It is not really black but rather clear. Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface. The ice itself is not black, but virtually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it.

Winter brings many dangers for motorists, with one of the most threatening being slippery and hard-to-spot black ice. Black ice forms when the air is at 32 degrees or below at the surface and rain is falling, according to AccuWeather .

The ground temperature causes the precipitation to freeze upon impact, thus creating ice. Sleet and the refreezing of snow or water can also generate black ice.

This type of ice gets its name from its ability to blend in with its surroundings.

"It's called black ice because it tends to look like the rest of the pavement on the road, but it's actually clear," Lee said. 

The complexion of black ice makes it extremely difficult to spot, but using a car thermometer as an initial gauge can be helpful in determining the road conditions. A car thermometer, like any digital thermometer, tries to find the air's ambient temperature. So, if a vehicle's thermometer is close to freezing, the car driver should be cautious on the roads.

As winter quickly approaches, cold weather comes with it. Rain, snow, sleet, and ice can make for unpleasant, and sometimes unexpected, driving conditions. Black ice is one effect of winter weather that makes for particularly hazardous roads. Read on to learn more about black ice and how to drive on it.

What Is Black Ice?

Black ice is nearly invisible, which is why it is one of the most dangerous road conditions you might encounter. When water freezes on the road, the pavement appears wet, but not necessarily icy. If your vehicle hits black ice, the car could start to skid and slide since there is no traction between the tires and the ice. Black ice is most likely to occur in early mornings, evenings, and nighttime

AAA offers the following tips for motorists who encounter black ice while driving:

• Be aware of and on the lookout for black ice. Pavement with black ice will be slightly darker and duller than the rest of the road surface; it commonly forms on highly shaded areas, infrequently traveled roads, bridges and overpasses.
• Use extreme caution on bridges and overpasses, which typically freeze first and melt last. Even if the roadway leading up to a bridge appears to be fine, use caution as the bridge itself could be covered in a sheet of ice.
• Never use cruise control.
• Avoid unnecessarily changing lanes, which increases your chances of hitting a patch of ice between lanes that could cause you to lose control of the vehicle.
• Drive, turn and brake slowly, adjusting speed to road conditions and leaving ample stopping room (three times more than usual) and watching for brake lights, fishtailing or sideways cars and emergency flashers.
• Avoid braking on ice. If you approach a patch of ice, try to brake in advance and control the skid by easing off the accelerator and steering in the direction you want the front of the car to go.
• If you have antilock brakes, do not pump the pedal; the vibrations and pulsating against your foot when you press down are the system working. For drivers without antilock brakes, use "threshold braking," keeping your heel on the floor and using the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the pedal to the "threshold" of locking your brakes; removing your heel from the floor could cause your brakes to lock.
• Use your low-beam headlights.
• Remember, four-wheel drive doesn’t help you stop any faster.
• Keep a winter-weather kit in your car, containing an ice scraper, blanket, flashlight with extra batteries, bag of kitty litter, shovel and charged cell phone, as well as reflective triangles or flares, cloth or paper towels and jumper cables.

How to Drive on Snow and Black Ice Video

 

    How to address Fire Place smoke damage

By Robert Carper

Last weekend I decided I would start a fire in the fire place. I did what I thought was proper when it comes to doing this type of thing. One major thing I failed to do was open the Flue. I always remember to does this but forgot this time and paid the price. Smoke was everywhere and my wife was not happy. What to do? What follows is what I learned and what is important and tips on what to do to address smoke damage in your home.

 

Open the damper. I made the mistake of not opening the damper the first time I made a fire in a fireplace. I got the fire going, but it filled the entire house with smoke. Don’t be like me. Make sure to open the damper all the.

Prime the flue. If your chimney is built on the outside of your house, the chimney flue is probably cold. When you open the damper, the cold air in the flue will sink and come into your warm house. If you try to light a fire during this air sink, you’re going to end up with smoke coming into the house instead of up the chimney. To counteract the air sink, you need to prime the flue by warming it up. This is done by lighting a roll of newspaper and holding it up the damper opening for a few minutes. When you feel the draft reverse, you know the flue is primed, and you’re ready to start your fire. If you have a fireplace that has a gas pipe to supplement your wood burning, turn on the gas and light the pilot light without any wood in the fireplace. Your flue will warm up in a matter of minutes

How to Get Fireplace Ash Smell Out of the Room

by Amanda Bell, Demand Media

A fireplace grate keeps ash contained, making cleaning easier.

A fireplace creates an inviting feeling, and a smoldering fire imparts warmth and coziness. Yet the resulting smell of ash makes a room feel stuffy and unpleasant. After a thorough cleaning of the entire space, including the fireplace and room, remove ash from the fireplace weekly to prevent the problem. If offensive scents persist even with adequate cleaning, consult a professional chimney sweeper.

Start at the Source

Leftover ash in the fireplace permeates a room with its scent, and removing it is the first step to deodorizing your space. At least four days after your last fire, take a stiff brush along the interior walls of your fireplace and brush down the sides, dislodging creosote and ash. Sweep out the bottom of the fireplace with the same brush, pushing the ash into a dustpan. Dump this in a leftover plastic grocery bag or trash bag and take it outside to your bin immediately. Sprinkle wet coffee grounds over the ash before sweeping to prevent it from blowing around, or use a vacuum cleaner. Creosote, a build-up resembling tar, forms as a fire smolders and cools down. This substance is highly combustible, especially when build-up exceeds 1/8-inch. Take care when cleaning, and consult a professional if there is a thick layer of creosote in the fireplace.

Clean Out the Fireplace

Wipe down the interior of the fireplace with diluted ammonia or white distilled vinegar. This removes any remaining offensive odors resulting from lingering ash. Dilute 2 cups of white distilled vinegar in 1 gallon of water. Dip a scrub brush in the bucket and scrub down the sides and bottom of the fireplace. Rinse the brush often to remove build-up. As an alternative, dilute all-purpose cleaner in place of the vinegar. Scrub down the grate as well to dislodge ash.

Deodorize Carpets

Even when the ash is gone and the fireplace is clean, the smell can linger in the carpet. Sprinkle baking soda or an odor-neutralizing carpet powder over carpeting and rugs and let this sit for as long as possible, or at least one hour. Vacuum the product thoroughly, making several passes over each section, to eliminate scents. A light spritzing of an odor-neutralizing fabric spray freshens the newly clean carpet further, eliminating the scent of ash.

Clean Upholstery and Window Treatments

Just as offensive odors cling to carpet, they also stick to other soft surfaces, including upholstery and window treatments. Sprinkle baking soda or carpet powder over chairs, sofas and covered ottomans and let this sit for at least one hour before vacuuming with a bristle attachment. An upholstery shampooer filled with odor-neutralizing shampoo eliminates hard-to-clean scents. Launder window treatments at home or take dry-clean only products to a professional. Soak blinds in warm water and a few drops of dishwashing detergent before wiping them down and rinsing them off. The bathtub is ideal for this.

Wipe Down Hard Surfaces

Remove any lingering odors by wiping down the hard surfaces in the room. Oil soap or heavily diluted dishwashing detergent can be used to clean walls. All-purpose cleaner, oil soap or diluted white distilled vinegar works on most furniture, while a steam mop or diluted vinegar neutralizes odors on hardwood floors and tile. Always follow-up cleaning by wiping down the area with a damp rag to remove cleaner residue and drying with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Soot and Charring

Smoke damage causes black marks and discoloration to your walls and ceiling. Soot is the residue left by smoke. Charring is the actual burning of the paint. You should first assess the extent of the damage and determine whether cleaning is a reasonable option. It may be impossible to clean heavy soot and charring from flat-painted walls, and priming and re-painting may be your only option. There is more hope for satin or semi-gloss finishes, if the charring hasn’t gone too deep.

What You Will Need:

   •            Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) cleaner*

   •            Large Sponge (such as the type you’d use to wash a car)

   •            2 Buckets

   •            Warm water

   •            Heavy duty rubber cleaning gloves

   •            Goggles

   •            Clean rags

TSP is a harsh cleaner, and if you do not wear gloves, you run the risk of severe skin irritation. Also, it can cause severe eye irritation, the risk of which can be significantly lessened by wearing goggles or other appropriate eyewear.

The Cleaning Process:

1.     Fill the bucket with 1 gallon of warm water and add 1 generous tablespoon of TSP.

2.     Wearing rubber gloves and goggles, wet the sponge in the TSP solution. Working one section a time, wipe wall/ceiling vigorously with the sponge, then rinse thoroughly with a rag dipped in clean water. Continue until entire area has been washed and rinsed.

3.      You may have to repeat the wash/rinse several times, depending upon the severity of the soot buildup and charring. Be careful not to over saturate your walls, or let the water seep between your walls and baseboards, or you may cause damage to the drywall.

If the smoke damage is not entirely removed by this process, you will most likely need to prime your walls/ceilings and repaint or hire a professional.

 

 

What to do if your car is submerged
By Robert Carper

Most of us love water but not in the following scenario. Sinking cars are more common than you might imagine. It's reasonable to assume that the thought of being inside a car when it sinks must be one of the most frightening experiences imaginable for most people.

Occasionally cars drive off quay-sides or into rivers (like the one on the right); other problems arise when the parking brake isn't applied properly and cars simply roll down embankments into lakes or rivers.

But as with all emergencies you can take quick controlled action to survive.

Experts say rolling down the window first is not the best thing to do. Grab your steering wheel with two hands and brace for impact.  This can prevent you from hitting your head.

If you have manual windows, roll them down immediately. But if your windows are automatic and you've lost power, you'll need a vehicle escape device.

Car escape tools have multiple features, including a seat belt cutter and hammer-like head that is used to shatter the window glass. 

If your kids are in the car, experts say bring them up to the front.  Start with the oldest child so they can help you bring the others to the front row. 

Next, break the window using the car escape device. Once the window shatters, use your elbow to push the glass out towards the water.  Then, take your children and push them out the window and up towards the surface of the water before exiting the car yourself. 

If the water is rushing into your car, experiments from experts have shown you can get still pass through the window. You can also use your feet to push off of the car once your body is out, but be careful of any broken glass from the window. 

Experts say do not try and open your door at any point in time during your escape. There is 600 pounds of pressure for every square inch of the door which makes it impossible to open. 

Also avoid breaking the windshield.  Because it's made of protected glass, it's designed not to break.  Breaking the side window is the best chance of getting out of the car.   If you do not have a car escape tool, find anything sharp and small to break the window.

Once again, here's a breakdown of what to do in the case of your car going underwater. 

     ·            Brace for impact

     ·            Roll down your window

     ·            Take off your seatbelt

     ·            Bring children to the front row

     ·            Break glass using car escape tool or sharp device

     ·            Push kids out driver's window and up towards surface

     ·            Do not try and open door or break windshield 

To sum up

Take Action!

The action you take will perhaps depend on the situation that you are in. There are various expert opinions and there have been experiments to determine the best approach. You might run off the road into a river or, with changing weather patterns, be swept off the road in a flash flood. With things happening that quickly your action may differ from a situation where there is more time, perhaps if your car rolls down a bank into a lake.

Whatever the situation, if you are in deep water you will have to get out as quickly as possible, but you will need as much energy as possible to swim and, possibly, to fight the cold. If the car has submerged quickly, fight panic by switching on the interior lights and breathing deeply. Switch on all the cars lights (if they still work) to help rescuers see where you are.

Some people suggest that you should shut the windows to slow down the rate at which the car fills with water. The theory is that the pressure inside and outside needs to equalise before you can swim out or attempt to open a door.

However, other tests, notably one shown on British television, have shown that it can take too long for the equalization process or that the force of water rushing in can make it impossible to escape.

On balance, it seems that the best course of action is to try and get out as soon as possible. The guidelines below might help you to do this.

·       Release your seatbelts and open the windows - be aware that the seatbelts might not retract; take care not to get tangled

·       If your head restraints are removable, pull them out when you release your seatbelt to enable easy passage for rear passengers - you can also use the head restraints to smash the side windows if necessary

·       If your windows jam, try to break them. An 'emergency hammer' is ideal; a steering wheel security lock will do; or kick hard.

·       You may be able to open a door, but if you can, it's probably better to exit through a window

·       The car will sink 'heavy end' first (the heavy end is where the engine is). In deeper water it may flip onto its roof

·       In a car that sinks front first, there will be a bubble of air in the back, but you should stay in the front ... the front windows are often bigger and easier to get out of — for all passengers

·       The car won't sink immediately, even with the windows open, however you must use every moment to free yourself and passengers and get out. Push children out first

·       It may seem obvious - but don't try to save anything except lives. Computers, phones, purses, jewellery, etc. can be replaced - you can't!

·       If you are unable to open a window, there is the equalisation option as a last resort. Keep your head. There should be enough air for the minute or two that it will take to prepare to escape. When the car is nearly full of water, take a deep breath and push a door open, you may need to do this with your feet (for extra strength). Note the wait: If you try to open the doors too soon the water pressure will defeat you