5 Reasons Great Web Design Will Encourage Visitors To Stay On Your Real Estate Company’s Website For Longer

Healthy Homes

Your website has many aims which can help your real estate company, and one aim which may not be apparent to many business owners is to retain visitors for as long as possible. As the experienced web design experts advise their clients, the longer a person spends on a website, the better it is for conversions, and for SEO.

Now, it should be pointed out that when we say retain people on a website, we are not looking to force anyone to stay there any longer than they wish, so we are not going to be suggesting some dodgy hack that stops them from clicking away. Instead, we want to do this positively, so that rather than visitors being forced to remain on your website, they are actually perfectly happy to remain there for a considerable time.

The question which we must now answer is how do we achieve this highly desirable scenario, and the answer is, in several ways, which are all related to the design of your website. These can either be incorporated into any new website’s design or on existing websites, introduced by implementing changes to its design.

Fast Website Loading Speeds Mean They Will Not Immediately Click Away

We live in an impatient world, and that is especially the case online. This means if your website does not open within a second or two of someone clicking through, then they are out of there quicker than you can say, “Come Back!”. The problem is, they will not come back, ever, and so everything must be done within your website’s design to ensure it loads in all browsers quickly.

Read More

Maximizing Your Move with Skilled House and Garden Removal Services

Healthy Homes

When you’re moving, it can feel like you have too many things to do at once. Moving your life from one place to another is more than just moving your things. Professional house and garden removal services play a huge role in this exciting journey. They bring order to the chaos and make a process that could be stressful into a smooth, easy transition.

Why Consider Professional Removalists?

Making the choice to hire professional removalists might seem like an extra step at first. But the benefits are much greater than the costs and ease of use that were first thought of. These professionals do more than just move your things; they give you peace of mind. You can enjoy the excitement of moving to a new place without having to worry about how to get there.

  • Getting rid of stress: This is the most obvious benefit. You can breathe easier when you know your things are in good hands.
  • Precision and speed are important for these teams’ work. They know how to quickly and safely pack, load, and move things, so your things will get to their new home undamaged.
  • Full-Service Packages: A lot of moving companies offer full-service packages that include packing, loading, transporting, unloading, and even helping you get settled in your new home. This full-service approach can make your life a lot easier.

The Garden Too? Absolutely.

Moving a garden is another area where professionals really shine. Their tools and knowledge will make sure that your plants and garden furniture get to their new home safely and that they do well there. They are different because they pay attention to every part of your home.

Read More

10 Landscaping Trends That Are Currently Popular In Warmer Climates

Healthy Homes

It hopefully will not come as a surprise to learn that landscaping in cities and towns with a warm climate will look very different from that in other parts of the world with a colder climate.

When you consider that much of what exists within landscaped gardens is dependent upon the local climate and the local soil, then it logically follows that what might grow successfully in the landscaped gardens of Canada, New York, or London might not do as well in Mexico or Perth, for example, and vice versa.

Whilst the geographical location can impact upon what is included in local landscape designs, so can local landscaping trends. It is true to say that non-natural features such as paving, decking, and ornaments are not as influenced by local conditions as plants, however, there will still be trends that occur locally within landscape designs, rather than universally.

The landscaping professionals from Botanical Landscapes have given us their expert advice, so, if you are wondering what the landscaping trends that are currently popular amongst both homeowners and landscape designers in Warmer Climates are, please read on. We will outline the current top ten for you.

Read More
Reduce Office Water Usage

How Can We Reduce Office Water Usage

Healthy Homes

Many small business owners don’t realise just how much reducing their office water usage can help the environment. Let’s imagine that you run a small SEO company. You don’t use significant amounts of water during everyday work processes, so you shouldn’t have to worry about wasting too much precious life juice, right?

Wrong!

Once you’ve finished reading this article, you might be amazed by just how much water you can save in the office, regardless of the type of business you run. And water saving is becoming increasingly valuable, especially when Australia’s regular droughts and severe water shortages are taken into account.

Here are a few of the easiest ways to reduce water usage in your office:

Ensure Your Plumbing Is Properly Maintained

Even a small drip can lead to huge volumes of wasted water every year and that you need plumbing service immediately. Let’s look at a little example:

If a tap drips 20 times per minute, you will be wasting approximately 600mL per hour. Multiply this by 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and a slowly dripping tap will be wasting over 5250 litres per year.

That’s right, even a slow drip will waste over 5 cubic meters of water per year! I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how important it is to get these fixed.

Tagged Read More
Enhance Your Lifestyle

4 Ways a Garden Can Enhance Your Lifestyle

Healthy Homes

Having some landscaping done on your property not only adds to the value of it but also enhances your lifestyle. Everyone loves to be surrounded by beauty, but when that beauty also provides a place where it is convenient and comfortable to relax in you really enjoy being there. And knowing that your property looks fantastic is a source of great satisfaction and pride.

There are many different kinds of gardens and what you choose will depend on many things.kinds of gardens

  • The climate – rain, sunshine, snow, frost, wind and even slope all play a big part in the garden and should be taken into consideration when planning the design.
  • The size of your property is another important element. If you have a tiny courtyard, you’ll need a different kind of design than if your property is on a rural block, or even has a larger backyard.
  • Your lifestyle needs must also be taken into consideration. If you have children or pets, leaving space for them to play and run is necessary. If you love to dine outdoors, you’ll want to create a haven with outdoor furniture.
Tagged Read More

A Simple Guide To Using Composting Within Your Landscaped Garden

Healthy Homes

It is undoubtedly true that a landscape design will need to take account of local conditions, climate, and soils so that anything planted within that landscaped garden has the best possible chance of thriving. For example, landscaping in Perth, Western Australia, will have many different plants created in its namesake in Scotland.

However, regardless of whether a residence is in Perth WA, or Perth, Scotland, there will also be some landscaping and gardening principles that remain constant, one of which is the use of compost. Composting has been a core element of gardening for centuries, and the reason it remains a crucial means of helping a landscaped garden to thrive is because it has many benefits for most of the plants that grow within it.

Unfortunately, not everyone who has a landscaped garden is fully aware of why composting is beneficial and, more to the point, how to create it or use it effectively. For those reasons, we have created a short guide to creating and using compost, which we hope you find helpful.

Why Use Compost?

There are several reasons why compost is considered by many to be essential within gardens of all kinds, including landscaped gardens. The first and most important is that compost provides plants with much-needed nutrients. Secondly, compost is effectively free as much of it consists of food scraps and other organic matter that would otherwise be thrown away.

Read More

7 Advantages Of 24/7 Access Rental Storage Units For Residential Customers

Healthy Homes

Access and access times are among the most important factors to consider when renting a secure storage facility in Melbourne. Some storage facilities for residential customers only allow access during certain hours, which can be inconvenient if you need to retrieve something from your unit outside of those hours. However, many storage facilities now offer 24/7 access to your secure storage unit, so let us explore seven advantages of 24/7 access to commercial storage.

Advantage #1 – Maximum Flexibility: One of the main advantages of 24/7 access to your rental storage unit is its flexibility. With access available around the clock, you can retrieve items from your unit whenever convenient, even outside regular business hours. This can be especially helpful if you work odd hours or have a busy schedule. Note that some storage facilities allow access outside business hours by appointment only.

Advantage #2 – Extremely Convenient: Having 24/7 access to your rental storage unit is also incredibly convenient. You do not have to worry about trying to fit a trip to the storage facility into your busy schedule during regular business hours. Instead, you can make arrangements to visit your storage unit whenever it is most convenient for you, whether early in the morning, late at night, or on the weekend.

Read More
Colorbond Steel Roofing

How Colorbond Steel Roofing is Tested

Healthy Homes

Everything is tested before it is released to the public market: cars and all their components, electronic devices, new or different tools, and new building materials. Colorbond roofing steel is tested in various conditions all over Australia, from harsh marine environments where salt can corrode to urban areas with smog and pollution and on to the stunning heat and dust of the outback.

The roofing panels in different colors are put up to simulate a roof in these areas until experts come and test them on sight or take them down for examination in the factory to see what wear and tear – if any – has occurred. You may be amazed to know that 12,000 steel sheets are being tested. This gives the Australian public peace of mind that the products have withstood the test of time. After all, the climate in Australia varies from extremely hot to cold ice and snow, from dusty and dry to cold sleet, hail, and teeming thunderstorms, as well as the humidity of tropical locations.

Tagged Read More

5 Key Reasons To Vacuum Clean Your Carpets At Least Once Per Week

Healthy Homes

Many machines can be classified as carpet cleaners, but the vacuum cleaner is used in almost every home and office. Whilst home cleaners and the professional carpet cleaners who work for them may invest in many types of top-specification carpet cleaning equipment for the work they do, they will all have at least one vacuum cleaner as part of their carpet cleaning arsenal.

Indeed, looking back through the history of how carpets have been cleaned since the start of the 20th century, we find that motorised vacuum cleaners have been at the forefront of carpet cleaning in domestic and commercial settings.

Vacuum cleaners have also been subject to giant leaps in technology and development, which has seen them take on various forms. Today, we even have robotic vacuum cleaners that require a human to switch them on and off, automatically vacuuming carpets.

As for most people, their vacuum cleaners are not robotic and thus still need a natural person to operate them. These can range from small portable vacuum cleaners using bags to upright cyclonic vacuum cleaners with a cylinder instead of a bag. Whilst there might be many design, technical, and specification differences between vacuum cleaners, there are several things that they all have in common, namely the benefits of using them to help clean carpets.

Tagged Read More
Vacuum Cleaning the New Carpet

Steam Cleaning Versus Shampooing – A Guide To Deciding Which Is Right For Your Carpets

Healthy Homes

There are many methods used by professional carpet cleaners when they are hired by clients, and it will often be the case that there are two carpet cleaning techniques that could be used at a particular location. The choice made will be based on the specifics of the carpet cleaning job, the types of carpets, and possibly even the budget of the client depending on which services they are prepared or able to pay for.

In most cases, it will be the advice of the professional carpet cleaner that will carry the most weight, and there are scenarios where that advice relates to whether steam cleaning carpets or shampooing carpets is the best option. There can be several factors that influence the choice as well as a consideration of the pros and cons of each of the carpet cleaning methods.

If you are reading this but unsure of what exactly shampooing or steam cleaning carpets entails, and would like more details on how each might be the right choice for your carpet cleaning needs, read on and we will seek to enlighten you.

Tagged Read More
Air Conditioning for Landlords

The Importance of Air Conditioning for Landlords

Healthy Homes

If you have a home or a flat for an investment, you will know the importance of renting it out, mainly if you use the income from it to pay it off. If your investment property is empty for just a few weeks, it can be challenging to meet the repayments. Even if the property is fully paid for, you still want the income to be available regularly. Air conditioning is one addition that can help you achieve this.

There are very few climates where the weather is perfect all the time. Sometimes it’s too hot; other times of the year, it is really cold. Even in temperate climates, this is the case.  Traditionally, many homes have some heating built into them, but if they don’t, it’s easy to purchase heaters of various kinds. Funnily enough, it’s not so easy to get the air cooled as it is to get it heated.

Yes, there are fans, and these do a good job as long as it’s not too hot. But when the mercury soars, a fan blows hot air around. You can have the plug-in air conditioner that can be wheeled from room to room. It adds water to the top so a fan blows through it and comes out cooler. A bit, anyway. These units are very heavy to move, even though they have wheels. And they are extremely noisy, so they’ve never really taken off. Plus, they are expensive to purchase, considering they are inefficient.

To keep your tenants happy, having split system air conditioning installed in your investment premises is far better. These are far more efficient even than the window-type air conditioners that are noisy and expensive to run, not to mention taking up window space – unless installed in a hole in the wall. Don’t let your tenants do that because there is no guarantee that they will do a decent job of it.

Tagged Read More
10 Pro Tips For Pressure Cleaning Concrete Driveways, Paths, And Patios

10 Pro Tips For Pressure Cleaning Concrete Driveways, Paths, And Patios

Healthy Homes

There are several parts of the exterior of your home where you can use pressure cleaning to remove dirt, grime, grease, mould, mildew and for limestone cleaning. Some parts of that exterior tend to get dirtier than others and they are the ones you might stand, walk, park your car on or be using as contruction materials.

Your patio, your pathways, and your drive all tend to get the worst of it for several reasons. The most obvious is the fact that as they are at the lowest level all manner of debris, dust, dirt, etc. will land on them. As these are also what you will be walking on or parking your car on, it makes them more susceptible as the dirt gets ground in, or worst of all, oil and grease leaks from the car make an unsightly mess on the drive.

As we said, pressure cleaning is the ideal way to clean all of these solid surfaces, but it has to be done correctly. As such, we thought it would be useful to provide some tips on pressure cleaning, paths, drives and patios. Read on, and will discover ten pro pressure cleaning tips specifically concerning pressure cleaning those concrete surfaces around your home.

Pro Tip #1 – Plan Everything Properly: As with any task, proper planning is essential, including choosing the day and time, hiring your pressure cleaner, and ensuring you have the correct detergents.

Tagged , , Read More

Why Labelling Jars Is Essential To Effectively Organising Your Kitchen

Healthy Homes

There are many ways and methods that you can use to organise your kitchen, but in almost every circumstance that is going to involve using jars and pantry labels. You may have a pantry, shelves, drawers, cupboards, and all manner of storage containers, but in most kitchens, it is the jars and the kitchen labels which are going to be used more than most to help store and organise everything.

You might be asking why that would be the case, and there are a few reasons. The first is that jars have always been the sort of containers that are ideal for storing food items and ingredients in a kitchen. These include:

  • Cereals
  • Pastas
  • Rices
  • Vegetables
  • Jams
  • Preserves
  • Biscuits
  • Cakes
  • Spices
  • Herbs
  • Pickles

You will probably know of some more, but even with that list, you must agree that jars are perfect for storing all kinds of foods and ingredients. The reason that is the case is first that most jars are made from glass. As such, there is no danger of anything seeping out of them, and conversely, no risk of anything external reaching what is in the jar and contaminating it in any way.

Tagged , Read More
Torque Wrench Basics And Selection Checklist

Torque Wrench Basics And Selection Checklist

Healthy Homes

Although a torque wrench is a tool that you would most commonly find being used in industries such as power generation, water and gas supplies, manufacturing and construction, some scenarios come under the umbrella of home DIY that torque wrenches can be used too. Examples include car maintenance and some repairs to home heating, plumbing and air conditioning systems.

Whilst many people may have heard of torque wrenches, far fewer have seen one close up, and even fewer have used them. For this reason, when the need for a torque wrench arises, they are unsure what they need, and how they should be used correctly. That is why in this post we are going to outline some of the basics regarding torque wrenches, plus provide you with a simple checklist for selecting the most appropriate torque wrench.

What Is A Torque Wrench?

Most people will be aware that a wrench is a tool that is used to tighten nuts and bolts, and you will not be too surprised to learn that is exactly what a torque wrench does too. However, the crucial word in its name is “torque” and it is this that sets it apart from ordinary wrenches.

Tagged , Read More
Most Common Landscaping Problems Solved

Most Common Landscaping Problems Solved

Healthy Homes

Most homeowners understand that landscaping adds to the overall appeal of their property. As a result, they might hire an expert to lend a helping hand or try to create beautifully landscaped grounds on their own.

However, regardless of your route, you may face some common but frustrating problems. Read on to find out what these are and the solutions to these problems provided by the landscaping experts at martincuthbert.com.au.

Rocky Terrain

If you’ve ever tried to pitch a tent on your lawn and made contact with one rock after another with your tent pegs, you will quickly discover that you’ve got quite a rocky terrain. This may not be a problem if all you have is a lawn, but it can prove challenging if you’re trying to create new landscape designs in your backyard.

They can still happen, but you may need to make a few design changes. Consider creating a rocky garden to give those underground rocks a useful purpose. You can then pair them with hardy, strong, and beautiful plants like succulents that thrive in challenging environments.

Tagged , , Read More