5 Easy Steps for Maintaining Outdoor Drains and Gullies

For businesses, severe flooding can result in health and safety risks, loss of inventory and valuable documents, damaged machines, computers or other company vehicles, and indefinite shutdowns, among others.

This is why drainage and gullies shouldn’t be taken for granted. Drainage systems must be checked routinely to prevent any blockages during heavy rain or flooding. As what the adage says: prevention is better than cure.

Keep reading to learn more about outdoor gullies and how easy it is to clear them in case of blockage.

What Are Gullies

By definition, a gully is a ground-level drainage pit that discharges surface water and drains waste or rainwater. It comes in numerous shapes, sizes and construction materials including clay, plastic, cast iron, and concrete.

The basic idea of a gully is to have a trapped vessel at surface level that allows rain or stormwater to pass through and prevents gases, odours and rodents from the drainage and sewer systems to pass back the other way.

A highway gully is an example of gullies. As the name suggests, this drainage pit drains water from the highway into the drainage system. It is usually covered by an open metal grating located on the edge of the road.

An overflow relief gully (ORG) is another gully type. It is a drain-like fitting located outside the infrastructures, placed near the bathroom or laundry. ORG ensures that the wastewater will not backflow inside the property in the instance of sewerage blockage.

How to Maintain Drains & Gullies

Water gullies will not serve their purpose if they are blocked. A blocked gully may drain slowly, overflow, or worse—cause property damage when not resolved immediately.

Check out below the step-by-step procedure on how to clear drain pits alongside the tools needed for clearing blocked gullies.

Tools and accessories for the job:

trowel
bucket
drain rod
hosepipe
screwdriver
protective glasses
access to hot water
elbow-length rubber gloves
Step 1. Locate the gully

The first thing to do is to locate the gully and find where the blockage is. If the blockage sits on top of it or where the water enters, then remove any twigs, leaves, or debris to remedy the problem.

If the problem is deeper in the gully, it requires more work. (Continue to steps 2 to 5).

Step 2. Remove the cover

Most gullies have grates over the top. These safety covers can’t be removed by bare hands and require the use of a flat head screwdriver. Such a hand tool will help to prise it open. Also, this is the part where protective glasses come in handy.

Step 3. Dig the drain deeper

Once the gully is open, use a hand trowel to clear out any visible blockages inside the drain pit. Sometimes clearing the debris by hand is enough to get the gully running smoothly again.

Oftentimes, there is a need for flexible, drain rods to break a massive blockage into smaller and more manageable pieces to prepare for the next step.

Step 4. Rinse the gully with a hose

When the debris has been dislodged, water down the gully with a hose pipe. The water and pressure coming out from the hose will flush down any stubborn blockages.

Step 5. Flush the gully with hot water

Lastly, it helps to flush the gully with hot water. Doing this can remove fatty substances (i.e. kitchen grease, oil, food waste, etc.) that may have accumulated inside the gully.

Summing it Up

Outdoor drains and gullies can become a problem when not given proper attention. They must be checked routinely and maintained once or twice a year to ward off the harmful effects of drain blockages.

What Control Features Work Best For a Point of Sale System?

A point of sale or POS system can be ideal for your business, especially when you’re aiming to collect credit card payments. There are a few things to look for when getting your POS setup ready.

Can You Manage Your Inventory?

Be sure your online credit card processing setup features an inventory management module. You can review trends in your marketplace and keep tabs on how many items you have left in your store. You can automate your reorder points with some POS setups.

How Many Users?

You might have many employees at your business that will all use the same online credit card processing program. A POS setup should provide support for as many employees as necessary.

Loyalty Support

Customer loyalty programs will encourage people to spend more and to return often. Your point of sale system should include support for loyalty programs, plus it should have parameters for how it will issue rewards to your customers.

Support For Many Payments

POS layouts should support multiple payment options, including EBT payments. EBT merchant services can be essential when you’re trying to support low-income customers.

A POS setup can also support physical checks and gift cards. Anything that can read barcodes or paper features can always help.

Data Collection Is Critical

You’ll need to gather information on your customers to gauge their spending habits and to plan new marketing efforts. A POS system can include an email address collection feature to help you regularly reach whatever customers want to learn more about what you offer. But your point or sale plans should entail voluntary email offerings, as forcing people to provide email addresses might be seen as rough.

Your point of sale layout goes well beyond online credit card processing. Watch for what you’re using with your system when finding a smart solution.

Tumescence Dysfunction is Not the Only Cause of Performance Problems

Tumescence dysfunction is a fairly common condition that can wreak havoc on a man’s sensual life, so it’s no surprise that a man may experience some level of concern when he has a hard time getting it up and keeping it there. But not every instance of performance difficulty is caused by tumescence dysfunction or some other male organ health issue. If men have persistent problems in this area, they should absolutely seek counsel from a medical professional. For the occasional hiccup, however, men should consider the following possible culprits.

1. Not in the mood: Culturally, men are taught that they are supposed to always want sensual activity, and women are the ones who only want it sometimes. This can lead men to think they ought to have sensual activity whenever the opportunity arises. But this is fundamentally untrue. Just like women, men don’t always want to engage sensually. Trying to force oneself into it will not necessarily result in cooperation from the male organ.

2. Tired: Lots of things are difficult to do when a man is tired, and obtaining and maintaining tumescence are definitely included in that list. Whether it’s the end of a long day or a man just slept poorly the night before, he shouldn’t expect his manhood to be perkier than he is.

3. Wrong person: Men are often more selective than society gives them credit for. Not any willing partner is necessarily one a man wants to engage in sensual activity with, whether it’s due to fears about the person’s infection status or simply a lack of attraction (emotional and/or physical). A desire for sensual activity in general will not always result in the ability to have it with a particular person.

4. Drunk: A couple drinks may help a man feel more relaxed and uninhibited, but more than that can negatively impact his ability to have a tumescence. If a man only notices tumescence issues after having a certain number of drinks, this is almost surely the source.

5. Anxiety about infection or pregnancy: Nothing quite kills tumescence like fear or anxiety. If a man isn’t confident that the sensual activity he’s having will not lead to unintended consequences, such as acquiring a social disease or making a partner pregnant, he won’t likely be feeling very randy. Of course, any sensually active person should know that there’s always some risk involved in every encounter. But risk can be lowered by knowing a partner’s sensual history, including results of testing, as well as understanding how to properly use protection.

6. It hurts: It can be hard to delicately ask a partner to switch tactics, but if a man’s partner is causing him unwanted pain – with fingernails, teeth or thrusting techniques that are a bit too vigorous, for example – he should definitely speak up. Discussing what one doesn’t like is every bit as important as discussing what one does. Aside from ruining a tumescence, unwanted pain is, by definition, unpleasant, and a man shouldn’t suffer that.

7. In a rush: Quickies can be exciting, and many couples enjoy them. However, if a man is in a big rush to get where he’s going – particularly if being late carries consequences such as getting fired or reprimanded at work – he may be more stressed than turned on during the session.

Along with avoiding the above tumescence-killers, men can improve their overall manhood health by taking good care of what they have. Regular washing is crucial. Another step is to use ample lubrication during both solo and partner activities to protect the skin from chafing.

For the man who wants to go above and beyond in the manhood care department, using a quality male organ health crème (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil) is an excellent choice. With Shea butter and vitamin E, this crème nourishes the male organ for smoother, suppler and more resilient skin. It also contains ingredients to encourage healthy circulation, something needed for strong tumescence. Treat oneself to Man1 Man Oil for a male organ that looks and feels its best.

Visit http://www.menshealthfirst.com for additional information on most common male organ health issues, tips on improving organ sensitivity and what to do to maintain a healthy member. John Dugan is a professional writer who specializes in men’s health issues and is an ongoing contributing writer to numerous websites.