lighter spot on a wall
6:09
Speaker 1: is better than a dark scuff mark or a hole.
6:11
Speaker 1: So even if they show these little light spots, it's
6:14
Speaker 1: still a wind. Now. Sometimes the third idea, the quickest
6:17
Speaker 1: fix is strategic placement. This third idea is a little sneaky,
6:21
Speaker 1: but hang a piece of art, a mirror, you know,
6:24
Speaker 1: lean a decorative ladder against the wall, something anything to
6:27
Speaker 1: hide these spots. It's a great way to draw attention
6:30
Speaker 1: to the best parts of your space while covering up imperfections,
6:34
Speaker 1: So think about that. Another idea, refresh your trim or
6:37
Speaker 1: base boards. Now these areas they take a ton of
6:40
Speaker 1: wear and tear, but a quick wipe down or touch
6:42
Speaker 1: up can make the whole room feel polished and new.
6:46
Speaker 1: Adjust the lighting, you know, change out your light bulbs,
6:48
Speaker 1: make sure they're all the same temperature, the same consistency.
6:52
Speaker 1: Better lighting can make colors pop and even disguise small
6:55
Speaker 1: flaws in the walls. Lastly, declutter and rearrange. You know,
6:59
Speaker 1: sometimes all space needs is just a little bit of
7:02
Speaker 1: decluttering to open it up and make it feel just
7:05
Speaker 1: a ton better. So think about those things. The key
7:08
Speaker 1: is you don't need a major project to make a
7:10
Speaker 1: big impact. These small, manageable, little updates can really help.
7:14
Speaker 1: If you've got guests coming over, you'll feel better about
7:16
Speaker 1: your space. You'll know that you put your best foot
7:18
Speaker 1: forward and it's not going to take a ton of
7:20
Speaker 1: time or add a lot of stress to your plate.
7:22
Speaker 1: All right, that's the paint point for the week. Hopefully
7:24
Speaker 1: it helps you get your home ready and take some
7:26
Speaker 1: stress off your plate. All right, we're going to take
7:28
Speaker 1: a break. When we come back, we're going to be
7:29
Speaker 1: talking about strategies for painting in tight spaces, cramped quarters,
7:34
Speaker 1: painting in those areas and not losing your mind. It's
7:37
Speaker 1: a ton of fun. It's coming up next. Stick around
7:46
Speaker 1: and we're back. You're listening to the Repcolite home improvement
7:48
Speaker 1: shows sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And last week we talked
7:53
Speaker 1: about some tools that you should have if you're going
7:55
Speaker 1: to be painting in tight spaces, small rooms, you know,
7:59
Speaker 1: cramped quarters. We talked about the tools. Today, let's go
8:02
Speaker 1: over some essential strategies that will make the process easier
8:06
Speaker 1: and help you avoid you know those really sad oops moments,
8:10
Speaker 1: or in a more dramatic fashion, the really moments, right right,
8:16
Speaker 1: all right, First off, schedule enough time for the work.
8:20
Speaker 1: That's my very first tip here. And it's kind of funny,
8:23
Speaker 1: and I've fallen into this as well, but a lot
8:26
Speaker 1: of people get it in their head that if they're
8:29
Speaker 1: painting a small space that somehow the project's going to
8:32
Speaker 1: go quicker than painting a large space. And I guess
8:35
Speaker 1: it makes a lot of sense. You know, the room
8:36
Speaker 1: is so much smaller, there's just less to do, right,
8:39
Speaker 1: it's going to just fly. Well, Weirdly, it doesn't work
8:43
Speaker 1: that way. In fact, usually the exact opposite is true.
8:47
Speaker 1: Anybody who's tackled a bathroom or a narrow hallway or
8:50
Speaker 1: an entryway knows it can be a challenge. And while
8:54
Speaker 1: the wall space is limited, you find that you're cutting
8:57
Speaker 1: in more. You find that you can't roll a small
9:00
Speaker 1: area as effectively as you could if the room was
9:02
Speaker 1: ten foot square. Bottom line, you just can't move as
9:06
Speaker 1: fluidly or as conveniently as you'd like. And all of that,
9:10
Speaker 1: you know, piles on and adds time to the project.
9:13
Speaker 1: So give yourself that time, plan for it, plan on it.
9:17
Speaker 1: Don't jump in thinking that you're gonna ramp up in
9:20
Speaker 1: a couple hours, and then you're gonna head to Gramma's
9:22
Speaker 1: one hundred and twelfth birthday party, all right, Most likely
9:26
Speaker 1: you're gonna find the project takes much longer than you thought.
9:29
Speaker 1: And then you've got a dilemma. You know, do you
9:31
Speaker 1: leave the house? Well, everything's in this state of half
9:35
Speaker 1: finished chaos. I mean, you've got paint in the tray,
9:38
Speaker 1: a brush covered with paint, the ladder's out, the room's
9:41
Speaker 1: a mess. Can you really really just leave it like that?
9:45
Speaker 1: But on the other hand, it's Grandma's one hundred and
9:47
Speaker 1: twelfth birthday. Sure, you know, she seems healthy, seems like
9:51
Speaker 1: she's doing well, but you never know. Don't put yourself
9:55
Speaker 1: in that position. Don't be making those decisions. Those are
9:58
Speaker 1: bad decisions. Plan on these smaller projects taking longer than
10:02
Speaker 1: you think, and you'll be safe and happy. Right, that's
10:05
Speaker 1: the first first strategy. Second strategy, minimize your helpers. Minimize
10:11
Speaker 1: your helpers tight quarters. They are definitely not the place
10:16
Speaker 1: for an extra set of hands. You know, these people
10:18
Speaker 1: who want to help us, they mean well, you know
10:21
Speaker 1: they do. They want to support you. They want to
10:23
Speaker 1: support me, either because they love us or because they
10:26
Speaker 1: feel guilty you know, that's entirely possible. They feel guilty
10:30
Speaker 1: that you're working on something and they're not. Whatever the
10:34
Speaker 1: reasoning is, they usually mean well, But after about four
10:37
Speaker 1: minutes in a tight space together, you're going to discover
10:41
Speaker 1: about probably seventeen or more reasons why you despise that
10:45
Speaker 1: person and why you've always despised that person. And to
10:50
Speaker 1: be honest, you know, really throw it all on the
10:52
Speaker 1: table here. They're probably going to be discovering those same
10:55
Speaker 1: things about you. So don't do it. Too many cooks
10:57
Speaker 1: in the kitchen, that's bad. Too many help in a
11:00
Speaker 1: tight space, that's worse. It'll start with some bumping. It's
11:04
Speaker 1: going to end in, you know, some kind of mma
11:07
Speaker 1: cage match. Avoid all of that at all costs. If
11:10
Speaker 1: somebody insists on helping, make a deal. You know, maybe
11:14
Speaker 1: they clean the rest of the house while you work
11:16
Speaker 1: in this room, or maybe they can prepare dinner, or
11:19
Speaker 1: maybe they can run to Repcolite if you forgot something,
11:22
Speaker 1: or even better, maybe they can just leave, you know,
11:26
Speaker 1: get out of dodge for a while and let you
11:28
Speaker 1: do the work. Solo painting is smoother in small spaces,
11:33
Speaker 1: all right, That's the second strategy. Third strategy that I've
11:36
Speaker 1: got for you. Prep your walls thoroughly, and this next one.
11:41
Speaker 1: You know, it applies to every single paint job out there.
11:43
Speaker 1: But still, don't tell yourself that, since the space is small,
11:47
Speaker 1: that you can skip. You know, some of the prep work.
11:50
Speaker 1: Prep work's crazy important no matter the size of the project.
11:54
Speaker 1: All right, just because it's little doesn't mean the prep
11:55
Speaker 1: work doesn't matter as much. So take the time and
11:58
Speaker 1: do it well. Remove nails and screws. That's a big
12:02
Speaker 1: one for me. Don't try to paint around the nails.
12:05
Speaker 1: You know, it usually ends up being a pain in
12:07
Speaker 1: the neck. You know. I've learned that the hard way
12:10
Speaker 1: over and over again. Finally I've learned and I remove them.
12:14
Speaker 1: But the thing is, it's crazy tempting every time to
12:18
Speaker 1: leave them in. You know, it's just a little nail.
12:20
Speaker 1: What's it going to do. It's a little nail. I'm
12:23
Speaker 1: going to use it again. As soon as the walls drive,
12:25
Speaker 1: I'm going to put the art back up on it.
12:27
Speaker 1: Maybe I'll just leave it there and roll around it.
12:30
Speaker 1: You know, That's usually what I tell myself, and then
12:32
Speaker 1: I start rolling and I forget about it, you know,
12:34
Speaker 1: because I'm flying through the room. I'm rolling those walls
12:38
Speaker 1: like like lickety split, you know, super fast and with
12:41
Speaker 1: a skill that usually impresses even me. And as I'm going,
12:45
Speaker 1: I forget about that little nail that's sitting there lurking,
12:49
Speaker 1: waiting for me until I hit it with the roller,
12:52
Speaker 1: you know, at full speed. Sometimes it snags the cover
12:54
Speaker 1: and pulls out fibers. I've had it create a little
12:57
Speaker 1: pattern that ends up repeating on the wall until I
12:59
Speaker 1: replace the cover. That was a pain. Sometimes the nail
13:03
Speaker 1: shoots off, you know, I knock got clean off the
13:05
Speaker 1: wall and it lands in the carpet somewhere, probably pointy
13:08
Speaker 1: side up. That's always fun to find later. Or you know,
13:12
Speaker 1: nothing terrible happens. You know, I just bump into it
13:15
Speaker 1: with the roller. Oh the nail, I forgot about it.
13:17
Speaker 1: No big deal, right, Yeah, it's fine until the paint
13:20
Speaker 1: that collected on the nail starts dripping under the floor.
13:22
Speaker 1: Happens every time. It's not a tragedy, but it is
13:25
Speaker 1: a nuisance. And in a small space, you got enough
13:29
Speaker 1: things that can be nuisances. Don't let this be one.
13:32
Speaker 1: Remove the nails, fill the nail holes. If you're not
13:34
Speaker 1: going to be putting the nails back and be sure
13:36
Speaker 1: to scuff sand any glossy surfaces so the paint sticks better.
13:40
Speaker 1: And don't forget to clean the walls. Like I said,
13:42
Speaker 1: it's the full prep job here, even though the room
13:44
Speaker 1: is small. But make sure that you wipe everything down,
13:47
Speaker 1: especially all the little hidden spots behind the toilet, the
13:51
Speaker 1: light fixtures, the vent cover for the ceiling fan, even
13:54
Speaker 1: the tops of doors. All of those areas have caused
13:58
Speaker 1: trouble and headache and soft for me on paint projects
14:02
Speaker 1: because I forget about them until I roll into them
14:04
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, now I pick up a
14:06
Speaker 1: bunch of fuzzies or who knows what I found. It's
14:09
Speaker 1: the bathroom, after all, could be anything, and now I'm
14:12
Speaker 1: spreading it on the wall in my new paint. It's
14:15
Speaker 1: a real paint in the neck. Wipe all those areas down,
14:17
Speaker 1: make sure they're clean everywhere dust could be lurking. Get
14:20
Speaker 1: it last prep step and then we'll move on to
14:23
Speaker 1: another strategy. But last prep step here is remove as
14:26
Speaker 1: many items from the wall as as reasonable. Painting around
14:29
Speaker 1: toilet paper holders, the towel racks, the switch plate covers,
14:32
Speaker 1: that's possible and If you're an accomplished painter, it can
14:35
Speaker 1: all be done very quickly, but if you're new to
14:38
Speaker 1: the process, it really can be frustrating, especially in small
14:41
Speaker 1: spaces when you don't have a lot of room to work.
14:44
Speaker 1: So you're quicker to just remove those items so you've
14:46
Speaker 1: got more of a clean shot, all right. That's the
14:49
Speaker 1: really long. Third strategy. Fourth strategy really short, Create an
14:56
Speaker 1: external workstation. Setting your paint and tools on the floor
15:00
Speaker 1: in a cramp space is an afternoon of WHOA waiting
15:03
Speaker 1: to happen?
15:04
Speaker 2: Not WHOA like?
15:05
Speaker 1: WHOA look at these walls?
15:07
Speaker 2: WHOA like?
15:08
Speaker 1: WHOA, My goodness, I'm in so much trouble right that
15:11
Speaker 1: kind of whoa? So don't don't leave these tools in
15:15
Speaker 1: the room while you're working. Set up a small table
15:17
Speaker 1: in the hallway or just you know, just outside the
15:19
Speaker 1: room or something. If you don't have a little table
15:22
Speaker 1: to set up, make one with sawhorses just outside the room.
15:26
Speaker 1: Put a drop cloth underneath it, and your materials are
15:28
Speaker 1: going to be close at hand, but out of the
15:30
Speaker 1: way so you can work all right. Second to last tip,
15:33
Speaker 1: and this one's brilliant. Work methodically and stay mindful of
15:37
Speaker 1: your surroundings. And I know that sounds kind of like
15:40
Speaker 1: Jedi advice, you know, maybe something that Obi wan Kenobi
15:45
Speaker 1: would say, But that's okay. It just makes it cool, right,
15:50
Speaker 1: and it's still true, you know, whether you whether you're
15:52
Speaker 1: big into Star Wars or not, that's still really true.
15:55
Speaker 1: Stay mindful and work methodically. You're working in a small
16:00
Speaker 1: there's wet paint within an arms reach all around the room.
16:04
Speaker 1: So just slow down, you know, maybe just a notch
16:06
Speaker 1: or two and give a little thought to each move
16:08
Speaker 1: before you make it. Now. Maybe that doesn't apply to you.
16:11
Speaker 1: Maybe you're methodical and thoughtful with every project, or maybe
16:15
Speaker 1: you're like me. You know, I'm less of those things
16:18
Speaker 1: and I'm kind of more all in. You know. That's
16:20
Speaker 1: how I work. I move crazy fast almost you know,
16:26
Speaker 1: with violence. It's been described. I'm not violent while I'm working,
16:31
Speaker 1: but that's how people have described how I approach the job.
16:36
Speaker 1: A lot of energy again to violence. You know, I
16:39
Speaker 1: want that room done now, and I'm willing to die
16:42
Speaker 1: to make that happen. If you know what I mean,
16:45
Speaker 1: and you work like that, you've got to slow it down.
16:47
Speaker 1: We both do. Slow down and think about what you're
16:50
Speaker 1: doing and where you're going next, you know, where's your
16:52
Speaker 1: paint tray? Where's the end of that extension poll going?
16:55
Speaker 1: I've talked to way too many people who've stepped in
16:58
Speaker 1: their roller trays and knocked them over with a quick turn,
17:01
Speaker 1: and I've personally goosed people accidentally with the extension pole.
17:05
Speaker 1: Nobody wins when all of that happens, no one. No
17:08
Speaker 1: one wins. So just be mindful of your surroundings and
17:11
Speaker 1: take a little time, all right. Last strategy for working
17:14
Speaker 1: in small spaces, get creative with the placement of your
17:17
Speaker 1: paint tray. We just talked about situations where people bump
17:21
Speaker 1: the tray over or stepped in it. It's common in
17:24
Speaker 1: a small space, and sure you could get it off
17:26
Speaker 1: the floor by hooking it onto your step ladder, but
17:29
Speaker 1: that can also be risky. I've stood up after doing
17:32
Speaker 1: some cut in work and I've bumped the tray with
17:34
Speaker 1: my shoulder. I remember that like it was yesterday. It
17:37
Speaker 1: didn't go over. But let me tell you, that will
17:39
Speaker 1: really get your heart pumping. So all that to say,
17:42
Speaker 1: maybe find another spot for it as you work, get
17:44
Speaker 1: creative with it. I prefer setting it in the hallway
17:47
Speaker 1: on a drop cloth it's out of the room, but
17:49
Speaker 1: I can easily roll into it with an extension pole
17:52
Speaker 1: without leaving the space, and that way there's a lot
17:55
Speaker 1: less concern about stepping into it when I'm focused on
17:59
Speaker 1: other things, or when painting the ceiling in that area.
18:02
Speaker 1: Painting in small spaces, it can really test your patience.
18:05
Speaker 1: But with some fool proof, foolproof, brilliant strategies, the ones
18:10
Speaker 1: that I just laid out in case you're wondering, with
18:13
Speaker 1: all of those, you can really set yourself up for success.
18:16
Speaker 1: All right, I think that's enough for that. If you
18:18
Speaker 1: do have a project going on, whatever it is, whether
18:20
Speaker 1: it's a small space or a huge space, we want
18:23
Speaker 1: to help you. Stop out at any Repcolite, tell us
18:25
Speaker 1: what you're doing, and we've got advice. We've got years
18:28
Speaker 1: and years and years of experience and will help you
18:32
Speaker 1: just handle that project as quickly and easily, more quickly,
18:37
Speaker 1: more easily than you ever dream possible. Swing out to
18:40
Speaker 1: Repcolite will help, all right. When we come back, I'm
18:42
Speaker 1: going to be talking with Jeff Rietveld from Out of
18:44
Speaker 1: the Box Games in Zealand and Holland, and we're going
18:47
Speaker 1: to be talking about some of the best games gift
18:49
Speaker 1: buys for the holiday season. That's all coming up in
18:53
Speaker 1: just a minute. Stick around, Welcome back. You're listening to
19:02
Speaker 1: the repcol Light Home Improvement Show sponsored by Benjamin Moore.
19:04
Speaker 1: And right now I've got a great conversation lined up.
19:08
Speaker 1: It's a snippet from my long form interview with Jeff Rietveld,
19:12
Speaker 1: owner of Out of the Box Games and Puzzles in
19:14
Speaker 1: Holland and Zealand. Now, in this segment here, we're going
19:17
Speaker 1: to focus on gift ideas and party games. But if
19:20
Speaker 1: you do enjoy what you hear and you want to
19:22
Speaker 1: dive deeper into the full interview, which is packed with
19:25
Speaker 1: a ton of stories about how Jeff started out of
19:27
Speaker 1: the box, some of the obstacles that he ran into
19:30
Speaker 1: along the way, as well as a lot of talk
19:32
Speaker 1: about games. You know, more talk about games. If you
19:35
Speaker 1: want to catch that interview, you can find it on
19:37
Speaker 1: our YouTube channel. Just search for the repco Light Home
19:39
Speaker 1: Improvement Show and you can watch the whole thing there.
19:42
Speaker 1: Right now, though, let's pick it up with Jeff talking
19:45
Speaker 1: about some of his family's favorite games and games that
19:47
Speaker 1: might be perfect for your group this Christmas.
19:50
Speaker 3: A lot of our personal favorites that we play a
19:53
Speaker 3: lot of just one. It's a party game where everyone
19:56
Speaker 3: is working together. You have to give hints some and
20:00
Speaker 3: you write them out on a little board and you
20:03
Speaker 3: show it to everyone except the person whose turn it is.
20:09
Speaker 3: And I now have to look at all the words
20:12
Speaker 3: and guess what the actual word is.
20:15
Speaker 2: So let's say my word is chocolate.
20:17
Speaker 3: And this is the example from the back of the box.
20:19
Speaker 3: So I hold up the card that says chocolate and
20:21
Speaker 3: I don't see it, and then everyone else has to
20:24
Speaker 3: write a hint based off of the rules really are
20:27
Speaker 3: just one.
20:28
Speaker 2: Only one of each.
20:29
Speaker 3: Clue can be out there, and they can only just
20:32
Speaker 3: one word. So if you said coco and someone else
20:37
Speaker 3: said coco, your answers don't count when they get hidden.
20:40
Speaker 3: So you want your hints to not be chosen by
20:42
Speaker 3: anybody else. But if you say coco and one other
20:45
Speaker 3: person says white and one other person says dark, I
20:48
Speaker 3: have a pretty good chance.
20:49
Speaker 2: Oh, white chocolate, dark chocolate, co. I have a pretty
20:51
Speaker 2: good We.
20:52
Speaker 1: Show our boards to each other first to eliminate the
20:55
Speaker 1: ones that are the same.
20:56
Speaker 3: Yes, so I think whoever's it closes their eyes turns around.
21:00
Speaker 3: Everyone shows ah, and if you have to delete. We
21:04
Speaker 3: had it one dime where literally there was only one
21:07
Speaker 3: hint left because those two people chose the same word.
21:09
Speaker 3: Those two people chose the same word in the fifth person,
21:12
Speaker 3: and it was just you had no chance of guessing.
21:15
Speaker 3: And then that's really fun and you just for us.
21:17
Speaker 3: It always devolves where they start cheating.
21:20
Speaker 1: So do you punish those people? I'm not because punish them.
21:28
Speaker 1: He's the one.
21:29
Speaker 3: So like one year that the hint was terminator or
21:33
Speaker 3: that the word was terminator, and of course you know,
21:36
Speaker 3: this is when the cheating really began. They're all whispering
21:38
Speaker 3: and the hints were Arnold Schwarzenegger, I'll be back, and
21:41
Speaker 3: they they changed the order, so they sat my daughter,
21:46
Speaker 3: She's like, I don't know what this is.
21:47
Speaker 1: So they cheated and she still did get it.
21:50
Speaker 2: It was quite funny.
21:50
Speaker 1: Classic.
21:52
Speaker 3: That's one game poetry for Neanderthals. You have to kind
21:55
Speaker 3: of give hints out, but you only have to talk.
21:57
Speaker 3: You can only talk in one syllable word. Words poetry
22:01
Speaker 3: for Nandals, so you have to and I've only played
22:05
Speaker 3: it once. That was a gift last year for my
22:06
Speaker 3: daughter and we had a blast. But you have to
22:09
Speaker 3: the whole point of the game is you have to
22:10
Speaker 3: be able to say something, but you can only use
22:13
Speaker 3: the one syllable words, and you really do sound a
22:15
Speaker 3: bit like a caveman when you do that, because there
22:18
Speaker 3: are words you can't even say. If there are two syllables,
22:21
Speaker 3: and you can't say sell a ball, you have to,
22:24
Speaker 3: you know, say one word.
22:26
Speaker 2: You know it's okay, okay.
22:29
Speaker 1: So again you've got a word that you're trying.
22:31
Speaker 2: To explain to get some guess basically yes.
22:34
Speaker 1: And it's a it's a party game as well, so
22:36
Speaker 1: you got and you get a.
22:37
Speaker 3: Big, big inflatable bat that you get to hit the
22:40
Speaker 3: person with if they we didn't play with that new
22:44
Speaker 3: sons that maybe we'll get a little too into that
22:47
Speaker 3: true one that we're getting ourselves this year. And I
22:49
Speaker 3: can't really explain it well. Part of my fun is
22:52
Speaker 3: actually opening up the game and reading the rules and
22:55
Speaker 3: learning it. So I'm not a big one for going
22:57
Speaker 3: onto YouTube. I point a lot of people to YouTube.
23:00
Speaker 3: Video is how to learn games. But I only want
23:02
Speaker 3: to know a little bit because part of the wonder
23:04
Speaker 3: that I had twenty five years ago when we got
23:06
Speaker 3: into games was, oh, this is how it works. Looking
23:10
Speaker 3: at the pieces and everything else. So I only look
23:13
Speaker 3: into things so much. But another one that does very
23:17
Speaker 3: well in our story that we're getting this year is
23:18
Speaker 3: called so Clover, and based off is so clever. And
23:24
Speaker 3: you got these weird tiles out. They look like clovers
23:27
Speaker 3: and they have four words on each side, and when
23:29
Speaker 3: you put them out, you put them into a grid
23:32
Speaker 3: and so they match up in places and you have
23:34
Speaker 3: to come up with words to show how they link together.
23:38
Speaker 3: That's about all I know so far. I'll be able
23:40
Speaker 3: to tell you more after Christmas Day.
23:41
Speaker 1: So just one poetry for Neander So Clover, yep.
23:46
Speaker 3: Tellustrations is one that we typically do. You know, the
23:50
Speaker 3: kid's game Telephone, where you whisper in someone's ear and
23:52
Speaker 3: they're supposed to go around the circle. And it's only
23:56
Speaker 3: really fun when nobody tries to mess it up.
23:59
Speaker 2: I had a son. I thought the point was messing
24:01
Speaker 2: to mess it up.
24:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it was never quite fun because they would
24:03
Speaker 3: say something completely different and then you know, but if
24:06
Speaker 3: everyone's trying, well, this is that game meets pictionary. So
24:10
Speaker 3: every if we have eight of us around a table,
24:13
Speaker 3: we each get a little board and we have a
24:14
Speaker 3: word that we have to draw like pictionary, simpler than pictionary,
24:18
Speaker 3: fairly recognizable. I draw mine, you draw yours, everyone's drawing theirs,
24:22
Speaker 3: and then our card gets hidden because you don't see it.
24:24
Speaker 3: Then we pass the clockwise. So you're now looking at
24:27
Speaker 3: the picture that I drew and like, oh, well, that's
24:30
Speaker 3: a duck, and you write duck on there. And then
24:33
Speaker 3: I'm looking at the picture that this person Dore et cetera.
24:36
Speaker 2: Moves on.
24:37
Speaker 3: Whoever's there looks, oh, duck, and they draw a duck.
24:40
Speaker 3: But they're a terrible artist. The next person says, you know, oh,
24:44
Speaker 3: that's a fried chicken, you know, or big chicken or whatever,
24:47
Speaker 3: you know.
24:48
Speaker 2: And when it gets to the end, so.
24:49
Speaker 1: You drew a duck, do they erase it and write.
24:52
Speaker 2: The the little thing flips over? Okay, so you even
24:55
Speaker 2: so I don't even know how.
24:57
Speaker 3: To score it, but I think what you do is
24:58
Speaker 3: you have to go back and see who really messed
25:00
Speaker 3: it up. And it's like, well, Dan guest duck. So
25:03
Speaker 3: he was fine, but Bob, what is this? And you know,
25:08
Speaker 3: he doesn't get points. I don't even know how it is.
25:09
Speaker 3: It's just it's so.
25:10
Speaker 1: Bob gets ejected from the party. Doesn't know what he's doing.
25:13
Speaker 3: And so it gets to the end and we just
25:15
Speaker 3: spend so much time laughing about you know what these are,
25:18
Speaker 3: and you also can tell if someone's purposely messing it up. Okay,
25:21
Speaker 3: another one herd mentality. It's a typical party game where
25:25
Speaker 3: you're having to guess words based off of something kind
25:29
Speaker 3: of like how just one works, but it's opposite. You
25:33
Speaker 3: only get points if what you guess is what other people.
25:36
Speaker 3: You want to be part of the herd. You don't
25:38
Speaker 3: want to be the odd man out. You want to
25:40
Speaker 3: get more everybody's going to The more people that come
25:43
Speaker 3: up with the answer, the more points those people get.
25:46
Speaker 3: So you're actually trying to find words that you actually
25:49
Speaker 3: think other people are going to be a guest saying.
25:50
Speaker 3: And that one's a lot of fun as well. And
25:52
Speaker 3: your little little rubber cow in.
25:53
Speaker 2: The middle, and I remember the rubber cow.
25:57
Speaker 1: Whoever is cool it squeeze and sound?
26:00
Speaker 2: I don't know, I don't think so. I think he's
26:01
Speaker 2: just a foam.
26:03
Speaker 3: But one person is it, And you know, they're the
26:06
Speaker 3: ones you know, and then they they're the ones that
26:08
Speaker 3: give the word or whatever else. But yeah, so that's
26:11
Speaker 3: another one.
26:11
Speaker 2: So there's all party games.
26:14
Speaker 3: Those are all and this is the time of year
26:16
Speaker 3: we sell them New Year's. We actually often sell more
26:19
Speaker 3: party games for New Years than we do for Christmas.
26:22
Speaker 3: So the week after Christmas we try to get a
26:25
Speaker 3: lot of party games in stock uh in order to
26:28
Speaker 3: make sure we can meet the demand because a lot
26:31
Speaker 3: of people in New Years they want to play games
26:32
Speaker 3: and film.
26:32
Speaker 2: Midnight rolls around.
26:34
Speaker 1: What would you recommend you've got a big group. You know,
26:37
Speaker 1: somebody's having a you know, expanded family party. There's twenty
26:40
Speaker 1: people there.
26:41
Speaker 3: My favorite for really big groups is Word on the Street.
26:45
Speaker 3: So Word on the Street, it's it's played like a
26:49
Speaker 3: street You have all the consonants in the alphabet in
26:52
Speaker 3: the middle, and my team draws a card and we
26:55
Speaker 3: have to come up with a green vegetable. We discuss it.
27:00
Speaker 3: With big groups, we give a little more time discuss it,
27:02
Speaker 3: and we decide we're going to say broccoli. And if
27:06
Speaker 3: we say broccoli, then we go down and the B
27:09
Speaker 3: moves one, the R moves one.
27:10
Speaker 2: Sorry, it's like a tug of war, so it's.
27:12
Speaker 3: Moving towards all the letters, come towards me, and then
27:17
Speaker 3: come toward our team.
27:18
Speaker 1: L there's two l's, so it gets moved twice.
27:21
Speaker 3: Moves twice, and there's three spaces on each. If it
27:25
Speaker 3: moves three times, it's on our side. And there are
27:27
Speaker 3: a few words, and we wait for you until the
27:29
Speaker 3: end of the game. But then let's say we choose broccoli.
27:32
Speaker 3: And then you guys get a word that's a country
27:35
Speaker 3: in Europe, and you say Denmark. You move the D,
27:39
Speaker 3: the N, the M, the R, and the K towards you.
27:42
Speaker 3: So it's like a word, it's a letter tug of war.
27:45
Speaker 3: And as the game goes on, it's always a race
27:46
Speaker 3: to see who can use yo yo first, you know,
27:49
Speaker 3: because you know you're getting that y over is really
27:51
Speaker 3: hard or yesterday more than yo yo. But you know
27:56
Speaker 3: it has to work. Everyone kind of has to vote
27:58
Speaker 3: and you can veto does not work.
28:00
Speaker 1: So that will work in a big group.
28:02
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, I mean it says eight or twelve
28:04
Speaker 3: on the box. I've played it with twenty five people before,
28:09
Speaker 3: and you just part of the game is everyone's discussing
28:12
Speaker 3: what word to choose.
28:13
Speaker 1: All right, So word on the street that's a good
28:15
Speaker 1: for a big group. Anything else for a big group?
28:17
Speaker 3: Or is I mean with that many we wits and wagers. Okay,
28:23
Speaker 3: so it's what they call like brainless trivia. I don't
28:26
Speaker 3: like trivia games because I always feel like either I
28:28
Speaker 3: feel stupid or somebody else.
28:29
Speaker 2: Is feeling stupid.
28:31
Speaker 1: You don't like usually me.
28:32
Speaker 2: No, you know, you.
28:35
Speaker 3: Get questions in a normal trivia game, a trivial pursuit
28:38
Speaker 3: that it's like, maybe I should know this, but I don't.
28:41
Speaker 3: But wits and wagers will ask questions. It's all based
28:44
Speaker 3: on numbers. So in pounds, what is the heaviest ever
28:48
Speaker 3: that Asumo wrestling champion has wide?
28:51
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, what is.
28:53
Speaker 3: The world record number of tennis balls that a single
28:56
Speaker 3: dog has held in his mouth at one time?
28:58
Speaker 1: Do you know the answer to that?
28:59
Speaker 2: No? I don't.
29:01
Speaker 1: I'm gonna guess I don't know how many that would
29:03
Speaker 1: be though.
29:04
Speaker 3: So the fun thing is is these are questions, and
29:08
Speaker 3: again the game is only meant for eight or ten people.
29:10
Speaker 3: Teams with that one is a lot of fun. I
29:11
Speaker 3: played with one hundred and fifty people at this game
29:13
Speaker 3: convention that we went to. We had a version of
29:16
Speaker 3: that that we played. So the table had to come
29:18
Speaker 3: up with the answer, and then the answer got submitted
29:21
Speaker 3: and the answers are only numbers, and the numbers get
29:24
Speaker 3: put out in a row lowest to highest, and it's
29:27
Speaker 3: just like the price is right. The right answer is
29:30
Speaker 3: the one that's closest to the.
29:31
Speaker 2: Number without going over over.
29:33
Speaker 3: So if the heaviest ever assumer wrestling, I am five
29:36
Speaker 3: hundred pounds and someone has five to ten, that is
29:39
Speaker 3: no longer the right answer. But four hundred and eighty,
29:41
Speaker 3: if no one's in between, that is the right answer.
29:44
Speaker 3: But then you're wagering on who you think is the
29:47
Speaker 3: correct has the correct answer. So I have a brother
29:50
Speaker 3: that's a veterinarian, okay, and he owns huskies. So if
29:54
Speaker 3: the question came up the world record number of tennis
29:56
Speaker 3: balls held in the mouth, I'm gonna look don't don't know,
30:00
Speaker 3: but I'm going to look at that and I'll see
30:03
Speaker 3: what he did, and I'm going to wager that his
30:05
Speaker 3: answer is right, and then I might have another wager,
30:09
Speaker 3: but just in case this person does this. And so
30:12
Speaker 3: typically you get more points by wagering who is right
30:17
Speaker 3: than you are by being right.
30:19
Speaker 1: And I mean all the answers are displayed, everybody wagers,
30:23
Speaker 1: and then you reveal it, and then you reveal one
30:25
Speaker 1: person have to run the game, or can you.
30:27
Speaker 3: So the one person who is reading it off is
30:30
Speaker 3: the person at that point who reads the question and
30:35
Speaker 3: they put them out in order, and they don't they
30:37
Speaker 3: don't do anything other than that, and then it just
30:38
Speaker 3: shifts to the next person. So the normal version of
30:42
Speaker 3: the game actually uses like a little poker chips, so
30:43
Speaker 3: you're literally wagering and the board has like payouts like
30:48
Speaker 3: one to one, two to one, three to one, two
30:50
Speaker 3: to one, so based on where it is, the numbers
30:54
Speaker 3: in the middle have a better payout or a worse
30:56
Speaker 3: payout than others. But then there's the Family Edition that
31:00
Speaker 3: literally you're just putting markers out and if you have
31:04
Speaker 3: a big it's a mepal. So you put your big
31:06
Speaker 3: meal out and that's right, you get two points. The
31:09
Speaker 3: little one, if that's right, you get one point. You
31:10
Speaker 3: can put them both on the same one, and that
31:13
Speaker 3: one tends to be a little easier with bigger groups.
31:15
Speaker 3: You can play the regular edition. I mean it's not
31:18
Speaker 3: like there's inappropriate questions in it. They do make the
31:21
Speaker 3: questions in the Family edition a little easier for kids.
31:25
Speaker 1: Than the wits and wagers. So what's the best thing.
31:28
Speaker 1: You know, we're wrapping up. What's the best thing about
31:30
Speaker 1: what you do? What's your favorite part of it?
31:32
Speaker 3: You know, I just from a business downpoyte. I love
31:35
Speaker 3: the fact that now instead of taking up a job,
31:38
Speaker 3: I'm providing jobs for other people, and people come to
31:40
Speaker 3: us for fun.
31:42
Speaker 1: So out of the Box you've got Holland and a
31:44
Speaker 1: Zealand location. What are the hours? Give those out?
31:47
Speaker 3: So Zealand is ten to ten Monday to Friday, ten
31:50
Speaker 3: to six Saturday, and Holland is ten to eight Monday
31:55
Speaker 3: through Saturday.
31:55
Speaker 1: All right, Jeff Rietfeld from Out of the Box, thanks
31:59
Speaker 1: for hanging out.
32:00
Speaker 2: Thank you.
32:00
Speaker 1: Remember there's a ton more to that interview, including a
32:03
Speaker 1: quick demo of another game that Jeff never mentioned on
32:06
Speaker 1: the radio or podcast version. It's a popular game, crazy
32:10
Speaker 1: quick to play, and it's all about little ducks being
32:13
Speaker 1: abducted by aliens. It's called Abduction. He breaks it out
32:16
Speaker 1: and talks about it on the video, So head over
32:18
Speaker 1: to repco Light's YouTube channel check out the full length interview.
32:21
Speaker 1: All right, now, let's take a break, and when we
32:23
Speaker 1: come back, I've got some space heater safety tips. It's
32:25
Speaker 1: getting colder out there. Let's make sure you and your
32:28
Speaker 1: family stay safe. That's coming up. Stick around and we're back.
32:36
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Rep Coo Light home improvement shows
32:39
Speaker 1: sponsored by Benjamin Moore. And in this last segment today,
32:42
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about space heaters, space heaters. Safety.
32:47
Speaker 1: Space heaters. They're great when winter rolls in. They're convenient, right,
32:51
Speaker 1: They're portable, easy, easy ways to make spaces in our
32:55
Speaker 1: home more comfortable. I use them all the time at home.
32:58
Speaker 1: Got one. It's my favorite little space heater of all time.
33:02
Speaker 1: And yeah, there's nothing better than propping my little feet,
33:06
Speaker 1: you know, when I've got clean socks on. Let me
33:09
Speaker 1: tell you, prop on your feet when you don't have
33:11
Speaker 1: clean socks on, right in front of that space heater
33:13
Speaker 1: and letting you know, all of those juices cook and
33:17
Speaker 1: then blow through the room. It's not cozy, it's not comfortable,
33:22
Speaker 1: but when you've got clean feet and clean socks, it's wonderful.
33:25
Speaker 1: Sorry that I've gone there. That's that's how my brain works.
33:29
Speaker 1: It's just how it is. Anyway. Space heaters, let's talk
33:32
Speaker 1: about some safety things because while they are fun, they
33:35
Speaker 1: are comfortable, and all of those things they do come
33:36
Speaker 1: with some risks. Especially when it comes to how you're
33:39
Speaker 1: powering them. And I want to talk specifically about extension
33:42
Speaker 1: cords and power strips. You know, first off, space heaters.
33:45
Speaker 1: They're needy little fellas. You know, they're the dans of
33:51
Speaker 1: I don't really know what that would mean. I'm needy,
33:53
Speaker 1: they're needy. I can't make the analogy right now. On
33:56
Speaker 1: the fly. You make your own analogy. They're need And
34:00
Speaker 1: what I mean is they typically draw a ton of power,
34:03
Speaker 1: you know, fifteen hundred watts, eighteen hundred watts. They draw
34:06
Speaker 1: all that power. That's enough to warm a room, but
34:08
Speaker 1: it's also enough to overwhelm you know, a lot of
34:11
Speaker 1: extension cords and power strips. Many of the cords, many
34:15
Speaker 1: of the power strips that we would reach for in
34:17
Speaker 1: a home to power space heater just weren't built to
34:20
Speaker 1: handle that much sustained electricity. You know. The extension cords specifically,
34:25
Speaker 1: they've got thinner wires, often the ones that we would grab,
34:28
Speaker 1: and when you plug in a heater, the demand can
34:32
Speaker 1: make those wires, those thinner wires heat up fast and
34:35
Speaker 1: sometimes to dangerous levels. And here's the thing. With all
34:38
Speaker 1: of that, you're not going to notice the problem usually
34:41
Speaker 1: right away. At first, it might just feel like the
34:44
Speaker 1: cord or the plug is getting warm to the touch,
34:46
Speaker 1: if you've ever had that. But over time, especially if
34:49
Speaker 1: the cord is cheap, if it's thin, if it's kept
34:52
Speaker 1: coiled up or something like that, that heat can really
34:54
Speaker 1: build up over time and it can soften and eventually
34:57
Speaker 1: melt the plastic installation of the cord. Now, it's kind
35:00
Speaker 1: of strange when we talk about these things from time
35:03
Speaker 1: to time, you know, extension cords and the possibility of
35:06
Speaker 1: the insulation melting. There are people who dispute that. There's
35:10
Speaker 1: a lot of people online that dispute it. Every now
35:12
Speaker 1: and then we'll get an email where, you know, people
35:14
Speaker 1: will point out that that's just not how it works,
35:16
Speaker 1: that they've used extension cords in this manner for years
35:19
Speaker 1: and they've had no problems. And I can't dispute that.
35:21
Speaker 1: I get that, you know, you haven't had a problem
35:23
Speaker 1: with it, and people online haven't had had problems with
35:26
Speaker 1: these things. Some people haven't. But my response really is
35:31
Speaker 1: that just because it hasn't caused a problem in the
35:33
Speaker 1: past for you doesn't mean it's safe. It doesn't mean
35:36
Speaker 1: it's the best way to go doesn't mean it's the
35:38
Speaker 1: right practice. You know, electrical systems, they don't always fail immediately.
35:42
Speaker 1: The risks can accumulate over time, and there really certainly
35:46
Speaker 1: is tons of evidence that overloading a power strip or
35:49
Speaker 1: using an extension cord with a space heater is dangerous.
35:52
Speaker 1: You know a lot of evidence that shows that. Statistics
35:55
Speaker 1: show that roughly fifty percent of home electrical fires involves
35:58
Speaker 1: some type of extension cord or overloaded circuit, and space
36:03
Speaker 1: heaters usually one of the most common culprits. The National
36:07
Speaker 1: Fire Protection Association and pretty much every fire department out there.
36:12
Speaker 1: I didn't have the opportunity to check with all of them,
36:14
Speaker 1: but when you dig into it, it seems most every
36:18
Speaker 1: single one of them is going to recommend that you
36:20
Speaker 1: plug your space heater directly into a wall outlet, with
36:23
Speaker 1: no exceptions. Now you might be wondering, what if I
36:26
Speaker 1: absolutely have to use an extension card. You know, maybe
36:29
Speaker 1: there's somebody out there. It's how it works in my home,
36:32
Speaker 1: I have to use one. My outlet's way over there.
36:34
Speaker 1: My chairs are here, This is where I sit, this
36:37
Speaker 1: is where my feet need to be, this is where
36:39
Speaker 1: the heater needs to be to warm my feet and
36:41
Speaker 1: make them toasty. I need that extension cord. If that's
36:44
Speaker 1: you and you absolutely have to use one, it needs
36:47
Speaker 1: to be a heavy duty cord that's rated for at
36:49
Speaker 1: least fifteen amps. And even then, even then, it's still
36:54
Speaker 1: safer to rearrange your setup and skip that cord altogether.
36:57
Speaker 1: All right, as we wrap this up, here's some quick tips,
37:00
Speaker 1: some last minute things, you know, just four things, real
37:03
Speaker 1: quick to help you and your family stay safe and
37:05
Speaker 1: warm this winter when you're using your space heater. First off,
37:08
Speaker 1: as we just said, always plug your space heater directly
37:11
Speaker 1: into a wall outlet. No power strips, no light duty
37:14
Speaker 1: chords and power strips. They might seem sturdier to you
37:18
Speaker 1: than standard extension cords, and you might be tempted to
37:21
Speaker 1: think that that's going to be all right, but these
37:23
Speaker 1: things are still not designed for the sustained high power
37:26
Speaker 1: demand of space heaters. You know, the potential for overheating,
37:29
Speaker 1: even with high quality power strips makes them an unsafe choice.
37:33
Speaker 1: So always plug that space heater directly into the wall outlet.
37:36
Speaker 1: That's your best bet. Check your wall outlet. That's a
37:38
Speaker 1: second tip. Make sure it's in good condition with no
37:41
Speaker 1: loose connections or signs of wear. Third, inspect your cords,
37:45
Speaker 1: and I'm talking the space heater cord itself. If you
37:47
Speaker 1: have a tendency to bend them, to wrap them up,
37:50
Speaker 1: to twist them, stop doing that. Damaged chords they're a
37:53
Speaker 1: major fire hazard, So make sure the cord for your
37:56
Speaker 1: space heater is in good shape. Finally, don't overload the circuits.
38:00
Speaker 1: Avoid running other high wattage appliances like a microwave or
38:03
Speaker 1: a vacuum on the same circuit as your space heater.
38:06
Speaker 1: Space heaters they're great to have around. They're cozy little items,
38:10
Speaker 1: especially as we head into our Michigan winner. Just make
38:12
Speaker 1: sure you're using them the right way to keep your
38:15
Speaker 1: home and your family safe. All Right, that's it for today.
38:17
Speaker 1: We're going to wrap this one up, but before I do,
38:19
Speaker 1: I want to remind everybody out there that all Benjamin
38:22
Speaker 1: Moore Regal Select Eggshell and matt both of those finishes
38:26
Speaker 1: are thirty percent off all month long at Repcolite. It's
38:29
Speaker 1: a huge savings and it's worth grabbing some paint if
38:32
Speaker 1: you've got a project coming up. Also, normally I run
38:35
Speaker 1: a Christmas contest on the show, and maybe you've noticed
38:39
Speaker 1: that I haven't done that this year. Well it's not
38:41
Speaker 1: because I forgot, and it's not because I got stingy
38:44
Speaker 1: and skipped it. I'm actually pushing it back until the
38:48
Speaker 1: beginning of the new year. We're going to be running
38:50
Speaker 1: a New Year, New Look contest starting January four, and
38:53
Speaker 1: it's going to run all January long. There's going to
38:55
Speaker 1: be multiple winners, lots of great prizes, and much more
38:59
Speaker 1: info coming up. So stay tuned to the show and
39:01
Speaker 1: you'll get the scoop before everybody else. So that's cool,
39:04
Speaker 1: all right. Whatever you do today makes your paints a
39:06
Speaker 1: part of it. Have a great weekend, everybody, and I'll
39:08
Speaker 1: see you next week. I'm Dan Hansen. Thanks for listening.