Is it worth buying a jet washer?

By Alexander on 18th November

For some people owning a jet washer may seem like a waste of money as they may feel that they will not use it regularly but if you do buy one you may be surprised at how useful they really are.

Washing a vehicle or a touring caravan can be a tiring and arduous task but with a jet washer it changes jobs to be avoided to a simple task. The powerful jet of water makes easy work of removing dirt and grim from the paintwork of the vehicle and when cleaning a caravan, the difficult job of cleaning the roof becomes a doddle.

If you have slabbed areas in the garden the slabs can get dirty and covered with algae and make the patio look unkempt. Using a jet washer to clean the slabs can totally transform the area and bring out the colours of the natural stone and remove unwanted debris. If the garden has decked areas these can become slippery during the winter months but a quick clean with a jet washer will remove algae ready for the decking to be treated with wood preservative.

So, although it may seem a bit of a luxury to own a jet washer the chances are if you do buy one you will be glad you did.

How to keep your construction tools safe

By Alexander on 19th July

Recently there’s been a sharp rise in thefts of construction and gardening tools. This is usually where tools are either taken from a vehicle or stolen out of a garage or garden.

The tools are then sold on either on social media or to pawn brokers for a profit.

Not only is it really inconvenient when your tools get pinched, but it also can cause a massive financial issue, even if you are insured. You may find that you have a drastic loss of earnings whilst you are obtaining new tools, especially if there is a wait-time on some specialist equipment. Also you may find that after an insurance claim they will increase your premiums for the following years.

So, what can you do to help protect your gardening and construction tools?  Well one option is to install some high-quality CCTV and most importantly some good signage that acts as a deterrent to would-be thieves. Next you need to make sure that you have good insurance that covers both your tools and loss of earnings. Shop around to get the best price on this but try not to compromise on cover level. Lastly keep a digital log of all the serial numbers of your tools, that way if they do get stolen you can give those numbers to the police and have more of a chance of recovering these if the thieves try to sell them on.

Is your lawnmower up to the job?

By Alexander on 30th June

Out of all the garden tools that are available probably the most useful to those with grassed areas is a lawnmower. Lawnmowers started out as a simple contraption consisting of a cylinder with blades that when pushed along would cut the grass, but lawnmowers have come a long way since then and can be found in different sizes to suit every lawn and powered in a variety of ways to make the task of mowing the lawn easier.

Small electric lawnmowers are best if the lawned area is not large and there is access to an electricity supply where the mower can be plugged in. If this is not the case, battery lawnmowers are now available promising that a small lawn can be mowed on a single charge. Robotic lawnmowers are even on sale now that can be set off and will mow the grass without anyone having to intervene.

Larger gardens can present problems when it comes to mowing the grass as a smaller electric mower may struggle to cut the grass efficiently. A self-propelled petrol mower is a much better option in this case as it will cope with a large lawn and even one that is sloped in places. Of course, for a very large area a ride-on mower is advised.