[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house. We've been talking about our top 10 home improvement products for 2023. These are not all brand new ones, but these are the ones that I think are important to have around your house. Well, next up here is made by Geniverse. And this is a, basically a backup power station for your house.

[00:00:27] Eric Goranson: This is something that I have been so impressed with. I have the Jennifer's Home Power 2 Pro. So it is a 2, 200 watt, 4, 400 watt surge. It is their, uh, LifePO4 power station. It is indoor safe, solar compatible. Welcome to

[00:00:57] Eric Goranson: the Around the House show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through [00:01:00] information and education. Thanks for joining us today. I'm. Eric G. We've got a fun episode today. We're going to be talking about my top 10 home improvement products for 2023. These are things that if you're a homeowner that you should know about, that you should think about, and something that you might want to use in an upcoming project.

[00:01:21] Eric Goranson: Now, I will say there is nobody on this list. That has paid to be here. There's nobody here that is something that, uh, we've had any kind of a, this is just a true honest list. So, uh, nobody paid to be on this. This is not some commercial thing. This is just stuff that I've used or I know about or going to be using.

[00:01:42] Eric Goranson: This is stuff that is industry standard out there that is new for everyone. So this is stuff that I just wanted to talk about today. That, uh, maybe expose you to some new products that might make your next home improvement project just a little bit easier. Hey, a little bit about us here at around the house.

[00:01:59] Eric Goranson: You can find out [00:02:00] more about us and around the house online. com. Well, first up is a great tool in the battle of mold, mildew, algae, things around your home. And you really want to be able to stop that stuff from happening, especially coming to the winter months where, uh, houses tend to be a little bit more closed up and in certain parts of the country that can be.

[00:02:22] Eric Goranson: a moldier or more mildewy environment. So that for me is Caliwell specialty coatings. It's a paint, but here's, what's cool about Caliwell and they have this mold and mildew inhibitor that is built into the paint. So it's an EPA approved zero VOC mold and mildew inhibitor. You know, interior wall ceilings, things like that.

[00:02:50] Eric Goranson: So this paint is absolutely amazing in what it does. It resists the regrowth of mold, mildew and algae and fungi. [00:03:00] And of course, odor causing bacteria. It is a great tool for mold remediation as well. Because it works for years with its makeup. So things won't grow back on it without using crazy chemicals and stuff like that.

[00:03:14] Eric Goranson: So that's what's cool about it. So it is a traditional architectural paint. Uh, it can be color matched like other brands, uh, which is awesome. So this is something that's really cool. So it, um, this has had seven years of testing and that's how it made all these EPA approvals. But it uses calcium hydroxide in it, which is hydrated lime, which is super alkaline, which means that it's so alkaline, things are going to grow on it.

[00:03:44] Eric Goranson: So mold won't come back on top of it. So that is really cool. So that is something to really think about when you're dealing with stuff. So. You can find that over at a green building supply. com. They're one of the many people they, uh, ship [00:04:00] nationwide. So that's cool. And it's also safe for people with, uh, chemical sensitivities.

[00:04:06] Eric Goranson: So check out Caliwell, C A L I W E L. If you are painting in rooms that have mold or basements or. Maybe you've got an attic space, you had mold in it. This might be a good thing to put on a coating over the top of that to keep that from coming back. Now here's the thing, I do want to put a nice little caveat with this, which says that you still need to deal with the reason why you had mold and mildew growing.

[00:04:31] Eric Goranson: So humidity is your key right here. Make sure that you've got that dialed in and under 60 percent and you're going to be okay. But if you need to put that Cody on, take a look at this stuff. It is a great way to go. Now, when we're coming into caulking, one of the things that I really like, since we're talking about painting here, let's talk about caulking.

[00:04:53] Eric Goranson: I have been doing a lot of painting projects around the house on the outside of the house in the key here. [00:05:00] Using some good caulking and I'm not talking about just any caulking But really something that you can put on and make it work really well for your application so for most exterior applications what I like to use it's a caulking by Sashko called big stretch and I love this stuff because it really moves with the house, you know houses move Things expand and contract and, uh, you know, big stretches, just a nice high quality professional grade.

[00:05:32] Eric Goranson: It's an elastomeric type sealant. And so what works about this is it really moves and so it doesn't peel away between the 2 pieces like other caulkings do. So it's got great adhesion. It's super flexible and it's easy to use cause it's a water based and it's affordable. So that's, what's cool at that comes in a bunch of different colors.

[00:05:53] Eric Goranson: Everything through, you know, geez, all the way up into the greens. I mean, this stuff comes in a lot of different colors. [00:06:00] But I really like it because it works well for doing your windows, doors, siding, vents, trim, you know, uh, eaves, that kind of stuff. It works super well for that. Now here's one thing. If you want this stuff to work really well, you want to have a little bit bigger gap when in doubt.

[00:06:18] Eric Goranson: And I learned this from the people over at Sashko when I was talking to him, you know, if you've got that, you know, 32nd inch gap, it's not going to work as good as if it was a 16th gap. So, what happens is, is the, since it, you know, if it will double in width, let's say in stretch. You want to have a little bit more material.

[00:06:36] Eric Goranson: So you have a little more stretch that way. It gives you a little bit more, you know, room for application and stuff. So use it, you know, use it. Well, use it in the right places, but it works really well. Here's the places where it doesn't work well. And like everything, there are places you use it in places.

[00:06:55] Eric Goranson: You don't places. You don't want to use it is on roofs [00:07:00] areas with high foot traffic areas of. You know, where water is going to be over the top of it, like submersion, so it doesn't work on kind are polypropylene waxes, polyethylene and silicone and, uh, copper flashing. Don't be using that as well. Uh, that's where you want to use.

[00:07:19] Eric Goranson: Maybe with one of their Lexel products. Uh, or, you know, the clear is the big one there on the copper. Don't use the clear, maybe use the colored big stretch instead. It will work better, but, uh, do not use the clear on copper flashing, but this stuff, I really love how this stuff works. You can find that over at sashco.

[00:07:39] Eric Goranson: com and it really makes. Life easy and I really like how it seals things up now They do have a few more other products out there and I'm gonna put a little bit you know a little bit of a Little asterisk here for other stuff to take a look at if you have a[00:08:00]

[00:08:04] Eric Goranson: Mortar or, you know, stucco, uh, repair process out of a caulking tube, which is great. So really simple. It looks like mortar and stucco, but it stretches like rubber, which is awesome. So basically you're just going to squeeze in the more flex to repair the crumbly mortar, crack stucco, textured walls. Works really well.

[00:08:26] Eric Goranson: And so there's like five colors that stuff comes in but it works really well when you're trying to You know mimic that look of real mortar and stucco So it is a great product to use and if you're trying to go around and get that stuff patched up for fall It's something that I'm really happy with this stuff is working really really well.

[00:08:47] Eric Goranson: So I'm impressed. I really like it And, uh, it's something for you to take a look at because I think it's something that, uh, when you're doing those DIY projects around the house, you know, that's one of the things that, uh, you should pay attention to. [00:09:00] Now, coming up here in the next one, I've got some really good stuff.

[00:09:04] Eric Goranson: Like, I found a really... Really good construction adhesive that, uh, man, I tell you what, if I wanted to put metal together, this stuff works well for it too. So it's shocking how well stuff goes. And if you want to see my list, uh, in a hard copy, make sure you contact me over at around the house online. com.

[00:09:22] Eric Goranson: And you can find me over there and, uh, you can message me and I can email you the list back. Because I've got it ready to go. Alright everybody, we'll come back after these important messages. Don't go anywhere around the house. Return after these messages. Go, go.

[00:09:50] Eric Goranson: So[00:10:00]

[00:10:10] Eric Goranson: welcome back to the Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home. Through information and education. Hope everybody's having a really great fall out there. There's so much going on out there. It is really a busy time for everybody trying to get stuff done and trying to get stuff knocked out.

[00:10:26] Eric Goranson: And, uh, I tell you what, I have been tackling those projects as well. And, uh, just like you guys out 10.

[00:10:36] Eric Goranson: Top home improvement products for 2023. And these are not all like new products, but these are the ones that maybe you don't know about it. This is the stuff that, you know, that I really love. And I tell you what, there are some things out there as far as products that, um, are game changers of how it works.

[00:10:56] Eric Goranson: And this is stuff that I think you might want to take a look at and [00:11:00] really think about, okay, what is this going to do for me? Uh, is this the answer to my next project? And none of these are sponsored, of course, but I just wanted to bring it up and show you guys some of the new products out there. That, uh, if you're struggling on something, it might be able to help you.

[00:11:15] Eric Goranson: Number three here on our list is Ardex CA 20 P they're multi purpose construction at East adhesive. This stuff is a little bit more money. So, you know, when you go out and buy it, it's not your 5 or 8 tube of. Adhesive, but this stuff's closer to 20 bucks. But if you want to buy the right stuff, this is it.

[00:11:35] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, this is the kind of stuff that I think that you could literally glue a concrete block to the side of a building and have it just sitting there on the side of a finished building and it would stay there for eternity. This stuff is absolutely amazing. I always have a tube of this in the tool in the toolbox, because if you need to put together things, I tell you what, this is stunning stuff.

[00:11:59] Eric Goranson: So this [00:12:00] works on glass, metal, wood, ceramics, plastic, even underwater. So, uh, even, uh, if you had to, you know, glue a piece of tile back to a shower floor, it would actually work. And stay, uh, this stuff is magical stuff. It can be used interior, exterior, highly flexible. And what I like is the neutral curing system.

[00:12:20] Eric Goranson: So it doesn't have the solvents water and isocyanates and stuff in it can be painted zero VOC content. So it's really got. All the right stuff for this kind of project out there. So this is by far that I've found the best construction adhesive I have ever found out there. There is nothing close. So take a look at it.

[00:12:44] Eric Goranson: Art X, uh, Arctic CA 20 P uh, it is cool stuff, a little bit more money, but I tell you what, just like anything, when you buy the right stuff. Nobody wants to go pay 12 bucks for a tube and then have to go do it again. So this is what this is about. This is about paying a few more [00:13:00] extra bucks in getting the right stuff.

[00:13:02] Eric Goranson: So take a look at that stuff. Absolutely love it. And, uh, it is a good working product. So, uh, take a look at that. Uh, I'm impressed. That's a CA 20 P if you're looking for that. Now, next up is a universal tool that I have in my garage and it's traditionally used for cleaning up. It's that yellow tub of towels.

[00:13:24] Eric Goranson: Heavy duty cleaning wipes and I tell you what I totally get that my friend Caroline here would be gone You have those things in your house. Yeah, I totally get it. But I tell you what they work so well and Man, these things work so good for cleaning up and one cleaning up my hands cleaning up my tools Cleaning up so many different things.

[00:13:49] Eric Goranson: I, if they work on your hands, they work on a lot of things, right? I tell you what, this goes after grease, tar, ink, paint, permanent marker, wax, trying [00:14:00] to get lipstick off of something, nail polish, food and drinks, pet stains. I tell you what, it is great on your hands and skin, but this heavy duty cleaning wipes do.

[00:14:11] Eric Goranson: Work on cleaning up other stuff. So it is something that I use to clean my hands up. And as I'm putting away my tools, it is great for wiping things down. So you can use it on fabric and carpet, leather, vinyl, metal cheese, yeah, countertops. You know, appliances, they work well. So there are a lot of things that you can do.

[00:14:33] Eric Goranson: You could even go through and try cleaning like your metal pans and stuff with it. And a car interiors, any place you're trying to get any of that stuff off of, you know, just that cleaning done, check out the tub of towels. It is something there's other companies out there. And I, to be honest, I haven't used them.

[00:14:51] Eric Goranson: So this is my favorite brand. I've used a couple of them, but out of all the ones that I've used for cleaning up, this is something that. I have to have in [00:15:00] my shop. They work super well. So take a look at that and uh, you know, you can use 'em on other things. Think outside the box a little bit. Of course, if you've got a, uh, you know, something that's a fabric or something more delicate, test it before you go scrubbing on it.

[00:15:14] Eric Goranson: Make sure in a inconspicuous area that you're not, uh, taking some, um, you know, finish off with this either. So, uh, tub of towels, you can get those at any, uh, Most home improvement centers have them. Um, there are even, uh, here's a cool one too. They do make tub of towels does make carpet and upholstery cleaning wipes.

[00:15:33] Eric Goranson: So if this is something you're trying to pick up after the kids or stuff, they do make something for the carpet upholstery that doesn't have all the, uh, you know, vitamin E lanolin stuff that they put in there to keep your hands doing well. But that is something there for you to take a look at. Um, super impressive.

[00:15:51] Eric Goranson: Uh, I can be working on something, get my hands cleaned up and, uh, I tell you what they work out well. So just think about what [00:16:00] you can do and there's no hardcore chemicals in it. And, uh, you know, there's detergents and things like that in it, but, uh, they have the bunch of different stuff there too. They do have the, uh, uh, a tub of scrub to where it's a hand cleaner, which is more of a soap than the towels.

[00:16:14] Eric Goranson: But I tell you what, I love the towels. That is. So next up here is an important one. If you've got pets and I think this is important because if you are a dog or cat or any, um, uh, any one of those kind of pet owners, the, this is a must have for your house. And probably she's 15 years ago. I put this stuff through the test.

[00:16:44] Eric Goranson: So I was living up in the Seattle area time at the time. And there was a, um, uh, the girl I was dating, she ended up having some rentals. And, uh, I went into this mobile home, uh, that had a cat owner in [00:17:00] it and the cat owner had not done their job of maintaining the house nor their pet. And I tell you what, I went through there with the blacklight after they moved out and we were going to.

[00:17:12] Eric Goranson: Really be concerned about what we had to do with the carpets in there because every room had at least one pet disaster at some point in it and I said, okay, let's. Let's spend some time and see if we can save this before we, before we go around and have to tear it apart and put in new carpets. Because the thing was, is this mobile home court was going to get sold in the next year or two.

[00:17:36] Eric Goranson: And we knew it was going to happen and it was, we were going to get bought out of that whole deal. So we were just kind of waiting in that thing and see if we could make an affordable rental for somebody. And it was very impressive how we did this. And so I went out and, uh, got their advanced basically stain and odor eliminator and went through with the black light and cleaned up those [00:18:00] areas.

[00:18:00] Eric Goranson: So I went around, uh, one day sprayed it, and this is an enzyme that goes after that. So it's not. Harsh chemicals. It's actually just an enzyme that's going to eat that stuff up. So I did it, uh, about every other day for a week and just let it dry out. And then I did it again and I did it again and just went after it over, over about a week.

[00:18:24] Eric Goranson: Uh, let me go out to break here. Let me get out to break. And when we come back, I'll tell you about how this went. Just as soon as around

[00:18:54] Eric Goranson: the house.[00:19:00]

[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the round the house show. This is where we help you get the most. Your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Eric G. We would talk about my top 10 home improvement products for 2023. And, you know, some of these are not new, but some of them are just, this is my top 10 go to things.

[00:19:30] Eric Goranson: That, uh, for cleaning up for building, for repairing, these are my favorite products around the house. And we've been talking about a bunch of different stuff. And I was telling the story here before we went out to break about, uh, dealing up with, uh, someone else's cat mess inside a, uh, a rental. And, you know, I talked about going through and spraying it and, uh.

[00:19:51] Eric Goranson: Basically, wetting it down, letting it air dry and doing this over and over again for the week. What we did is we did that. And I did that, I [00:20:00] probably applied it 4 to 5 times probably over the week. Because sometimes it was wet and I said, okay, I'm just going to let it dry. And I went through that. And it was people had moved out so it was an empty place and we could do that.

[00:20:11] Eric Goranson: What I did, um, as well on the worst ones is I took a shop towel and got it soaking wet. With the nature's miracle and laid it over the top for 24 hours and then let it dry. And that helped as well, just to keep it in there. Cause when it's wet, it's eating stuff away. So that, um, lets that enzymes do its, do its thing to break it down and consume more of the, more of the odor.

[00:20:34] Eric Goranson: And so the last thing I did is I went out and had a carpet cleaning company come in and do a double wash basically on it where they went through and washed each room twice with the carpet cleaner, you know, big truck mount one. And here's the thing, those, those rental ones you get at the tool rental place for the carpet cleaners, maybe you get at your grocery store or, or your little home improvement store.

[00:20:56] Eric Goranson: They really don't work well. They get some of the dirt out, but they seem to be [00:21:00] really good at leaving the soap there. So it's just attracting more dirt. But basically, if you get the big truck mounted one, they do so much better. And so they came in and did it. And then what I did is I went through, it smelled beautifully clean, but I went, you know, let's turn the lights off tonight and check it with the black light after things had dried.

[00:21:17] Eric Goranson: Went through there, you could not see any of it with the black light. It was done. It was taken care of. So, uh, Nature's Miracle did the job, it broke it down, and then by the time we hit it with the, uh, with the cleaner, it was good, and, uh, that house got another couple years out of it. The carpet looked good, we were just trying to save it from the previous careless renter that had cats in there that had done some damage.

[00:21:43] Eric Goranson: So, worked out really well, and, uh, got it taken care of, and more importantly, left a clean home for the next people to go in there with, and it was a retirement community, so we just didn't want to, uh, Leave someone with a mess and that worked out really well. So next one up here is [00:22:00] kind of a tool company, but this is a one that, um, I found this last year.

[00:22:07] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, I love a good garden tool. And this is a company that I work with. And I love these guys, red pig garden tools. These are hand forged garden tools. And I tell you what, I love these things. They have all of these different weeders and things like that. It is a game changer as far as what they do.

[00:22:33] Eric Goranson: And so they will make to your order, custom garden tools, and these guys do such a great job. Uh, redpigtools. com is where you find them and, uh, they do some amazing stuff. It's so impressive, whether it's a long handled tool, like a, like a shovel or a hoe or, or any of those, you know, long handled tools, they have all these different things, which I love.

[00:22:59] Eric Goranson: So, [00:23:00] um. It's, it's super cool. And a lot of those classic tools that you can't find out there. So whether it's a, um, you know, a hand rake or a Japanese hand rake, you know, uh, I can't tell those they have all these different things. So it's very impressive. I love how they do it. They're all made I've seen them the guys sitting there making them their hand forged Really really made well, and I'm so impressed with these guys.

[00:23:29] Eric Goranson: So check out redpigtools. com I'm gonna be getting more of them because I tell you what When you're doing that guarding stuff having the right tool for the job is amazing And, uh, whether or not you're getting a diamond hoe or a Dutch hand hoe, these guys make all that stuff. So, uh, if you, uh, have a gardening thing, take a look at these, this is the way to go.

[00:23:50] Eric Goranson: It's super impressive. Now the next one up here is something that I added this year. This is a brand new one. And what I like about it [00:24:00] is that it's a, it's basically a hundred box, which I like. And so this is the MyQ video garage door keypad. And if you have a garage door opener and This thing is so dialed in.

[00:24:20] Eric Goranson: I absolutely love it. So here's what this is. It's it, um, it takes place at your garage key pad for your mic. You know, if you've got my queue, which means you've got, um, you know, like a Chamberlain garage door opener or a handful of other brands. This works with that. And so it's got a video. So it's a lot like your traditional ring doorbell in that, um, it takes pictures.

[00:24:43] Eric Goranson: It has the video, you can have video backup, but what I love about it is you can create personalized pins. So as a parent, kids coming home from school, tell them to come to the garage. Well, it'll notify you if you have it set up correctly, that, um, each kid, when they use their specific pin [00:25:00] comes in. It'll take a picture and show.

[00:25:02] Eric Goranson: So, you know, if they made it in, cause it'll say, you know, Jimmy accessed the garage using the key pad. And so it's a really great way to do it. You can see who is there. And you can set up the meaningful alerts on it. So you get real time notifications when, uh, it's been accessed, which is cool. And it's super easy to set up, has a battery that lasts, depending on how much you're using it.

[00:25:28] Eric Goranson: It's got two way audio, so it's got person detection, which is cool. So it gets notified when a person's been seen near the garage. And, um, you also get a preview of your notifications, so you can see who's using it. And, uh, you can pay for the video storage, which gives you access up to 30 days. And, uh, it still has the one touch close, so you just hit the garage button, and you can walk away with that.

[00:25:52] Eric Goranson: And then it has a bunch of customizable settings, so you can dial it in, how sensitive it is, that kind of stuff, um, you know, depending on [00:26:00] what it is. But it has a rechargeable battery. Um, you really want to charge that thing overnight because it takes a while I have when mine got really low. I think it took 9 or 10 hours for it to go.

[00:26:13] Eric Goranson: So you have to do it overnight's best. You can just do it then. And that way you don't lose access. So it does take a while to charge. Uh, but what's cool is you can swivel mount it. So it's got like 0 degrees where it's just facing down the line of the garage. You can move it to 100. Um, so it's depending on what you want to do, but, uh, it is solid.

[00:26:34] Eric Goranson: Uh, you can use it on LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Craftsman, Raynor, and AccessMaster garage door openers, uh, installed after 1993 that use the photoelectric sensors. So. Good stuff. Um, I really love it and for a hundred bucks, it is something that you can add to your house that gives you a really, really good way to go now operating conditions.

[00:26:57] Eric Goranson: Um, it's water resistant, [00:27:00] IP 55, which is good. Um, they say it works down to negative four. So you guys up in North and South Dakota, Michigan. Main any of those places that get down to that, you know, minus 10 20s that might not work well with the battery, but Works out really good and it's got 160 degree diagonal wide angles.

[00:27:19] Eric Goranson: So just go to myq. com for that one That's where you're gonna find it great little added piece for security. And I think it's great if you've got kids Or people coming in the house. You can see who's coming in. You can see who's shutting it. You can see all these different things. I think it's pretty impressive on what it is.

[00:27:38] Eric Goranson: All right, guys, when we come back, we're going to continue here. Um, all of our top 10 list, just to hit this real quick, uh, as a recap, number, uh, first one I did. Number one was the Caliwell paint. Number two was the Sashko caulking, the, the big stretch. Number three was the Ardex construction adhesive, their CA20P.

[00:27:59] Eric Goranson: [00:28:00] Next one was the tub of towels, you know, for hand cleaning and tool cleaning. Five was nature's miracle, cleaning up pets, messes. That stuff is big. Uh, red pick garden tools. And we were just talking about the myQ video garage door opener. Now we have three more coming up here that you're not going to want to miss in the next segment.

[00:28:19] Eric Goranson: These are my last three here. And then there'll be probably if I can get to it, a couple of honorable mentions that I think are very important as well. We have that and so much more coming up. Alright guys, we'll be right back after these important messages. Don't change that tile round the house for return.

[00:28:58] Eric Goranson: Welcome[00:29:00]

[00:29:04] Eric Goranson: back to the Round House. Show this where we help you get the. Most out of your home information and education. Thanks for joining us. We've been talking about our top 10 home improvement products for 2023. These are not all brand new ones, but these are the ones that I think are important to have around your house.

[00:29:21] Eric Goranson: Well, next up here is made by Geniverse and this is a basically a backup power station for your house. This is something that I have been so impressed with. And, um, I have the Jennifer's home power to pro. So it is a 2200 watt 4, 400 watt surge. It is their, uh, life PO for power station. It is indoor safe, solar compatible.

[00:29:54] Eric Goranson: And I pair it up because I have the 200 watt solar panel, all weather, [00:30:00] portable solar panels. So I can use this roll out the solar panels out in full sun and have it recharging as I'm using it. So as long as I'm not putting it under a ton of power, those are 200 watts. So it takes a while for that to charge back up.

[00:30:15] Eric Goranson: But I tell you what, this is awesome. It's about the size of a beer cooler. Uh, what I like about it's indoor safe. So if you need it. Let's say your power goes out of your house and you're like, man, if I could just plug in my fridge, no problem. You can plug in the fridge. You can plug in a bunch of different stuff and it will give you a ton, a ton of power to work.

[00:30:37] Eric Goranson: So it has seven total outlets, including 320 volt AC outlets. So this is great for anything like refrigerators, freezers, sump pumps. And um, this is a big deal for emergency preparedness. And. I am so impressed with this thing. I use it all the time. And so, um, [00:31:00] so lamps, wifi, cell phones, this can last about three weeks.

[00:31:05] Eric Goranson: Charging that, uh, a refrigerator freezer. It says it'll go for 30 hours. I tell you what. Um, I've had it go for days on this, so a couple days. No problem. Um, depending on the freezer, they're very, very, um, good on their 30 hours. I bet you, you could get 48 to 60 on many of the new energy efficient ones. Uh, because I've seen it happen with my own experience, a big some pump 1 to 2 days.

[00:31:36] Eric Goranson: No question. Um, and here's what I like about it. You can take it camping. I just took it out and use it for a segment, which I do all the time. And these things work so well. I'm really impressed with how these things work. So this is something that, um, is a backup. Bradley and I use it in the TV show all the time.

[00:31:56] Eric Goranson: Uh, I've got a charging backup here real quick because we're going to use it [00:32:00] today. I'm out doing a bunch of shoots. We're all over the place and we need to charge up. in between shoots gear. So, um, that's what's awesome is I can bring that along and it works like a million bucks. So it really charges and does its thing.

[00:32:13] Eric Goranson: So, uh, I can use it all day long and, um, it's cool. So it's got this lithium ion phosphate batteries in it. Um, they have six times the lifespan, uh, they say over 10 years or you'll have still have 80 percent capacity and works well with extreme temperatures. So take a look at that. That is, uh, jeniverse.

[00:32:35] Eric Goranson: com. They have different power stations for you, depending on what you need. Uh, I have the big one, which is the, uh, 4, 400, you know, max power on that. They make other sizes, other prices. Um, they're really cool how this works. Uh, I'm just, I just can't say enough about them. Um, I will probably be, um, getting another one of these just for backup power on other stuff, cause I [00:33:00] use this thing so often.

[00:33:01] Eric Goranson: It would be nice to have two of them. That's how cool these things are. So take a look at Jennifer's. Uh, and, uh, the one I'm using here is that a 4, watt home power to pro that thing is so cool. You don't want to miss it. Now here's the next one here that I've been using, uh, around the house. For my sprinkler system.

[00:33:22] Eric Goranson: And I love this thing. This is the ratio sprinkler timer. And I love these guys. If you are out there doing work on your sprinkler system, your underground sprinkler system, or even a hose end sprinkler system, they have the answer for you. So, um, I tell you what, if you are paying for water and you have that old dial.

[00:33:44] Eric Goranson: manual timer. This is going to save you money. So, uh, Wirecutter has given this the six time best smart sprinkler controller. It has over 10, 000 reviews on Amazon and a 4. 9 star app [00:34:00] rating on the Apple and Google play store. So this is how you water your lawn without wasting water. You know, if you've ever come home.

[00:34:10] Eric Goranson: From work or a trip or in the morning in the evening, whatever your watering schedule is, and it's pouring rain. You see your sprinklers going. This is 1 of those things, uh, where you're not going to see that happen. It is not going to waste your money. And that's what I love about this stuff. So basically how this works is it's very smart.

[00:34:31] Eric Goranson: It was the very 1st. Smart watering app, and they have just been ahead along the way. So they were first to kind of ensure that to, well, that technology didn't get in the way of mother nature. If you know what I mean, these guys built the most intuitive weather informed scheduling out there. And so what it does is it will change your smart schedule because of rain.

[00:34:54] Eric Goranson: It will go, Hey, it's too hot out there. So we need to rain more. You can work it with all [00:35:00] yards, depending on what your, your landscaping is, whether it's gardening, whatever, and you can be traveling anywhere and access that from your phone. And so it is app based, which makes it really nice. And I tell you what, the weather intelligence is where it saves you money.

[00:35:15] Eric Goranson: And this is where you set this up to your existing sprinkler system. So this hooks up very easily like any other basic system. So this is something to take a look at. And, uh, this is another one of those that I think is really important. You know, it's it's one of those things that I think that weather intelligence is the game changer with this So if you want to save some money on your water Take a look and I've even seen some water districts that are that are giving rebates on these if you buy them So check first with your water company and see if they've got any rebates for you that they're helping with But check out ratio, which is our a CH IO This is [00:36:00] my favorite way To take that existing sprinkler system and put it in there and make it smart and make it where it's going to save you money on water in my area.

[00:36:10] Eric Goranson: I tell you what, we have a huge water bill here in the Pacific Northwest. Most of these waters are so horrible. As far as your water bill, my water bill can be 300, 350 bucks with a very tiny yard. So it's really that rough. So these are things that, uh, if you're paying for water, it could save you a ton of money.

[00:36:33] Eric Goranson: All right, guys, the last one here in the list before we get to the honorable mentions and you've heard the ads in the podcast. So this isn't a, uh, this isn't a surprise, but this is something that I believe in and that is root quencher. And, uh, I know you've heard the ads, but this is a company that I believe in because it really worked at my house.

[00:36:53] Eric Goranson: So. In the Pacific Northwest where I'm in, in the Portland area, uh, in Oregon here, we have [00:37:00] these dry summers where we literally won't get rain for three months. And so even though the plants and everything out there are used to this, my rhododendron bushes that are huge will droop. They will, the trees will look, we'll start dropping leaves because of the summertime, uh, and the lack of water.

[00:37:20] Eric Goranson: So these are things that happen. Regularly here and it puts a lot of stress on the plants. This is the first year that that hasn't happened and it has been my driest summer yet And my plants looked so much better this year. So there's my personal endorsement without being paid for that this is something that uh, really changed how my plants work and I think These bushes and shrubs next year are going to be even healthier because they didn't have the stress that you saw, uh, from being underwatered all summer long.

[00:37:52] Eric Goranson: And so I think they're going to be much healthier because they're going to be coming in to the wintertime healthier than they've ever been because when our winters, when [00:38:00] they start up, they go into rain for months and then we get into the frozen stuff. And then when the freeze hits, they just haven't had a good time to recover.

[00:38:07] Eric Goranson: They've recovered, but there's still plants that were under stress and they're not getting a lot of sunlight, you know, the drill. So these are things that I think are really important for making sure. And if you've got clay soil and you've got them on a hill or something like that, you can actually put the water in the ground and not have it running down and creating a mosh.

[00:38:25] Eric Goranson: mushy pit at the bottom and dry land up top. And so these are things that I really realized around my place were a problem. So check out rootquencher. com. These guys are really good. Now, the next thing here that I want to talk about is just a couple of honorable mentions. And, um, there's a few of them out there that I want to chat about because they're just really good stuff.

[00:38:47] Eric Goranson: If you're putting in a new sprinkler system, check out Irrigreen. And we're going to have these guys in the show here. Cause I tell you what, this is cool stuff. But Irrigreen is a smart computer based program for [00:39:00] your sprinkler system. And it is a whole sprinkler system. So this uses inkjet technology.

[00:39:06] Eric Goranson: And so if I had like a grass star, if I was a Dallas Cowboys fan and wanted to have a big star in my backyard, I'm not, I'm a Seahawks fan. So let's put that in full disclosure. This actually would water the star without watering the border around it. It's really that smart. Well, that's all we got for our top 10 this week.

[00:39:23] Eric Goranson: Thanks for tuning in. Don't turn that dial. We have one more hour of around the house, just around the corner, just after these important messages don't go away. And thanks for tuning in to around

[00:39:41] Eric Goranson: the house.