The ultimate medium of any designer is the paint that goes on the surfaces of homes, whether applied on the outside or in. While paints or finishes are effective ways to both protect and decorate surfaces, not all paints are applicable in every surface.

Most paints fall into general categories, and these basic types of paint will usually be enough for all your domestic paint job needs. Here they are for your consideration:

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Base Coats

Base coats are what bind the finishing coats to the surface they are painted on. Done well, they keep the other coats from peeling off or from losing their colors because of the nature of the surface.

Primer – The primer, or whitewash, is used on uncoated surfaces in order to protect the material underneath as well as provide a good base for the succeeding coats.

First Coat – To build up the opacity of the decorative finishing coat, one or two more coats are usually applied. This is because the paints applied may not always be spread evenly or a surface may need more paint to be coated evenly.   

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Finish Coats

Finish coats are more decorative, applied only after the base coats have dried, or after washing down surfaces that have been previously painted.

There are at least three types of finish coats: flat, eggshell, and gloss and satin. The first one is often used for ceilings and walls, and is best used on siding materials. Eggshell finish is more durable than flat, and gloss and satin goes best with wooden or metal surfaces.

Specialty Paints

While most paints will do well in most domestic purposes as long as the right primer is applied on the surface that they were designed for, there are some paints that are made specifically to fulfill a particular task.

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Some of these specialty paints include bathroom/kitchen paint, floor paint, metal paint, and traditional paint. The first two are formulated to resist fungal growth, moisture, and staining, with the exception that newly-painted concrete floors need to cure completely before painting.

Metal paint is exactly what it is: high-gloss paint that is designed specifically to give metal surfaces their sheen, and can even be applied directly over rust. Cleaning the brushes used to apply metal paint will, however, take paint thinner instead of mineral spirit.

The last category of specialty paint is traditional paint, such as distemper, limewash, and other types of traditional colors, which can now be purchased much more easily. (One thing you need to look out for in limewash is that it can be volatile when mixed with water, so be sure to read the instructions carefully.)

When it comes to keeping your home in good condition, you also need to pay attention to your home’s electrical works and fix them if needed.

The good news is you don’t usually need an electrician services company to fix most problems that come up at home, such as replacing a faulty lightbulb socket, or fixing wires with electrical tape.

But while there are some things you can do yourself, there are also other problems that you should call a commercial electrical contractor for, since they are much more suited to fix them.

In fact, here are the biggest reasons why you need a licensed electrician for your home in Singapore:

1. Electricians can minimize present and future safety concerns.

The expertise of an electrical contractor from Singapore is critical when you need to restore power failure at home. Only a seasoned and licensed electrician has the right knowledge to fix electricity problems safely and efficiently, thus minimizing safety hazards.

If you want to install power point switches for your home, it’s usually best to leave it to someone with expertise, such as a cabling technician, or even with residential linemen.

2. Professional services saves you time and money.

With a certified electrical worker, you can expect quality services and troubleshooting to make sure that any problems with your home’s wiring is approached properly (i.e., the cables and wires are properly connected and insulated, etc.).

With a minimized risk of accidents at home, you also save yourself a lot of time and money. Not only do you have to spend once on electrical service maintenance, but you also save yourself from the stress of messing up your circuitry and making the problem worse.

A professional home electric handyman can perform regular maintenance for your home to prevent other problems from potentially occurring.

3. Professional services protects your home devices.

Poorly-designed or worn circuits can pose a hazard for your home’s appliances, circuitry, and devices. This could even turn your power supply into a potential hazard, and if you’re not careful, you could be at risk of a power failure or a fire.

To avoid this, you will need an electrician to connect electric wires safely and properly, from the circuit breakers, to the switches, and to the light bulbs and power outlets themselves.

4. Professional services offer insurance.

Professional electrician services in Singapore are often both certified and insured which means that it is a guaranteed by the company the electrician works for. In fact, if you experience problems with the service after a certain amount of time, the company can even re-inspect it and repair it free of charge.

24 hour electrician service providers can also send over a licensed electrician to ensure the quality services that your home’s electrical wiring and circuitry needs.

Sexually transmitted disease (STD) is undoubtedly one of the major health challenges in Singapore, especially among women. If left untreated, these infections can cause serious health complications (or death in extreme cases) and can damage the reproductive organs to the point of infertility. Unfortunately, a person can get infected and show minimal or no symptoms at all.

STD screening and HIV testing are the keys to prevention of the disease. Why is it believed that women are affected differently and are more prone to STDs? Below are the reasons why STDs impact women severely than men.

1. Women’s anatomy is more prone to infection compared to men’s.

According to a women’s health clinic professional, women’s internal anatomy can serve as a breeding ground for infection as it allows bacteria to get deeply into the body and multiply easily in the moist environment. The consequence of all these can be checked out by http://www.mlamclinic.com.sg/anonymous-hiv-testing/ in Singapore to ensure that your sexual health is ok. Moreover, the lining of the vagina is thinner and more delicate than the skin of the penis, making it easier for viruses and bacteria to penetrate and thrive.

2. STD symptoms have the same symptoms with minor female reproductive problems.

Women usually confuse STD symptoms for something less serious. Women experience normal discharge, especially before and after menstruation; abdominal pain before getting their period; and itching and burning feeling when having occasional yeast infection. Men, on the other hand, can easily detect signs of STDs like discharge because they don’t normally experience one.

3. Women are less likely to show symptoms.

Common STDs like gonorrhoea and chlamydia often show minimal to no symptoms on women compared to men, according to men’s health clinic. If symptoms occur, they go away on its own even if the infection still remains.

4. Lesions can happen internally.

Genital lesions (like from syphilis or herpes) usually occur inside the vagina and can go unnoticed, while in men, symptoms are more likely noticeable as the sores and ulcers happen externally—on the penis.

5. STDs can affect women’s reproductive plans.

If left untreated, STDs can lead to serious health problems and cause infertility, which can affect a woman’s future pregnancy plans. Unresolved STD cases can also cause internal inflammatory problems in the reproductive system, which can result to ectopic pregnancy or inability to conceive. Chlamydia, a common STD, can also affect men’s fertility but not as severe as women’s.

6. Pregnant women can pass the disease to their babies.

HIV, syphilis, and genital herpes can be passed to unborn babies. Some of the harmful effects of STD include low birth weight, brain damage, deafness and blindness, and stillbirth (a baby that’s born dead).

7. HPV is a common cause of cervical cancer.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common STDs, and is the number one cause of cervical cancer among Singapore women. Fortunately, there is now HPV vaccine, which helps prevent many kinds of reproductive cancer. Although HPV is also common in men, most cases don’t develop into more serious health complications.

Reducing Chances of Getting STDs

Regardless of the gender, STDs pose a serious threat to the health. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to reduce the risk of getting infected. But of course, the best way to avoid STD is to abstain from sex. For those sexually active people, there are many ways to secure your health from these infections.

• Be open with your partner. Talk to your partner about sexual health, STDs, HIV testing, and other prevention methods before any sexual interaction. Open communication about your sexual health and encourages respect and trust in the relationship and helps reduce risks for STDs.

• Get tested. If you have never had any sexual contact with another person, there is no risk of getting infected. However, if your new partner has had sex with anyone else, STD screening will let you know whether he or she may have STD.

• Limit your number of partners. If you intend on having sex, have it with just one person. The fewer partners you have, the lesser chances you will get contracted.

• Take advantage of vaccines. An important preventive tool against STDs is vaccination. So far, the vaccines available can protect against hepatitis A and B and HPV. Visit a GP clinic to know more about these anti-STD vaccines.

• Use condoms. Men’s health clinic professionals always remind sexually active men to use condoms as they serve as barrier during intercourse. Condoms are great in preventing most STDs from being passed on from one person to another when used correctly and consistently. And by consistently, we mean correctly using condoms every time you have anal, vaginal, or oral sex.

• Lubricate sufficiently. Along with using condoms, sufficient lubrication should be used during intercourse to avoid abrasions caused by friction. Abrasions and wounds, no matter how small, create a potential place for bacteria and viruses to thrive in the genital area.

• Avoid alcohol and drugs. Avoiding alcohol and drug use significantly shrinks your risk of contracting an infection, being forced to have sex, and unwanted pregnancy. When not intoxicated with alcohol and drugs, we make better decisions. Moreover, intravenous drugs require the use of needle. By sharing needles, it’s possible to spread or contract an infection. If donating blood, make sure that the nurse is using disposable needles and uses proper precaution while drawing blood.

STDs affect both men and women in Singapore. However, some STDs affect women more seriously than men, which means women should be extra careful when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. Good thing there are now tests, treatments, and preventive procedures available in women’s health clinic that are especially tailored to meet women’s reproductive needs against STDs. With the right knowledge and by working with a qualified specialist, you can protect yourself against these potentially fatal infections.

Through the years, more and more Singapore establishments are discarding the traditional telephone systems in exchange for VoIP services due to its many benefits. Though there are definitely a lot of benefits to be gained, you should know how to avoid the common pitfalls of VoIP service providers to fully enjoy its advantages. Here are some common mistakes that you should avoid in order not to end up costing more instead of saving money.

1. Failing to understand the system

Before choosing a provider, make sure you have fully understood how the VoIP system works. Of course, you don’t need to master the whole technology. Learning the basics is enough to help you avoid the common mistakes you could possibly encounter.

2. Choosing a flagship provider

If the provider is new to the industry, it is possible that their first wave of consumers is used as test subjects. This is not to say that all new providers have the same tactic and are poor service providers; however, if you’re considering a newly established VoIP Singapore provider, make sure they know what they’re talking about.

The industry of voice over IP isn’t fully developed yet, therefore, the more you need to be cautious with your choice of service supplier. You don’t want them to just disappear after the installation, or worse, install a complex system that buys you a lot of problems and conflicts.

3. Choosing a provider that doesn’t consider bandwidth and traffic

Deploying a VoIP service to your system means that your telephone calls will be transmitted over the Internet. Depending upon the type of connection installed, the upload capacity may be limited. If your business requires you to make calls and transmit large amount of data, your bandwidth may not be enough to support your day-to-day operations. The result would be low-quality voice calls and unreliable voice over IP connection.

4. Skipping the network test

Some providers skip the evaluation process of an existing network. Having the network evaluated will determine whether or not your Internet connection is capable of handling a VoIP system. If the provider does not offer a network evaluation, ask them about it. If it seems like they don’t run such test, it would be best to move on to the next provider.

5. Not inquiring about licenses

For residential voice over IP, establishing a connection is very easy. You just have to choose a service provider, pay for it, and download the required software. However, for business purposes, this isn’t the case. Many providers use licensing to lock their clients in. They usually take advantage of the great value of VoIP to conceal the licensing until you sign the contract and get locked in. make sure to find out their licensing policies before signing the dotted line.

We hope that the items mentioned above will help you in your integration of VoIP service to your existing system. The most important point here, in order to enjoy a reliable connection, is to make sure that your VoIP Singapore provider is competent and consistent when it comes to service maintenance and technical support.

Sometimes, we ignore problems and disregard their warning signs. Attending to these signs is most critical when the problems pertain to our health. Be warned: you may be ignoring signs of vitamin deficiency.

For now, you repel and ignore the signs but it will be back to taunt us. To avoid surprise or shock of your ailments, you need to spot signs of vitamin deficiency. Here are some warning signs of vitamin deficiency:

• Mysterious fatigue: You made sure to rest the night before (and nights before it) but somehow when you wake up, there is this mysterious and unexplained fatigue. If this feeling persists, it is a sign that you lack iron or copper, zinc, vitamin C, D and B complex and potassium.

• Weakness: If you constantly feel your bones aching or your muscles sore, it is a sign that you lack vitamin D. Vitamin D controls calcium which maintains strong bones.
• Shortness of breath: When you experience shortness of breath even if no significant physical exertion is done, it is a tell-tale sign that you lack vitamin B12 and c.
• Cracks at the mouth: Mouth problems can reflect riboflavin or iron deficiency.

If you have one or more signs, you should visit your doctor right away. Living and surviving here in Singapore is a struggle. If you do not have enough nutrients in your body, things will be more difficult. With this, there is a need to improve your  diet as soon as possible so you can have the recommended amount of nutrients necessary for bodily function.