In recent years, aromatherapy has become quite mainstream in popular thinking. However, the image that generally comes to mind relates entirely to its fragrance, used for relaxation or to cover odors.

What most people dont realize, however, is that the essential oils used in aromatherapy have a potential that extends far beyond this. They were, in fact, mankinds first medicine. Through their combined influences of fragrance, aromatic molecules and frequency, essential oils can affect you emotionally, mentally and physically.

Aromatherapy is, after all, much more than just the smell.

What aromatherapy can do for you:

The benefits of aromatherapy are just too extensive to fully cover here. However, essential oils have powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties that make them ideal for many different uses. They can be used to support the bodys organs and glands, as well as to boost immunity. They can be relaxing or invigorating, and soothing to sore muscles. Some oils are great at relieving pain.

Their fragrant influence can lift your mood, quiet and sooth the heart, clear the mind and help with mental function. It can also be emotionally balancing, stimulate the release of hormones and neurotransmitters and detoxify the whole body. Diffused into a room, they oxygenate and purify the air, neutralizing indoor air pollutants. Theyre also great for getting rid of spiders and mice.

Ways to use essential oils effectively:

The three primary ways of experiencing aromatherapy are aromatically, topically and through ingestion.

Aromatically: The first, and simplest, way to use essential oils is through inhalation. There are a few ways you can do this:

1. Inhaling the fragrance directly from the bottle;
2. Diffusing the oil with a cold-air diffuser.
3. Wearing the oil as a perfume, and letting your bodys warmth diffuse the oil,
4. Putting a few drops of oil on your pillow at night to create a therapeutic - or romantic - effect.

What you never want to do is diffuse the oil with a heat source, like a candle or light bulb. The heat will fracture the delicate chemistry of the oil. You should also avoid using an electrical current to diffuse the oil. Wall outlet diffusers disrupt the oils frequency. Both effectively destroy the oils therapeutic effect

Topically: Everyone knows about massage, but there are other ways to topically apply essential oils that are very effective.

1. RainDrop Technique: Simply stated, this is a method of dropping the oils along the spine from about six inches up, and then massaging in the oils, using feather-like strokes.
2. Vita Flex Technique: This is something like reflexology, except that the oils are applied with essentially no finger pressure.
3. Neat application: Many of the oils can be applied, without dilution, almost anywhere on the body with great effect.

Ingestion: Essential oils also make great supplements. Diluted in honey or agave nectar, or diluted with vegetable oil and placed in capsules, ingesting aromatics can have a powerful effect on your health, boosting immunity and supporting various body systems.

Essential oil quality: The key to effective aromatherapy

But, whichever method you choose for your aromatherapy application, you must use a quality oil for it to be safe and effective. About 98% of the oils produced in the world today are not made for aromatherapy - although they are sold for aromatherapy. When purchasing your essential oils, make sure they are truly therapeutic-grade.

About Author

Therapeutic-Grade.com provides more tips about
Getting the most
from your aromatherapy experience. See
What an
aromatherapy session looks like and learn about
Aromatherapy: It’s far more than just the smell.

Source: ArticleTrader.com

More: continued here

Bookmark to:

Most homeowners are unaware that the majority of water heaters have a magnesium bar called an anode rod installed in their heater. It can be identified by looking at the top of the water heater for a hexagonal fitting. This rod is designed to help keep the tank from corroding by simply beating it to the punch and corroding first. However, when the bar finally corrodes and falls apart, your tank is the next target for corrosion. Believe it or not, you can increase the life of your water heater substantially by making sure that this anode rod is replaced before it disappears. A rule of thumb is to replace the rod every three to four years depending on the corrosiveness of your water. If you dont have this hexagonal fitting on the top of your water heater, make sure that the next water heater does because it can potentially double the useful life of your water heater saving you a lot of cash.

The replacement of the anode rod is fairly simple and straightforward. Turn off the cold water supply to your water heater first. Next, turn off the gas line or the circuit breaker. Using a standard garden hose attached to the drain at the bottom of the heater, remove several gallons of water. Remove the anode rod with a pipe wrench or similar tool. Sometimes a long handled tool is necessary to get enough leverage to loosen the fitting.

Purchase a comparable anode rod at your local hardware store, home center or plumbing supply house. If a bendable rod is available, consider purchasing it to make installation easier if you have little headroom to work with. Remember, the old rod will probably be only a fragment of its original length and wont give you a true idea of the room you need to install its replacement. Before installing the new anode rod, wrap the threads with Teflon tape to create a better seal. Make a note of when you made the replacement on or near the water heater (my wife recently asked me when the I replaced the air filter on our furnace - I said it was just a few weeks ago - actually it was seven weeks earlier - time does have a habit of getting away from us).

Another problem that homeowners face with water heaters are occasional bumps and other strange sounds coming from their water heater. These noises are a result of steam that is being generated inside the water heater. This steam results from the flame heating accumulated junk resting on the bottom of the heater. The water lodged inside the junk becomes hot enough to create steam bubbles, which eventually rise and turn back into hot water. When these steam bubbles burst, they create those unpleasant sounds.

Unfortunately, if you have hard water, this junk in the form of scale and sediment form fairly quickly and need to be drained every few weeks. You need to put this task on the calendar (you do have a calendar?) so time doesnt slip away. Nearly all hot water heaters have a drain near the bottom of the tank. Using a standard garden hoe, drain off several gallons of water that should be loaded with the aforementioned junk. When you eventually replace the water heater, look for a model that has a device built-in that reduces the volume of sediment that builds up.

Lime buildup is common in toilet bowls. The fix is easy. First, shut off the valve that supplies water to the toilet and then flush the toilet several times until it is empty. Soak paper towels with distilled white vinegar and lay them over the lime deposits letting them soak for a few hours. After removing the towels, use a scrub brush to remove any remaining lime sediment.

For the ambitious, you can keep your house drains open by using a recipe of a cup of baking soda, a cup of regular salt and a fourth of a cup of cream of tartar powder. You only need about a quarter of a cup of this solution per drain, adding a few cups of boiling water as a chaser.

Ah, the caulking between the tub and the wall. It seems that no matter who does the job or what they use, cracks will eventually appear. Before making repairs, fill the tub with water, which will weigh it down slightly. Roll up your pants (or whatever) and apply the caulk. When you drain the tub, it moves upward slightly, compressing the caulk and eliminating the possibility of ending up with new cracks the first time you use the bathtub.

About Author

Chuck Lunsford is the content manager for LightnBreezy.com, a well-known source for home improvement ceiling fans and lighting fixtures. If you have more questions about other home repair topics visit us at do-it-yourself plumbing repairs.

Source: ArticleTrader.com

More: continued here

Bookmark to:

Hydroponics gardening makes a great hobby anytime of year, but especially during those dark cold winter months. In this system of indoor gardening, plants are grown without using soil. Instead, they are grown in a growing medium, feeding off of nutrient solution. As with any type of indoor gardening method, hydroponics gardening requires the use of grow lights in order for the plants to be able to synthesize food, grow, and reproduce, producing flowers or fruit. HID lights are often used for this purpose. HID, or high-intensity discharge lights, come in several varieties, including metal halide grow lights and HPS grow lights. All HID lights require a digital ballast in order to control electrical current through the lamp and ensure its proper function. Most also benefit from being used in conjunction with a reflector, which will direct and intensify the light that the bulb produces. LED grow lights are also very popular. These lightweight lights, using light- emitting diodes, produce a lot of light in colors useful for plant growth, and are cost effective as well. All of these lamps make great grow lights for hydroponics.

Metal halide grow lights consist of an arc tube made of alumina, inside of which is argon, mercury vapor and a variety of metals. The different metals give color to the light the lamp produces. The argon gas is used to get the lamp going at first when electrical current is introduced inside the arc tube from electrodes on either end. The arc of current vaporizes the metals and mercury, and thus light is produced. The benefit of using these lamps is that for such small bulbs they produce a lot of light, and are efficient to run.

HPS grow lights are also called high-pressure sodium lights. Like the MH lights, HPS lights also use an alumina arc tube. Inside this tube you will find sodium, mercury, and the noble gas Xenon to get the light started. Like the metal halide lights, HPS lights also require a ballast for their use, to stabilize their operation.

LED grow lights are similar in function to the lights you might see on Christmas trees during holiday times. They are a small, efficient and very bright light. The diode functions as a semi-conductor, and there are two crystals in this type of bulb. LED bulbs light up when electrical current moves from one crystal to the other. The light produced is surrounded by a reflector and is used with a lens to emit the light where you want it to go.

All of the aforementioned grow lights work well to grow your indoor plants to full horticultural splendor. They are also economical to run, and can be selected in terms of the color spectrum of light they produce in order to provide your specific plants with what they need to thrive.

About Author

As the owner of a hydroponics gardening supply store, Susan Slobac has a great deal of experience using grow lights for hydroponics gardening. She discusses the differences between LED grow lights, metal halide grow lights and HPS grow lights.

Source: ArticleTrader.com

More: continued here

Bookmark to: