A passion for shoes

A dehumidifier of the TTK S series in a wardrobe
Ballerinas, sneakers, boots, sandals, peeptoes, stilettos – the women among our readers will know the problem: whether they are intended to be comfortable, practical or quite simply stunningly beautiful, if there’s one thing you can never have enough of it’s got to be shoes!  Yet once you’ve bought them, there never seems to be enough closet space to accommodate the whole collection. Maybe that’s because in the course of a life-time the average woman will accumulate around 200 pairs of shoes – and that’s only a rough estimate!

And of course these little treasures will want to be stowed away properly …

First of all, it is important to not just pile up all your shoes into an enormous heap or simply chuck them into a huge cardboard box. This is not only a rather confusing and messy way to store your shoes, it also inevitably leads to ugly marks and bumps, especially with the most sensitive models. Wooden shoe stretchers are a great help when it comes to preserving the original form of your favourite shoes as long as possible, especially if they have been neglected over a longer period.

But can you just put your shoes in the wardrobe? Doesn’t that – well – smell?

The biggest problem concerning the storage of shoes is that no matter how often you wash your feet or how much foot deodorant you use, you can’t stop certain smells from evolving. But who would want such a smell to spread to their freshly washed laundry? The reason for the typical, slightly musty smell of shoes is mostly moisture, and if they are not dried sufficiently, they can quickly take on a rather unpleasant smell. If you have been wearing your shoes all day, you should therefore make sure that you air them well afterwards. And if they are soaked from the rain, you should dry them thoroughly for at least 48 hours before putting them back into the closet. High levels of humidity can easily lead to unpleasant smells developing  in your wardrobe – smells which linger in clothes and which are extremely hard to get rid of, even when you bring on the big guns like lashings of perfume and room scent to cover them up or drown them out.

One of the best and most efficient ways of combating excess humidity in small rooms or walk-in closets is to install a dehumidifier. A basic model, like the TTK 30 S for example, is most well-equipped to do the job. These ultra-compact appliances are not only really economical, they are also particularly well suited for continuous operation in small and heated rooms.

And as soon as you’ve got the problem of high humidity under control, then there is nothing to stop you from having a nicely orderly closet… because is there anything that could possibly be more delightful than having all of your favourite items of clothing lined up beautifully in one place? Apart from yet another pair of shoes, maybe …

Play It Again, Sam!

Protect Your Prized Piano with climate control by Trotec

A piano – be it an upright piano or a grand piano, a Steinway or a Yamaha – is often the most prized possession and most highly-valued musical instrument in hundreds of thousands if not millions of homes and households. Pianos, and piano music, are extremely popular all over the world. Which other instrument, apart from perhaps an exquisitely-tuned violin, is able to capture the hearts of those listening and strike the chords that touch the soul and move and uplift the listener to higher spheres, or drag them down – deep, deep, down – into the darker realms of despondency, grief and gloom?

So why then do so many people who own such a beautiful instrument not look after their valuable possessions the way they ought to?

Wood is full of life. It has a history, a story to tell and it still lives on long after the wood that has been hand-picked by experienced and dedicated piano makers has been crafted into a fine musical instrument. Wood, as we all know, reacts very strongly to its surrounding conditions. It can contract and expand – and even crack and tear apart – depending on how moist or dry the air that surrounds it is. That’s why it is so important that you spend enough time selecting the right place for such a skillfully mastered instrument. And it’s not just the acoustics you should be focusing on – on the contrary, the right place for your piano is the room, chamber or parlour where the relative humidity and the temperature are evenly balanced and within certain limits. Strongly fluctuating temperatures or humidity levels that are too high or too low can not only put your piano out of tune, they can literally ruin your masterpiece making costly repairs necessary or even rendering it worthless.

So what can be done to ensure that the relative humidity remains within certain limits and the temperature does not drop below or exceed certain thresholds?

Dehumidifiers are highly sophisticated and highly effective pieces of equipment which are designed to monitor and regulate the relative humidity in your home, workplace or office so as to provide you with just the right amount of humidity that you need. Depending on their size and the application which they have been built for, dehumidifiers can extract up to 20 litres of moisture from the surrounding air in just one single day. This means that they are easily able to reduce high moisture levels that could otherwise cause the wood of your piano to swell up or split and maintain a desired indoor climate with a relative humidity that lies ideally between 50 and 65%.

If, on the other hand, the air in the room is not too moist but far too dry, then you need to be able to rely on a humidifier to prevent you the wood of you piano from cracking to the point that it is beyond repair. A humidifier increases the moisture in the air, but only as much as you would like and enough to create a pleasant indoor climate and an overall sense of well-being.

The right temperature also plays a vital role regarding the position of your piano. Make sure that it is not too close to any heat sources like a radiator for example, and that your room thermostat is set to between 15 C and 24 C. You will also need to provide for some form of insulation if you have underfloor heating and be careful to keep it away from cold spots and draughts.

There are some people who say that a piano is as sensitive as a human being. They think that you should never keep your piano in a climate which you yourself would not feel comfortable in. You may of course not wish to leave anything to chance and therefore decide to use a piece of professional measuring equipment to check that the temperature and the relative humidity are at the right levels. A thermohygrometer is such a professional, high-precision device. It is practically two devices rolled into one. And it is robust, reliable and very reasonably priced.

Perhaps not quite as valuable as your average piano, but it does do its job just as well.

Make sure that your next journey is a safe one

Make sure that your next winter journey is a safe oneWinter is without doubt the worst time of the year for motorists. Roads can quickly become treacherous or even impassable and what started off as a normal journey to work or a friend’s place can suddenly turn into a nightmare. Hundreds of motorists found themselves trapped in their cars overnight and stranded in snowdrifts and snow flurries in parts of Scotland and the north of England when police had to close roads and shut off motorways which had become blocked because of heavy snowfall and temperatures as low as -20C.

But even a trip down to the shops, school or the local supermarket can end in an accident or even tragedy if you fail to take some precautionary measures and prepare yourself, and your car, for this bitterly cold and totally unpredictable time of the year.

Here are a number of valuable tips and some good sound hands-on advice that will help to get you through the winter and make sure that your next journey is a safe one.

  • Winter tyres: There is still a small percentage of the population who staunchly believe that they can make it through the whole year with the same set of tyres. Opponents of winter tyres are often quick to point out that we don’t get enough snow in these thar parts to warrant kitting your car out with winter tyres. Well, this year proved them wrong. Winter tyres are not just better on snow: due to the rubber compound used, they are also better when the road surface gets colder. In Germany there is legislation in place that clearly states that as of the beginning of this month all cars, buses, lorries and similar vehicles which are travelling through Germany have to be equipped with winter tyres when there is snow or slush on the roads or roads are covered with frost or ice. By failing to comply with this law motorists and other road users risk being fined anything upwards of 40 euros and also losing their insurance cover.
  • Tread depth: Don’t forget to check the tread depth of your tyres. The tread depth can seriously affect the way your car handles. Worn out tyres spell less grip, less performance and longer breaking distances. Current legislation requires a tread depth of at least 1.6mm across 75% of the tyre, and although some tyre manufacturers claim that their tyres function just as well with 1.6mm of tread as with 9mm, there are enough experts who recommend that you change your tyres when a minimum tread depth of 3mm has been reached. If you want to see if the tread depth is sufficient, all you need is a 10p coin or a euro, depending on which country you live in. If the tread covers the dotted rim of the 10p piece or the gold rim of the euro, then your tyre tread is within the legal limit.
  • Tyre pressure: Although most motorists know that it pays to check the pressure of the tyres on their car regularly, some uncanny hidden force still prevents them from doing so. Driving with underinflated tyres can put pounds on your petrol bill, increase the CO2 emissions of your car, cause your tyres to wear down much more quickly and most importantly of all they can seriously affect the way your car performs. Tyre pressure gauges at service stations are often unreliable and poorly serviced. That’s why it makes sense to invest in a digital tyre gauge and check your tyres fortnightly at least. And one more word of warning: be sure to check them when they are cold.
  • Clear visibility: Car windscreens have a tendency to mist up as soon as you get into the car when it is parked outside in winter. Do not under any circumstances set off until you have clear visibility as you are endangering your life as well as the lives of others. So what can be done to remedy the problem? Try laying out newspaper in the footwell of your car. The newspaper absorbs the moisture inside your car and stops it from settling on your windscreen. And don’t forget to stomp the snow off your shoes either before you swing into your car. The less snow, slush and moisture inside your car, the better.
  • Check your car battery: According to a renowned motoring association, problems with car batteries are one of the most common reasons why cars break down. And who wants to break down on a remote stretch of road or the hard shoulder on a motorway when the temperature dips to below zero? In winter you need to be able to rely on your car battery, because car batteries do overtime. Of course you don’t want to buy a new battery if you don’t have to. But remember: they power your fan, the electrics, the heating and your lights. Get wise and check to see how much life is left in your battery before the winter gets a firm grip on you.
  • Fill her up, please: Over the past few weeks the price of petrol has continued to rise steadily and many motorists are understandably reluctant to fill up their car and tie up their savings in a full petrol tank. But things can get worse. And being stuck on the side of the road at sub-zero temperatures because your car has run out of petrol is anybody’s nightmare. You really don’t need to top up your car every time you drive past a petrol station, but you should make sure that there is enough petrol in the tank, and one or two warm blankets in the back perhaps – just in case your luck ran out too.

These tips – or better still golden rules – can all change the outcome of your next journey this winter. Please be sure to follow these precious guidelines so that you reach your destination safe and sound!

A hundred different words for snow

Myth: Eskimos have a hundered different words for snowSnow. We have had more than our fair share of it recently. Snow and ice caused huge disruptions and chaos throughout Europe lately when bitterly cold polar air masses rolling in from the Arctic Circle brought road traffic to a standstill and caused airports to be closed, fleets of aircraft to be grounded and trains to freeze in – or more exactly to – their tracks. And if the weather forecasters are to believed, there is more – much more – to come.

But although what we have been experiencing since the end of last month would have defied imagination as little as a few years ago when anybody wanting to put their money on a White Christmas would have been turned away by a bookmaker shaking his head pitifully because he did not have the heart to relieve a poor fool of his money, it is still next to nothing for the inhabitants of the cold north.

Eskimos, or Eskimoes, or Inuit, as we should perhaps be calling them, are used to snow – and lots of it. That’s why they have a hundred different words for snow. Or do they?

Well, first it depends on what you mean by Eskimo. There are several different peoples populating the Arctic north and each of them has their own different language. By saying that all these peoples have different words for snow would be the same as saying that Europeans also have a number of different names for snow – which does not really come as a surprise to anyone. What’s more the Aleutian languages these peoples speak are not comparable to European languages: they are built up differently. Such so-called polysynthetic languages have a stem word which obtains a different meaning by adding a certain suffix. This allows the Aleutian people to differentiate between snow that is lying on the ground, snow that is falling from the sky, snow that has started to melt, snow that fell yesterday, snow that has been piled up round the back of the house… We use additional words to describe the state of the snow or its whereabouts, which is why technically speaking we have far fewer words for snow than the peoples of the Arctic north.

But although we may have fewer words for snow, we are getting an extraordinary amount of it for this time of the year – along with plummeting temperatures and a high chill factor which are both contributing to making life that little bit more difficult.

So what can we do for you? Well, what we can do is help you to combat the cold and these blistering Arctic temperatures both at home and in the office with a fine selection of different heaters – oil heaters, electric heaters, hundreds and thousands of different heaters.

It would be interesting to hear what the peoples of the Arctic Circle would have to say to that …

We warmly recommend: It’s time for the Christmas market again!

Electric heaters to fight off the cold at German Christmas Markets
These days are certainly among the coldest first days of December since the beginning of the weather records – at least that is what they say in the weather forecast here. Now, who in their right mind would take that as the ideal opportunity to spend hours and hours outside, walking through jammed aisles and freezing their tails off? Well, we Germans do…

There is hardly a thing in winter that we look forward to as much as to our beloved Christmas markets. It is a tradition that goes back over 600 years in history and it has become one of the central elements of our Christmas culture. But also in other countries the “German Christmas Markets” are becoming increasingly popular. In Birmingham, Manchester or Edinburgh you can find such markets, and even Chicago or Denver have their own version of this traditionally German advent custom. The festive atmosphere, evoked by lush decorations, festive music and the illumination of the winter scenery, attracts people of all ages to stroll across the market, admire the diverse products the stall-holders have to offer and feast on seasonal specialties like gingerbread or roasted almonds. And, of course, the mulled wine – or glühwein as the locals like to call it – which is, by the way, the best remedy to fight off the biting cold.

But those of you who have to endure all day in the stalls, selling food or artisan craftwork to the jostling crowds, will need another solution to that problem. How about an electric heater? These convenient little devices keep you nice and warm in your market stall, so you can enjoy the atmosphere without getting frostbite or catching a cold. For this is probably the last thing you’ll need for Christmas…

For only €65.39 you can get yourself a super compact heater so that you are well- prepared for the Christmas market and any other outdoor activity … in the Trotec24 online shop!

Do you know what a blokart is?

Just a few weeks ago, the 51st International Boat Show in Hamburg, the Hanseboot 2010, played host to the First World Indoor Championships of an up-and-coming adventure sport which many people who have not yet experienced the thrill of setting their sails to the wind will probably never even have heard of – blokarting.

Blokarting is the name given to an exciting and relatively young sport from New Zealand which has taken fun-loving communities the world over by storm and is fast becoming one of the most popular sailing sports around.

The unique growth and success of the sport can be attributed to a number of things: First the blokarts themselves: the three-wheeled, compact, lightweight vehicles are relatively easy to assemble and set up and just as easy to stow away again and transport too. And with entry level models costing as little as £1500, they are also relatively affordable.

Second the blokarters: the sport is open to people of all ages. Learning how to handle the nippy little tubular steel racers is easier than one would think. Experienced sailors or yachtsmen do, of course, have an advantage, as they are already schooled in the art of putting their noses to the wind. But this does not mean that novices and newcomers do not quickly grasp what they must do in order to come to grips with what can only be regarded as a cross between a state-of-the-art gokart and a small sailing boat.

Third the location: you can quite simply do it nearly everywhere! The sport, which can either be practised as a recreational activity or on a competitive level, knows no bounds when it comes the type of surface on which the blokarts run. Sandy beaches, disused airfields, grass-covered recreational grounds or unused tarmaced car parks – they all provide the right environment for blokarters to carry out their passion for doing it from all angles. And at speeds of up to 25 to 40 km depending on the prevailing wind and weather conditions.

Professional blokarters, like those who converged on Oostende in Belgium to take part in the regular world championship, can even reach speeds topping 100 km an hour. For them the indoor championships at the Hansaboot were an unusual challenge and a totally new experience. The stiff breeze which they needed for the competition was supplied by 15 of our largest and most powerful wind machines. Because that’s what we are good at. Making wind.

So if this article has whet your appetite perhaps you might want to see if this new sport is something for you. Or perhaps you are more interested in our wind machines. Or the other products in our comprehensive series. There’s something for everyone at Trotec.

The key to learning is a good night’s sleep

The key to learning is a good night's sleep

That sounds just too easy to be true…but apparently it really is! A good night’s sleep does not only do you good from a health point of view. Research carried out by a team of scientists from the Harvard Medical School shows that it also helps you to improve the way you store the information that you have acquired during your waking hours by cataloging the data, facts and figures you have gathered and linking them to existing bits of memory.

The results of the study, which were published in the “Journal of Neuroscience”, underscore just how important a good night’s sleep is. But first of all a number of things have to be observed which can all make the difference between a good and a bad night’s sleep:

  • Try to stick to regular bedtimes. This might sound relatively unexciting, but it could easily become a healthy habit. Routines such as this can help you to relax and make it easier for you to find the sleep you much need.
  • Alcohol may make you feel sleepy, but it does affect the quality of the sleep you are getting. The more moderate your alcohol intake, the more invigorating your sleep.
  • Some people are tempted to save on what they consider to be less essential items like a good mattress, the right pillow and quality bed linen. It would be better if these consumers followed the advice given by companies specialising in bedding products and invested in a good night’s sleep.
  • Bedrooms should not be too cold. Some people turn off the heating to save money. But they are not saving in the long run. Cold, clammy rooms provide ideal breeding grounds for mould and pave the way for costly renovations and repairs. The ideal temperature in your bedroom should be somewhere between 16 and 18 C.
  • Keep a close eye on the relative humidity in your rooms. The best way to do control the humidity during the drier winter months is to use a humidifier. Humidifiers add moisture to the room air and prevent your mucous membranes from drying out and becoming susceptible to colds and viruses. And because the humidifiers are equipped with an easy-to-remove, easy-to-clean, air filter which filters dust, pet hairs, pollen and other airborne contaminants out of the air, this makes them ideal for allergy sufferers too.

So if the key to learning is a good night’s sleep, then you really should do something to ensure that that’s what you are getting. Like changing one or two habits and investing in one or two things which could enrich your life. Like a humidifier from Trotec.

Lesson learnt.

The sweet smell of summer

dehumidifiers to help you get rid of the musty smell in your laundry roomAutumn is here at last. You need only look at the calendar – or out of the window. So make the most of the last sunbeams. The days are getting shorter and shorter – and the weather isn’t going to get any better!

During the darker autumn and winter months, we all miss the warmth, the vibrant colours and the very unique smell that we all associate with summer. Freshly mown grass, sun lotion or the smell of fresh laundry can all evoke that summer feeling and light up any gloomy autumn day. But clothes which can no longer hang out to dry in the sunshine and have to be dried in a damp laundry room can often develop a lingering musty smell. No matter what detergent you use, a moist indoor climate is bound to frustrate any effort to maintain a “fresh summer breeze” throughout the long winter months. Laundry rooms in particular are prone to such problems because of the extra humidity which comes from the washing machines and spin dryers. This can quickly result in damp clothes, ugly stains on walls and an unpleasant musty smell. These early signs call for immediate action, because this can easily lead to mould forming, especially in smaller rooms with insufficient ventilation. A dehumidifier can help you to control the indoor climate and create the conditions you want while working against high levels of humidity and preventing mould and that particularly pungent smell that goes with it.

Comfort air dehumidifiers like the TTK 70S and the TTK 75S, for example, are ideal for everyday use: the ultra compact devices fit in any nook or corner and are able to maintain constantly low levels of humidity in just about any room. At the same time, the built-in air filter makes sure that the air in the room is clean and free of  dust, pollen and pet hairs – which is a relief, and not only for allergy sufferers!

And because winter is already well on its way, TROTEC has three campaigns with bargain-priced dehumidifiers in store for you…

So it’s goodbye summer, roll on winter!  And a perfect indoor climate all year round – with air conditioners, humidifiers and dehumidifiers from Trotec. The company that cares.

Get rid of that overpowering smell – and your used car into the bargain!

Getting rid of the unpleasant smell in used carsParting can be sweet sorrow – and especially difficult if the object you are planning on parting company with is that lovely little hatchback, that small-family-sized SUV or that really stylish ragtop which you had once so set your heart on buying. Yet time waits for no man – and for no four-door saloon either – and so having outgrown your car and with that brand new model smiling at you from your local showroom, you decide that the day has come to find your car a new owner.

But there’s something which could make selling the car with which you share so many a fond memory and which you cherished so dearly even more difficult to sell than you had previously imagined – the smell.

It doesn’t matter how perfect the bodywork is, or how impressive the car’s interior, as soon the buyer who has developed an avid interest in your car catches the smell of stale cigarette smoke or any other persistent odours which have accumulated over the years, then the buyer’s interest doesn’t just cool off – it drops to below freezing.

There is no denying that the smell that smoke leaves behind in the upholstery of your car is a real sales damper. The used and new car portal autoscout24.de wanted to know just how big a role the lingering and often overpowering smell of smoke plays when potential buyers are on the lookout for a new used car. Interestingly enough – although less surprisingly for some – of the 1400 people asked in the survey if this fact would stop them from buying a second-hand car, 54% answered with “yes”. That means that one in two people would not be prepared to buy a car from someone who has smoked regularly in his or her vehicle. And to make matters worse, according to Thomas Firmery of KÜS, the Association of Motor Vehicle Assessors, cars belonging to smokers are often marked down by as much as 3 to 7 percent, which, depending on the car in question, can quite quickly add up to several thousands of pounds or euros.

So what can you do to get rid of that overpowering, lingering stale smell of cigarette smoke from the inside of your car? Well, Step 1 is a good, thorough cleaning: the seats and upholstery have to vacuumed properly and so do the mats in the footwell. Step 2 involves using a suitable shampoo to remove stubborn stains and smells from the car seatbelts and the seats’ fibres and Step 3 includes cleaning just about all the other parts, like the dashboard, components made of synthetic materials, the windscreen and windows and the lining of the roof. And don’t forget the ashtray. If you want to play it really safe, then you might even want to invest in a new one if the old ashtray has seen far better days.

And speaking of playing it safe… in order to achieve not just a good, but a brilliant impression on your next potential buyer, don’t just try to mask any smells which might prove to be the reason for him or her wanting to pull out of an otherwise watertight deal at the last moment – eliminate the smells altogether with an Airozon 5000 , one the mobile odour neutralisers from Trotec. Odour neutralisers like the Airozon 5000 use ozone to not just conceal the smell of smoke or other exceedingly unpleasant odours, including vomit and pet faeces, but crack the molecules that actually cause the smell in the first place, thereby neutralising them both effectively and permanently. All you have to do is follow the instructions and treat your car to the ozone treatment it deserves.

So when you are thinking of buying a new car – and selling your old one beforehand – make sure that you go through the steps mentioned above so that you don’t get caught on the hop when the buyer sticks their head into the inside of your car to “see” what it smells like.

Remember: only the nose knows…

Pull the udder one – it’s got bells on

Cows can be very choosy. It’s a well-known fact. And being choosy, they tend to be very picky when it comes to the way they are kept.

Cows are particularly partial to certain types of feed. And certain types of flooring. And they need to have enough room in their cowsheds to move about in. Some cows give the most milk when they listen to the strains of classical music (there are farmers who swear by Beethoven) and others that like to be pampered with a well-meant morning massage. But what – as any old dairy farmer would be only too happy to tell you – cows appreciate most of all is the right climate in their cowshed.

Cows hate high temperatures. Temperatures above 20°C can quickly trigger stress among the more tender-footed bovines. What cows really adore is a temperature somewhere between 4 and 16°C – a fact they are only too keen to display by producing high yields of high protein, high quality milk. But just as high temperatures often affect the milk output, so do low temperatures around freezing point. Now is the time to think about a flexible solution which will allow you to bridge the cold gap and provide you with a means of bringing the temperature in the cowshed up to the required temperature when the thermometer falls close to or below freezing.

The electric heaters in the TDE series are robust, no-nonsense heaters which have been designed especially for flexible, mobile use in the cowshed and in other farmyard scenarios

And now there’s a special autumn special offer on which you really won’t want to risk missing: a selection of second-hand models at knock-down prices – all checked by the manufacturer and all with a full year’s guarantee.

There’s no time to waste. Take the bull by the horns and invest in the mobile electric heaters in the TDE series – your cows will be moo-ved by the way you care for them.

Go here to see our super special offer!