Spring, Spring, Spring! Have I mentioned that word enough on the blog lately? I'm so bloody thankful Spring is here! For me, it means one main thing - gardening. I absolutely love gardening, more than I love painting walls (which if you don't know, is a freaking lot!). I'm not going to lie - I'm no professional gardener. I have a lot to learn, but my garden is my "happy place". Dust cannot accumulate, mess is easily hidden thanks to the alley at the back (much to our neighbours dismay, I'm sure!) and it's just a pretty place to sit and listen to birds and silence. Who am I kidding, it's mostly the dogs yapping and kids screaming in the background. But I don't mind any of that on a beautifully sunny day!
With the Sunday prior to the Easter weekend pinned as "First Cut Sunday", Flymo sent me their new lawnmower, the Mighti-Mo 300 Li to review for this years first garden trim! And just take a look at this grass - it was in a SERIOUS need of a mow!
I think a well cut lawn can actually make or break a garden. Overgrown plants can be quite attractive at times and even weeds can be passed off in a "wild garden" theme. But a long lawn is just untidy and a serious nuisance when it comes to picking up dog poop. (Sorry if that's TMI!) Of all the 'around the house' jobs I'm likely to slack at - mowing the lawn is not one of them. I love a short lawn, one that almost looks carpet-like and since our grass grows crazy quick, I end up doing plenty of mowing over the Spring/Summer months and I actually rather enjoy it! So I was pretty chuffed to be able to review this new mower and was especially excited about it, because it's freaking cordless! Douglas was also pretty excited and was insistent on being in this shot...
He does however make for a good size comparison - and as you can see, it's pretty small and compact! Which aside from being cordless, is one of the other main features. Setting up the mower was a complete doddle, all you have to do is attach the handles in two places (no tools required!) and slot the grass compartment together. It's super quick and easy and there was very little instructions to read.
So as I mentioned before, it's cordless! Which means it is powered by a battery. A pretty huge battery! It only came half charged, but took just under an hour to charge the rest, which I was actually really impressed by! The battery slots into the top of the lawnmower and has a clever 'key' which locks and unlocks it in place. There was no time indication of how long the battery would last for - only that it can mow an entire tennis court on one single charge (equivalent to 250sqm!). I've managed to use the battery twice without charging it so far and I'm pretty certain I'll be able to get a third use out of it as well. Which is GREAT if you're forgetful at charging up devices like I am ;)
Being compact in size does mean that the grass box isn't as big as our old mowers and what we're used to, so it does need emptying a little more often. For a lawn of our size, I had to empty it 2 and a half times, but obviously this is dependant on how long the grass is too! The plus side to being smaller (although it does still have a reasonable 30L capacity!) is that it does keep the mower light (our old one would sometimes go off-balance as the box filled up) and it's also easier to empty. Not just because it's lighter, but also because the emptying compartment is narrow enough to perfectly into a rubble bag without spilling the grass everywhere, which was greatly appreciated I can tell you! The only improvement I'd have to liked to see, is some kind of indication to when the grass box is full. Our old mower had a little flap that poked up with restricted airflow. This one doesn't have anything so you do have to be "on it" yourself as to when you need to empty the box. For the first mow of the season, it's always best to set the mower to its highest cut before working your way down, making sure never to cut the grass more than half its height. Obviously our first cut was set at the highest cut, but the mover can in fact cut at 5 different varying heights from 65-25mm, which is perfect for different times of the year. Although I like my grass short, in summer when there's less rain it's important not to go too short in case of scorching the grass, so it's always good to have that option. The mower also uses a proper metal blade (opposed to plastic ones) which Grant was very much pleased about it. It means it can be sharpened without having to buy a new one, should it blunt over the years. In terms of how the mower actually cuts, I was really quite impressed. It definitely mows closer to any walls/obstructions than our old one and it's much much quieter too. It's so easy to manoeuvre and it still leaves the 'mowing lines' which I personally really like to see. It doesn't however have a built-in roller, so if you like your grass flattened, you would have to do that separately. But in my experience of built-in rollers, they're usually plastic and not that great anyway. I probably wouldn't recommend this mower if you have a very very big garden (in which case, get yourself a ride-on-mower already!) but for an average-sized garden, it's fab and it really does make mowing the lawn so much quicker and easier to do. There's no folding up the cord, stopping/starting to move the cord, faffing about with an oversized grass box (and grass going everywhere!) and you don't have to struggle getting it in/out of storage. Basically, it just makes life that little bit easier.
Here's some photos of our garden after its second cut this year (I was keen to get it shorter pretty fast!). You can see our garden does still need a bit of work but it's certainly looking bright and Spring green already! Doesn't a freshly mowed lawn just make so much difference?
To summarise everything up, incase you're a TLDR ("too long, didn't read") kinda person:
Pros:
Negatives:
If you can't already tell, my overall verdict is that it's a bloomin' great mower. It's certainly a cheap mower (retails around £199), but I believe a mower is an investment and buying a good one will last for many many years. I loved not having to battle with a cord and it really makes an everyday chore quick and simple and leaves you really no excuse to not get the job done! I genuinely think cordless is the future for all things electrical, but this one is a practicality miracle that makes you wonder "why aren't ALL mowers like this?!". If you'd like to see more of its specs - you can check the mower out on Amazon here. Do you have a cordless mower and love it as much as I do? Or maybe you have some first-cut of the season tips to share? I'm a keen gardener always looking for some much-needed advice! *Lawnmower was gifted by Flymo for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are genuine and my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog! from http://www.kezzabeth.co.uk/2017/04/flymos-mighti-mo-300-li-review.html
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We're always talking about DIY and renovating. How to make a home better, how to rip out walls, pull of tiles, smash up a kitchen, tear up the floor - you get the picture. But what often doesn't get talked about are the dangers behind a renovation. There's many, but the most hidden and potentially dangerous of them all, is Asbestos. It's a word you've probably heard of, but do you know what it is? What it does? What it looks like? Where you can find it? Well, if you're renovating a house - you really need to know this stuff. What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a material that was used in the building sector for many many years. A whole 50+ in fact. Back in the day, it was regarded as a new-found amazing material and the dangers behind it were completely unknown. It's resilient, durable, has great insulating properties and it's fire-resistant too - it was the perfect building material. Years passed and people who had been working with asbestos started developing health problems, and only then was the discovery made at how dangerous this stuff really is. Asbestos is a material that once broken, releases fibres into the air. Tiny tiny fibres that cannot be seen with the naked eye - but they're sharp and in-bed themselves into your lungs once breathed in. They cannot be removed and they will sit there, forever. In small quantities, this is little threat - but in larger amounts (although exact measurements are unknown!) eventually these fibres can cause problems like mesothelioma (a type of cancer) and asbestosis (scarring of the lungs, causing problems breathing). Essentially and sadly all asbestos-related illnesses are currently incurable and most are fatal.
Asbestos is still currently the UK's biggest workplace killer, since it's tradespeople on building sites every day who are most at risk. But of course, if you're a DIYer or renovating, you're also at risk. Thousands people each year die from Asbestos-related illnesses and as such, it's so freaking important, as renovators we know about it. Where to look for it, the dangers of it, and how to handle it.
Does Your Home Have Asbestos?
In short, most probably. It wasn't mentioned by a surveyor when you bought the house? That does not mean your house is asbestos free. In fact, I'd say it's more reason for concern. Asbestos can be hiding far beneath the depths of a room than what a surveyor can see on his hour-long investigation. Any home that was built before 2000 may contain asbestos - that's a freaking lot of homes and one statistic I read suggested that around 2 in 4 houses in the UK still have asbestos in them. Unless you have guarantees your home is asbestos-free, I would treat any home as if it may have some lurking somewhere within it, especially if your home hasn't been renovated in recent years.
What Does Asbestos Look Like?
My grandparents had an asbestos roof on their garage, so for that reason I always thought of asbestos being a grey corrugated sheet. It is in fact, much more than that. And put simply, it does not look like one single thing - in fact, it has a whole range of disguises, which makes it all the more tricky to identify. Lots of materials "look like" asbestos and whilst there are many materials that look like it, they may not actually be it. So whatever pre-conceptions you might have of how asbestos "looks" - you may have been misled. Asbestos cannot be identified by naked eye alone, so it's more important to know how it was used and where you're likely to find it within the home, than how it "looks". That being said, here are some photos of asbestos found around the home.
Where Can You Find Asbestos in the Home?
As I said previously, asbestos is great for insulation and a great material for fire-resistance. This is already giving us some clues to its use, but here's a run down of all the places you may find asbestos within in the home. This list is not limited, and do please bare in mind - much like timber or MDF, DIYers in the past may have used it for a whole range of other uses not mentioned.
On the Roof - This can often be found in two forms - corrugated sheets and roof tiles often used over garages and sheds.
In the loft - Asbestos was used a loose insulation and usually looks like fluffy cotton wool in this state. This is the WORST kind of asbestos.
Around Pipes - It was also used as insulating lagging around pipes
On the Bath - Old bath panels can be made from asbestos
On the Floor - Old vinyl floor tiles may be made from asbestos
On the Ceiling - Ceiling tiles may be made from asbestos and it was also often used in artex as well. On the Outside - Gutters and rainwater pipes may be made from asbestos. Partition Walls of Sheds/Garages - Asbestos also comes in the form of cement board and may be used in walls of garages and sheds. (we had this kind, which you can see here) Behind Fireplaces - Asbestos insulation board can be found behind fireplaces Behind Fuseboards - Insulation board may also be found behind a fuse box Behind Boilers - Or even behind boilers. Water Tanks - old water tanks may even be made from it. As you can see, it can be anywhere and everywhere! It's so important to be aware of where you may come across it, as essentially this alone is the awareness you need to be able to stop and think... Is it asbestos? What Should You Do if You think You've Found Asbestos?
Don't panic and don't move the damn thing! Asbestos is only a cause for concern when it's disturbed. So if you have a garage roof made from the stuff, that's fine. As long as it's not breaking apart, there's no need to worry. It can stay there for years and years and you'll be absolutely fine. Asbestos in its solid form, is not any cause for concern, it's releasing fibres you need to worry about.
If you think you've damaged some asbestos during a renovation, don't panic either. It certainly doesn't mean you're going to drop dead. Most people who have experienced health problems from asbestos exposure have done so through a pro-longed exposure, so chances are - you're absolutely fine. And don't forget, it takes years and years for any problems to develop (we're talking usually a minimum of 25!), so don't let it torture you either!
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AuthorHi I am Jaclyn Ross 28 years old and I am a project manager for a construction company we install basements and do central ac as well as insulation. ArchivesCategories |