Garden Hose Carts

Horse stands in sprinkler to stay cool

WHAT TO DO IN A HEAT EMERGENCY FOR YOUR ANIMALS

This advice is for citizens who are experiencing a heat wave or heat emergency and have animal questions:

If it is too hot for you and the family IT IS TOO HOT FOR YOUR ANIMALS! They feel exactly what we do and can die from dehydration and heat stroke.

Listen to your weather station and it if warns about the heat, it also affects our pets. Bring them inside if at all possible. If you cannot do that, provide shade and abundant cool water, and check on them throughout the day.

Here are a couple of quick tips to help keep your animals cool. Place ice in their drinking water and bowls. Put ice and a small amount of water in the bottom of a carrier it will provide shade and keep them cool. Wrap ice or ice packs into a towel to provide a cool place for the animal to lie on. Tie a fan to a tree, the kennel, the barn or where it cannot be tipped over and run the extension cord where it cannot be stepped on or chewed, place a bucket full of ice in front of it and it acts like an air conditioner. Turn a garden hose on low and set the nozzle to spray, place it where the animal can get under it. Fill a child’s baby pool with cool water and place in shaded area the pet can reach. Fill plastic containers with ice or cold water wrapped in a towel and place inside the kennel or a carrier for your cat. Dab alcohol onto a cotton ball or gauze and pat the bottom of the animal’s foot pads.

If your animal is weak, vomiting, shaking or unconscienous take it to your veterinarian immediately. Place cool rags (not cold) under its arm pits and also onto its stomach until you reach the clinic.

If the family needs to leave the home due to the weather, take your pets with you. If you need to kennel the animal, and if you cannot afford to pay for that stay, you can go to http://www.redrover.org and apply for the individual life crisis grant money to help pay for the kenneling of the pet. You can also go to the Internet to find a list of pet friendly hotels. Here are 2 websites to help people find pet friendly hotels: http://www.1clickpethotels.com and http://www.pethotels.com. There are other helpful links on the CART website http://www.TriStateCART.com.

The local CART or national animal organizations, like United Animal Nations, HSUS, American Humane, and ASPCA may be called upon by the emergency manager to help set up, staff and run temporary animal shelters as close to the Red Cross shelters as possible.

Discovering Your Hose Reel Options

A lot of homeowners think that garden hose reels are only good and useful if you have a garden. The usefulness of a garden hose reel goes beyond helping you in your gardening chores though. Hose reels are helpful in cleaning up pathways, pavements and driveways.

However, it is not always so easy to shop for a hose reel though. Once you realize your need for it, you can quickly find a host of options both online and in regular hardware or gardening stores. Having so many product choices to pick from can confuse you. This is why a basic understanding of reel types is a must before you venture out to buy one.

Hose reels can either come in cart type or in wall mounted type. Depending on the product and how you mount the reel, a reel can dispense a hose either perpendicular to or parallel to the wall it is attached to. Wall mounts are excellent choices if you have a small outdoor property or if you have a very limited use for your hose.

For large outdoor spaces, a cart type is more ideal. You would definitely need a rolling cart if your hose can’t extend all the way across your lawn or around your property. Cart reels are a class on their own because there are several models with different features to choose from. Your choice would depend on your specific needs.

One major feature to check in a cart hose reel is the wheels. If you plan to move your cart only over flat surfaces, small, evenly sized wheels should work just fine. If you have a large garden however with a variety of ground surface conditions, you should choose a cart with either large back wheels or one that can be tilted.

You would want to check the frame of the cart itself, too. It can either be made of plastic or metal. Although some argue that steel is a far sturdier material than plastic, you don’t always have to settle for steel. Steel carts may be quite expensive and are often only best for heavy duty use. Plastic units may be more than enough for ordinary daily use. In any case, reputable brands do not sell pieces made of ordinary flimsy plastic. The plastic material is usually heavy duty resin material.

The reeling system is also another feature you should check. Reels can come with manual cranks. This would mean though that you would have to lay out a hose by hand before reeling it in. If you want greater convenience, you would be more interested in an automatic reel function. You just have to operate the reel lever once and it will automatically pull back the hose for you. This means less mess and effort on your part.

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