April 11, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 33 April is National Safe Digging Month, and PSE&G reminds customers, contractors, and excavators that they must call before digging to avoid hitting underground gas and electric lines. To make it easy to call, 811 has been designated as the national dialing code to have underground lines located and marked. When you call 811, you are automatically connected to the New Jersey one-call center that collects information about the digging project. The one-call center then provides the information to the utility companies who will send representatives to mark the locations of underground lines in the immediate vicinity of the planned work location with flags, paint, or both. Once lines have been properly marked and the “locate” request becomes valid, the customer, contractor, or excavator is free to carefully dig It’s the law: Call 811 before any digging project around the marked areas. Every digging project – even a small project like planting a tree or building a deck – requires a call to 811 whether an individual plans to hire a professional or do the job himself/herself. Striking a single line can cause outages and can result in repair costs and fines. Underground gas and electric lines are everywhere, even on individual properties. You can easily damage them if you do not know where they are. Digging into these lines can disrupt vital utility services and result in costly delays, expensive repairs, and environmental or property damage. Worse, individuals can seriously injure themselves or others. Whether planning a major home improvement project, or installing a fence or mailbox post, a call must be placed beforehand to know where it is safe to dig. Call 811 or 1-800-272-1000 at least four business days before each job to have underground pipes, wires, and equipment located. Utility workers will respond and place markers where utility lines are buried, free of charge. Be sure to wait three full business days after calling before doing any digging. Do not dig until lines have been marked. Respect the marks. Always hand dig within two feet of marked lines. It is not only a good idea to call before you dig; it is the law. For details about the Call Before You Dig program, visit the PSEG Web site at www.pseg.com/call811 or the New Jersey One Call site at: www.nj1-call.org. Even a spotless home complete with the latest gadgets and popular kitchen and bathroom décor cannot compete with little eyesores that go unfixed. These may include anything from loose knobs to scuffed floors. Although it may take a little work, it is generally easy to eradicate blemishes. Bathrooms get more than their fair share of use. As a result, stains, soap scum, and rings around the toilet become common. Vinegar and baking soda can be handy tools in the bathroom. Pour vinegar into the toilet and add some baking soda to create a foaming action. Use a toilet brush to scrub the inside of the bowl. Then allow the solution to sit for an hour before flushing away. Make a good impression by fixing household eyesores The same combination can be used to scrub down soap scum that accumulates inside the bath tub. Soak a cotton ball in vinegar and place on surfaces where hard water stains have accumulated. The vinegar will dissolve the scale and make it easy to wipe away. No matter how many times you wash a tiled kitchen floor, grout has a funny way of never quite coming clean. Purchase a grout-cleaning product from a home store and use a stiff-bristled brush or even a toothbrush to get into the grout lines. Then consider using a grout stain and sealer to prevent future discoloration. Few things around the house are as unsightly as torn window screens. Whether on house windows or porches, torn screens tell visitors you don’t care very much about the appearance of your home. But repairing window screens is a relatively easy task. There are screen replacement kits that take you through the process step-by-step if you plan to replace the entire screen. For very small tears, you may be able to patch the damage. There are self-stick patches for screens, but the glue often draws attention to the repair. Instead, get a small piece of new screen material and use an upholstery needle and invisible finishing thread to attach the patch. Remedy nicks in the furniture with specialty markers that can blend into the wood grain or other surface materials and mask the dings and dents.