Exotic Woods Ltd.

• BESSEY Tools –

Unrivalled all-steel quality Ideal clamping tools for wood working

• CMT Orange Tools –thin and full kerf blades sun, and even treating surfaces with hydrophobic and UV-resistant chemicals can stave off having to refurbish or replace your furnishings regularly.

• Live Edge Slabs –affordable prices to build your tables and other exotic furniture pieces.

Garden benches are a very popular fitting placed outdoors for comfort and style. In Barbados, most of these benches are some sort of metal, cast iron or aluminium, with wood panels for the seats. The wood of these popular seats doesn’t last particularly long as mould and fungus will eventually take them over and rot the wood making them unsafe for sitting.

A new wave of these types of garden benches are made of hollow aluminium which is light and durable, but nothing lasts forever. These metal models will eventually succumb to rusting, especially if placed in grassy, shaded areas, and in direct sunlight as well. There’s really no escaping the inevitable decay of things.

For the majority of surfaces in outdoor spaces, the best way to combat their weathered age is by investing in a power washer. Whether you’ve got wood, plastic, steel, aluminium, or stone, pressure washing is the best first step in bringing life back to your faded furniture faces. For wood, plastic, and stone, be sure to pressure wash carefully so as not to damage the surface beneath the scum you’re attempting to eradicate.

After a once-over with a pressure washer, wood can, depending on the damage, be sanded and resealed with semi-transparent or semi-solid stains. There are multiple options in the furniture protection world for water-resistant and even hydro-phobic stains and paints that can help your wood endure longer than its regular lifetime.

For plastics, a colour restorer with protection against sun damage and oxidisation can be applied to the surface to help extend its life and bring back the colours of its initial interest. Speaking with your favourite garden supply or hardware retailer is the best way to find the best product to protect your particular pieces.

For metals like steel, iron, and aluminium, pressure washing alone may be enough for most, but a Rustoleum paint job can prevent oxidisation from occurring too quickly. The right chemical to treat the right surface is the most important part of prepping against the deterioration of your outdoor furniture.

Whatever outdoor pieces you have, the number one protection will always be shielding them from the elements, whether with a roof, inside a storage structure, or with chemical coatings. If you find your stones, metals, woods, and plastics are looking a bit dull and lifeless, address their distress immediately. The longer the materials sit in weathering woe, the worse they get.

If you are about the age of 30, chances are you grew up very familiar with the appliances in your house because they were probably never changed. Your refrigerator kept your lunches through primary, secondary school and college. Your washing machine cleaned your shirt for the first date at the cinema after school as well as the jacket for your 10thanniversary dinner, and your gas stove made the tea that your grandmother drank during the series premiere of Days of Our Lives. We in the Caribbean have a habit of keeping household appliances for a very long time because these things are expensive and we want to get our money’s worth. However, studies have shown that this habit is counterproductive when it comes to saving money. All appliances have life spans and increase energy bills once their shelf life is passed as they become less efficient at regulating the energy they use. The reason for this can range from wear and tear of the parts to just the device becoming inefficient due to age. So just how long are you supposed to keep these devices around in your house? Let’s take a look at the more common ones.

Refrigerator:

On average a refrigerator has a very wide life span, depending on the quality. They can last for about 10 to 20 years. Once your refrigerator is past the 10-year mark, there are signs that can tell you it may have more days behind it than in front, and it may not be a good idea to spend money on repairs.

You may notice that your food is going bad well before the expiration date, or condensation is building up on the outside. A build-up of excess frost can also be a sign that your refrigerator has a problem with

TONKITA COTTON MOP WITH PLASTIC SCREW HEAD

TONKITA COTTON MOP WITH PLASTIC SCREW HEAD

TONKITA MICROFIBRE FLOOR WIPERSET W/ADJ SWIVEL HANDLE

TONKITA DUST LOCKER STARTER + 10 CLOTH REFILLS

OR R OFIBRE D ND

TONKITA 13 LITRES RED MOP BUCKET WITH WRINGER

TONKITA MAGNUM SCRUBBING BRUSH

TONKITA MULTI-COLOURED DUSTER

SPARKLE BLEACH Available in 950ml & 1 Gallon

SPARKLE BLEACH Available in 16oz & 28oz sizes

TONKITA ECOLOGIA OUTDOOR BROOM HEAD

TONKITA GREEN LARGE DUSTPAN & BRUSH SET LARG & S

MULTY 5 - PK COTTON DISH CLOTH

MULTY BATH & BASIN CLEANER

100-PK LUNCH NAPKIN

2-PLY ROLL TOWEL

VISIT OUR LOCATIONS:

(246) 426-1110

(246) 234-5900

SINGLE ROLL TOWEL

2-PLY ROLL TOWEL TWIN PACK

PINE SHOWROOM R.K. KOMPLEX, PINE ST.MICHAEL

SALES CENTRE

LOWER ESTATE, ST. MICHAEL

@simplex_trading

50-PK LUNCH NAPKIN

BATH TISSUE 4- ROLLS BATH TISSUE SINGLE ROLL the internal temperature. A refrigerator that is too loud or makes no noise at all is also a worrying sign. If it’s too loud, it means the motor is being overworked, and if it is making no noise at all, it could mean that the motor is not running at all.

You can prolong the life of your refrigerator by cleaning the condenser coils of your fridge twice a year. Lubricating the door gaskets of the refrigerator can keep the lining elastic of the door well sealed and keep it running efficiently.

Washing Machine:

A washing machine has an average lifespan of 10 to 13 years. Most of the popular brands fall into this range. However, a few brands have managed to give their washing machines a 20+ year life span, so it would do you well to do some research before you make your purchase.

If you have had your washing machine for over eight years, intense vibrations when washing, the drum not filling with water, excessive leaking, water failing to drain, bad odours that won’t go away and the drum not spinning at the end of a cycle, are just a few signs that it may be time to start shopping around for a new washing machine.

As with every other bit of machinery, care at the beginning can prolong the arrival of “the end”. Do not overuse detergent, using too much can create excessive suds that accumulate in the machine. Ensure all pockets are empty before starting a load as coins, paper, keys etc., can clog the machine hose. We are all guilty of sometimes leaving clothes in the machine because life tends to care very little about our wash cycle and we simply forget them in there; however, this can cause perfect conditions for mould and mildew and they can bring that foul odour, so try to get those clothes out of the machine as soon as the wash cycle is done.

Stove/Oven:

If you are someone that fast food restaurants know by name and delivery services are bookmarked in your phone, the life span of your stove will probably extend long after the flame of the sun dies out, but for people that use theirs regularly, the life expectancy is around 13 years for an electric oven and approximately 15 years for a gas oven. If you are someone that cooks for a family of four every day or you have a small homemade bakery, that life expectancy would drop.

One of the more common signs that it’s time to change your oven is excessive heat radiating from places it is not supposed to be radiating from. Most ovens are designed with vents for this heat to escape from, so if you are feeling excessive heat from the door or even the control panel, that is a sign that there is no insulation in the oven chamber and heat is escaping.

The best way to extend the life cycle of your stove and oven is to keep it clean. Wipe up any spills when they happen, within reason. A trip to the emergency room, because you tried to clean your oven while it was hot, will not help the longevity of your device nor help with your energy bills. Modern ovens come with a self-cleaning option that uses high heat to burn all spills and residue to ash; however, this may hasten the burn out of your oven, so this is one case where the oldfashioned way may work best.

Coffee Makers:

A small, yet integral appliance for coffee lovers, much like our most loyal canine companions, is with us for a good time, but not a long time as the average coffee maker lasts around five years. When the coffee taste starts to change or the water stops heating properly, it may be time to carry out the funeral rites and welcome a new maker. Not using hard water (water high in minerals such as calcium), and descaling your coffee maker with a mixture of half water and half white distilled vinegar, will ensure that you have this treasured appliance with you as long as possible.