When to Change Oil on 2006 Honda Civic LX - The Car Will Tell You

Like most cars these days the 2006 Honda Civic LX will tell you when it is time to change the engine motor oil.  Regardless of what kind of car you own, changing your engine oil is one of the most important ways to maintain and prolong the life of your engine.   

The classic way checking is to keep a log book of what mileage you last had your oil changed, compare it to the recommended miles between each oil change as stated in your owner's manual and then change it again when your odometer hits that reading.  For example you changed your oil last at 10,000 miles, your owners manual says change every 6,000 miles, so therefore when your odometer hits 15,000 you should get another oil change. 

The other way of course is to follow the recommendation of the service station who changes your oil (they may post a sticker on the inside of your windshield) 

The best and easiest way I find to keep track is to let the car tell you.  On the 2006 Honda Civic LX, ( and I believe the DX, EX too) the car's dashboard will alert you when it is time to change the oil.  If you want to get an idea of how long you have to go until you need another change, follow these steps 

I also included a complete video below for your reference at the bottom of this post

Step 1 - Turn on The Ignition 

Turn your car on so that your dashboard lights up 

Step 2 -  The SEL RESET button 

Look for the "SEL RESET" button on your dashboard.   This is found  to the left of your steering wheel and the button sits almost to the far left of the dash. 

Step 3 - Look at Your Trip Odometer 

Look at your trip odometer on your dashboard just under the speedometer.   See it?  OK.... 

Step 4  - Press the SEL RESET Button 

Press the SEL RESET button until the trip odometer changes to read "Oil Life".   

Step 5 - Oil Life 

The rest is self explanatory.  If your oil life reads 100% it means that you have just changed your oil and your oil is 100% fresh (give or take). If you show 20%, you are getting close to time to change that oil.  When it is officially time to change your oil (I think around 10% or so) your cars dash will notify you that it is time to get it changed. 

Hope that helps. 

Want to Read  More ?

Here's a post on how to increase or decrease the brightness of your Honda Dashboard Lights

Increase Decrease Brightness on 2006 Honda Civic LX Dashboard

Not all of the dashboard lights increase or decrease on a 2006 Honda Civic LX.  That said, the lights on the odometer, trip meter, speedometer region of the dash do.  This might also work on the Honda Civic DX as well as Honda's  EX models as well, but I know for sure the 2006 LX can be adjusted here. 

This is easy to adjust.   If you are sitting in your Civic driver seat, just to the left of the steering wheel is a set of buttons with a plus sign ( "+") ,  a minus sign ("-") and right in the middle of the plus and minus signs you see a speedometer icon / image.   If you are really having trouble finding this,  it is (as mentioned) to the left of the steering wheel, on the dash,  just to the right of the " SEL RESET " buttons. 

Note: Video is embedded at end of this post if you want to see more

Step 1 -  Turn The Ignition On 

Turn the ignition key far enough so that the power turns on inside the car. You can turn the ignition key all the way until the engine starts but this really is not necessary  ( PS ... don't drive the car while doing this task ) 

Step 2a -  Darker ? 

Press down the minus key to make the dashboard lighting darker.  You can just hold the minus key down until it dims to your liking.  Think of the minus sign as your dimmer 

Step 2b - Brighter ? 

The plus sign will make the lighting on the dash (speedometer area) more bright. Hold the + down and you'll see it get brighter. 

Step 3 - All finished 

When you are done, just take your finger off the button and you are finished. 

Final Thought - Did I Just Ruin My Odometer ? 

So while you are doing this, you might notice that your odometer goes blank and steady is replaced with zeros.   Don't worry. Each zero represents how light or dark you have set your dash brightness.  More zeros = more bright , less zeros = less bright 

Don't fret.  After a few seconds or so after stop adjusting the brightness your odometer will reappear again.

I hope that helps you to increase or decrease the brightness on a 2006 Honda Civic LX Dashboard

Still want more here's a post on how to change the clock in your Honda LX

How to Change Clock on 2006 Honda Civic LX (and likely DX and EX )

How to Change Clock on 2006 Honda Civic LX (and likely DX and EX ) 

Changing the dashboard clock on a 2006 Honda Civic LX sedan is pretty easy to do once you learn how but I found it somewhat difficult to figure out.  Since you much more intelligent than I am, you took the time to research how to change the hours and minutes on the Civic LX clock instead of wasting time teaching yourself how :  -  ) 

This probably also works on Honda's 2006 DX and EX and might work on a bunch of other models as well.  This for sure does work on the LX sedan. 

Note: in addition to the steps below, I also posted a video at the bottom of this post so you can see how to adjust the clock easily in your Honda.
Step 1 - Turn on the Car 

Go ahead and put the key in the ignition and turn it until the power comes on and the dashboard lights up (the 'on' position) or if you want, you can turn the call all the way on so that the motor starts. 

Step 2 - Press the AM (radio) button and hold 

Look at the AM button (that allows you to switch to the AM frequency on your radio) on the dashboard.  This button is just above the radio channel buttons.  There is also the word "clock" next to this button which I somehow managed to overlook every time I looked for this. 

Press the AM button down and hold until the clock on the dashboard begins to blink. 

Step 3 - find the M and H buttons 

Here is kinda the tough part (but still easy :  - )   Just below the AM buttons are the preset channel buttons #1 through #6.  Look for buttons #1 and #2.  See how one has a little "H" on it and the other has a little "M" on it?  The H button changes the hour and M button changes the minutes.  So.... 

While the clock is blinking, press the "H" button to see the hour to what you want and press the "M" button to set the minute. 

Step 4 - Press AM button to complete 

Once you have the desired hour and minutes set, go ahead and press the AM button (aka the "Clock" button) again and your time will now be set. 

Staples Easy Tech Support Can Not Fix Blue Screen Auto Shut Down

The problem I had was that my computer (Windows powered PC HP Pavilion ) would just shut off automatically without any warning.  It was nearly impossible to start it back up without doing a hard reboot or pulling the battery out, unplugging, etc. etc.  The computer would turn off so quickly I really struggled to run any sort of diagnostic on it.

So what did I do?  Across the street from where I live is a Staples office supply store.  Staples offers “Easy Tech” support that, in theory , can repair any number of computer problems.

So I take my HP Pavilion notebook computer to this Staples store.  Instantly I am out about seventy bucks because they require this BS charge to run the diagnostic.  They are only supposed to have the computer for a few day but it turns into a week and a half.  Every day I call Staples Easy Tech to find out when my PC will be ready they just keep telling me that they ran the diagnostic tests and they are still trying to figure out the problem.  I don’t believe any of this as it just sounds like they haven’t got around to looking at my computer. I mean, this shouldn’t take over a week to figure out right?

What Does 89-100 closure cap mean – 63-410 Meaning

So you want to know the meaning of a cap size.  I’ll explain what an 89-100 , 89-410 , 69-400 and 69 -410 means in simplest terms I can think of.

I admit, I am not a packaging engineer but we work with these caps fairly frequently and I can give you a good idea what each of these sizes mean.

This isn't meant to describe every cap size but I figure the 89 sized closure is fairly unusual for caps meant for bottles / jars so there might be good folks (like you) out there wanted to know what these designations mean.

We typically work with polyethylene bottles and their respective closures but this info should work for other closures as well.  As usual, double check with you cap manufacturer if you aren't sure or want to double verify.

Anyway…..

The first number designated on a closure is the cap diameter in millimeters.  Millimeters whether in the USA or abroad is the standard measurement used for caps.   So in this case the 89 means 89mm and the 63 means 63 mm in diameter respectively.

The second number represents the rotations.  This is less intuitive. The 400 means one complete rotation is required to fully seal the cap. If you want to get technical there is also a required torque pound measurement related to the diameter but in layman's terms, 400 means you’ll be able to turn the cap 360 degrees before you can’t turn it anymore.

410 means you’ll get one and one half ( 1  ½) turns before it fully screws down on the bottle.

Another way to think of it is you’ll have to screw the 410 cap down further (more rotation along the thread) than a 400.

So……

63-400  = 63 mm in diameter and you’ll turn it a complete 360 degrees give or take to have it close.  

63 -410  = 63 mm in diameter and you’ll turn it a complete 540 degrees or 1 ½ rotations give or take to have it close.  

89-400 = 89mm in diameter and you’ll turn it a complete 360 degrees give or take to have it close.  

89-410 = 89mm in diameter and you’ll turn it a complete 540 degrees or 1 ½ rotations give or take to have it close.  

Of course you’ll want the neck of your bottle/jar to match the size of the cap as well.

Another Post By Me :-)

Too Many Facebook Cell Phone Alerts - How to Stop Them (or at last keep 'em quiet :-)

My Favorite Bookmarks Appear and Disappear on Chrome

So I noticed some of my favorite, quick pick web pages missing

from the top of my screen on Google Chrome.  My internet browser is Google Chrome and I noticed that when I open a new tab, my favorites (ie favorite website displayed as a button / icon at the top of the page ) appear for a second, then disappear.

This was a bit of a pain in the butt as I would have to click on the tab, then very click (or sometimes double click) on the favorite button before it disappeared.  What a pain in the butt that was to do.

So I tried clicking the "restore default tab" link on my screen (at the time of this post it is located in the top right corner of my screen when I open a new tab in Chrome ) and initially it looks as though it would work but, frankly, it doesn't.

So how did I keep my favorite buttons from appearing and disappearing from my computer screen when running Google Chrome ?

Actually it is pretty easy to  restore your favorites and here is how I did it.  Keep in mind this post presumes that you set up favorites as icons / buttons that appear in the bar just below the tabs / url field at the top of the screen.

OK... .here you go.  Open a new tab. Then just press control-shift-B.  Make sure you are holding all of them down at the same time and do it in that order.  Your favorite websites will then reappear.  If you already have them set up, they will disappear.

Here's a step by step for those of you who want a bit more detail

Step 1 - Open Tab

Open a new tab on Chrome so you now looking at a clear search bar. 

If you don't open a new tab it might not work.  For example, I did it here while typing this post and it made all my characters bold , which is something you don't want. Open a new tab and go to step two....

Step 2 - CTRL - SHIFT - B (seem important notes below)

Press down - CONTROL Button on your keyboard (ie "CTRL") and keep holding it down - Press down SHIFT (keep holding it down while holding down CTRL) - Press down the Letter B  (keep holding it down while holding the SHIFT and CTRL key down) 

So in plain terms  CTRL-SHIFT-B    but remember to do them in order while holding them all down.  I tried CTRL-B-SHIFT instead (while holding them down and it didn't work.

Step 3 - You've Done it!

Your favorite site icons you lost will reappear at the top of the screen. Now bask in your glory :-)

Another Cool (I hope) Post

Someone's Check Keeps Bouncing - Learn To Fix It Here

If Getting Paid By Check Never Works Here’s How to Resolve

If Getting Paid By Check Never Works Here’s How to Resolve 

 …… Tired of never getting paid by the same person or company over and over?  You aren’t alone. It can be tough to avoid especially if you have too much faith in the payer and the payer never comes through.  

You can check their references first before locking into a business deal.

If you have a little savvy you might be able to do an official credit check on the person first. This involves my first thought on references but takes it a little further. There are sites that can show you how to do this.

If you keep getting hit with the overdraft penalty charges that sadly the person trying to get paid has to pay if the check doesn’t work, there is a way that might help you. Linked the thought below.

How to stop getting check penalty fees for bounced checks

Stop Facebook New Post Comment Alert Notification Sound on Cell Phone

I downloaded the free Facebook application on my Android powered Lucid LG cell phone in order to make it easier to do all the cool tagging, check-ins, posting of photos, emails right from my phone.

The problem is, every time I post something and people make comments related to that post, my cell phone makes an alert sound that notifies me of a new comment.  Honestly, I don't need my cell phone making noises every time someone makes a related comment on Facebook.

So... I figured out an easy way to remove the new post comment sound on my cell phone.  Here is how to do it:

Step 1 – Log Onto Your App

Open your Facebook app as you normally do simply by pressing Facebook app icon on your phone's touch screen.

Step 2 – Open Menu within Application

I use an LG fusion phone (powered by Android).  This might differ for you but now press your menu button while the app is opened. 

 For me it is that little button with the square on it on my wireless phone

Step 3 – Notification Settings Section

Scroll down to the “Notification Settings” section of the menu you just opened. Then scroll down to “Notification Ringtone”

Press “Notification Ringtone”

Step 4 – Mute Ringtone

After pressing “Notification Ringtone” down in the list of available sounds that will go off when someone leaves you a post or comment. Look for “Silent”

Press “Silent” (you’ll see the radio button change)   Then Press “OK”

Step 5 – Now the Sound is Muted

That should do it. The notification ringtone will now be muted / disabled. Now you won’t hear that tone every time someone has a post or comment for you

I hope that helps! 

Another posts.... how to block someone from seeing you on Facebook

Stop Plenty of Fish POF App New Matches Alert on Cell Phone

Introduction to Stopping Cell Phone Match Notifications of POF

OK, so you are looking for love on the Plenty of Fish website but at the same time you don't want to be overwhelmed with information, spam, unnecessary message, etc etc coming directly from Plenty of Fish ( POF ) to your cell phone

I ran into this sometime back when I loaded the Plenty of Fish ( POF ) application and I started getting every single new matches alert on my cell phone.  I do like the POF site but honestly their daily matches so to speak doesn't really do much for me let alone have it vibrate, make a sound, light up the screen, etc on my cell phone every time.

So to stop the new matches alert on you cell phone just follow these steps.  I have the LG Lucid Cell phone but this process should work on other variations of smartphones too. Give it a shot. It might not be the exact fix for your cell phone but it might be close enough to help you out.

OK....

Step One 

Menu Button On Lucid Cell (just above my index finger)

After you log into the POF app , you'll be on the home screen.  Your cell phone should have a menu button on it.  On my cell phone it is the the lower left button with the little square on it on the cell phone.

Press that button

Step Two 

A menu will pop up.  Look for SETTINGS on your cell phone screen and press it.

Step Three

Another menu will appear. Scroll down (or up) until you find NOTIFICATION SETTINGS

Step Four

Uncheck  NEW MATCHES

That's It!

Now going forward your new matches alert from POF will not vibrate, ring, light up, etc on your wireless smartphone.


 Want to Learn More POF Tips and Troubleshooting?

Hide Your Profile on Plenty of Fish 

Can I Block a User From Seeing Me on POF

Having Samsung Lucid Cell Phone Warn if Going Over Data

If you are worried about going over your data limit I don't blame you. Unless you are on an unlimited data cell phone plan, it can get costly if you go over your allowed data usage. Here's an easy way to have your Samsung Lucid Cell Phone warn you if you are going over your data limit

Step 1


From your home page press that menu / settings button on the lower left area on your wireless phone. It is the one that has the little square within the larger square. on it.

Step 2

Choose "Settings"

Step 3

Choose "Data Usage"

Step 4

Make sure the box is checked that says "Alert Me About Data Usage"

Step 5

You'll see a graph swipe your finger down the graph and you'll see a line running horizontally. It will say something like "2.0 gb warning" or something like that. This is the amount of data you can use up before your cell phone warns you. Make sure you position the bar so that it is somewhere BELOW your allotted free data allowance. If you put it too high, you'll be hit with charges before you are even warned.

Move this bar up on down by dragging it up or down the graph to your preferred setting

Step 6

Now you are done. You can exit out of the screen. One final warning though..... at least on my phone in the "data usage" section it does warn that the data usage shown is calculated by YOUR PHONE not your data / wireless provider. Therefore, keep in mind that on a bad day your phone might be under-calculating your data versus the actual data you are being charged for. Just a head's up. I can't say how accurate your phone vs your data provider. Just sayin' :-)

Synchronize Lotus Notes Address Book Contacts

If you want to synchronize or "sync" your address book on lotus notes this is pretty easy to do. Just follow these steps

Step 1

Open Lotus Notes

Step 2

Look to the very top of your lotus notes window (the very top of your computer screen to the left if your lotus window takes up the whole screen). See where it says file, edit, view, create, etc? Select "Actions" which is just to the left of the word "create"

Step 3

A drop-down menu appears. Look for and click on "Synchronize Address Book"

Step 4

It'll warn you it might take a while to synch your contacts but it won't be so bad. Let it sync your contacts. I use Lotus pretty heavily and it took only a matter of minutes to complete (honestly, it may have been even less time than that, it just felt longer)

After that, it should complete aOK. Hope that helps.

Who Else Manufactures White Hooded Elastic Cuff Clean Up Suits

Some industries are dominated by one or two corporations. Other industries have tons of competition. Sometimes it is presumed that only one manufacturer makes a certain item but it really isn't true. I've run into cases where I am so accustomed to purchasing a specific brand of product that I presume that it is the only product made out there. If you want to be an informed buyer, do not let yourself simply assume that there is only one factory out there making this stuff. This is especially true in the speciality garment industry. I've been purchasing those white, hooded suits that you might be accustomed to seeing at a clean up site or certain construction sites. These are the white protective suits that have the hood, elastic wrists, elastic ankles all white that you put on to keep yourself clean.

There are other competiting interests and I wrote a post about two of them. Check it out. Post is linked below:

"Who Else Manufactures White Hooded Elastic Cuff Clean Up Suits"   Check it out.

How to Check Test Quality of Poly Coveralls

If you are using those white spunbound polyethylene coveralls at some point you might be considering buying another brand. Maybe you want to check the quality of other coveralls or maybe you want to do a cost comparison in hopes of saving money. Whether you are considering Alpha Guard, Alpha Pro Tech (same as Alpha Guard), Dupont Tyvek, 3M or other brands and manufacturers, you'll definitely want to do a comparison test of your current coverall versus the new brand you are considering buying.

So, how do you test the quality of white polyethylene coveralls? This is a hard question to answer as your company might use those white Tyvek or Tyvek-like coveralls in a different manner than the company I work for does.

Some wear polyethylene coveralls to protect clothing and skin from debris and other splatter (maintenance, site clean up, construction workers, etc). Others wear poly coveralls in a more clean room (or clean room-esque) environment where they want to avoid having any lint, strings from clothes, hair, etc fall off the person and into the product (food process workers, pharmaceuticals, etc)

So how do you test a potentially new brand of coverall? Well, first, let's presume you need the same style. For the sake of this article, we are talking serged seamed, spunbound, white, polyethylene coveralls that have elastic wrists and cuffs as well as a hood that fits via elastic snug around face.

Second, as a disclaimer, I can't say for sure this test method will work the same way for you. The way I test does not include any worry about hazardous chemicals or other hazard debris since we don't use any. If you are using dangerous chemicals or debris that can cause harm to a person, consult an available safety expert (your plant safety officer or contact manufacturer directly for advise). This person will likely ask for some sort of chemical comparability testing that I can not inform you on.

The only use I have for the coveralls is in an industrial environment where non hazardous inks might come in contact with our employees. We wear the coveralls to help them keep clean and to also help prevent any skin, hair, threads, etc from falling into the product.

Here are a couple of thoughts on how I compare two competitive coveralls to see if they are of equivalent quality

1. Take one of each kind of coverall and lay them side by side. Do they look to be the same size that you are already accustomed too?

2. Take your current coverall and try to tear it and note how easily it tears. You might want to try puncturing it too with your finger for example and note how easily it tears. Repeat the same step with the potential new coverall.

3. Look at the seams of each coverall. Do the appear sewn together well?

4. Look for loose threads. This is a big factor depending on what kind of business you are in. If the risk of a loose thread getting into your product is a big deal, check carefully. Some coverall manufacturers leave threads hanging on every product, others keep it pretty clean and tight with no threads.

5. Check the elastic wrists and ankles. Do they seem to be sewn well. Some makers do this part more sloppy with hanging threads and the end of the elastic hangs loose as well. Others are more tight.

6. Check for fit. Have your employees wear them. Are they easier or harder to put on? Get off? Do they fit well or too tight/loose? Do the elastic bands fit too snug or, worse, not snug at all?

7. Temperature. Also find out if the new coverall is too hot to wear. You'll always get real hot in a coverall but some are much worse (less breathable) than others. Take note of this as well.
I hope that helps. If you are one of the many users of Tyvek coveralls here is a brand that competes with Dupont Tyvek Coveralls.  Check it out as this might give you another option to look at to save money or improve performance on coveralls.

 

Delete Contact on Lotus Notes Address Book

I really had trouble deleting contact in the address book on my Lotus Notes program. I'd open up the address book, find the contact, click on the contact, then click the "Delete Contact Button" and only an "X" would appear next to the contact info. It wouldn't delete

I tried then closing the window and then reopening and the contact would still be there.

If I hit delete twice, the "X" would just appear and reappear again.

Then I tried opening up my address book contacts list again and right clicking on the contact name and then clicking "Delete" in the menu that appears. Again, I'd just get the "X" and if I did it again, I'd lose the " X " but the contact would still be there etc. etc.

So I finally figured it out. Basically to get the contact in your address book to disappear you need to follow all the steps and then refresh the screen.

So....

Step 1

Log into Lotus and open your address book

Step 2

Are you on the page that lists all your contacts? Yes? OK, left click on the contact line you want to delete

Step 3

You'll see an "X" next to the line you want to remove from contacts. Also the whole line you want to remove will have a rectangle around it.

Step 4

Go ahead and refresh the screen. I press the F9 key on the keyboard to do this

Step 5
A window will pop up on your computer screen that asks you "Do you want to delete the 1 document from the database .... "

Click Yes

The " document " (aka address in your address book ) will disappear.

Hope that helps!  Thanks for reading my "Delete Contact on Lotus Notes Address Book" post

Having any other issues?  How about do you find your mail is sending on Lotus Notes. You've used up Lotus Notes memory, so fix it here
 

How To Order 90 Day Supply Medco Express Scripts

You can get your prescriptions via the drug store / supermarket pharmacist but that tends to be more expensive if you are looking for medicines over the long term. For example I had a 30 day prescription that I picked up for $45 at the pharmacy and it turns out now I need a 90 day prescription and I might need subsequent ones after that. I could go back to the pharmacy each time the 30 day dosage runs out (ie I'd go 3 times every 30 days for a 90 day supply of medicine) but it really adds. Up 3 x $45 = $135 is a lot of money and a lot of waiting around while the pharmacy fills my order.

Instead you can get 90 day supplies filled through your Medco / Express Script drug insurance company if you are still a member for typically way less than the cost of going to the pharmacist three times. For example the 3 pharmacy visits totalling $135 only cost me $55 total through mail order for a 90 day amount of doses.

Don't worry, I don't have a particularly deadly or rare illness but even if you have something worse than I do, this is a big help and you don't have to leave home and wait around.

Probably the best way to do this is to go on line at Express - Scripts . com , sign in and find a mail order form. If you don't know your sign in or if you don't want to bother with a form, you can just fill out this information on a piece of paper and send with your original prescription form. I recommend that you make a photocopy of both the form and the prescription note the doctor gave you for your own records. Be sure to send theoriginal prescription to the address they give you though.

I just got this information today 2/7/13, be sure to call your Medco Express Scripts insurance company to be sure that you are still doing the right thing if you are reading this much later. Sometimes policies change etc

Here are the steps. Pretty easy:

Step 1 - Make sure you have at least a 14 day supply of meds before ordering. The mail order process takes about this much time. If you don't, ask your doctor if he has free samples to carry you over or get a (paid) prescription to cover your time until the post office delivers to your home.

Step 2 - Go on line if you have an on line account and fill out the form

or....

Contact your provider (Medco Express Scripts), get their fax number for mail order medicine and have doctor's office fax to them

or.... this is what I did....

Skip printing out the form and skip the faxing and instead write / type on a sheet of paper:

a) Your member ID as shown on your card

b) Mailing address where you want the medicine sent

c) Number they can call you during the day

d) Your Full Name

e) Your date of birth

f) Your doctor's name and phone number

Step 3 - Put in an envelope along with the ORIGINAL prescription (again, I suggest making a copy for yourself)

Step 4 - Then Mail with Proper Postage To:

Contact your provider for the most current address. I'd give it to you here but with my luck it might be different for your location

Ever Get a Colon Exam? My Thoughts On What Happend To Me


Step 5 - Important note here. I guess it depends on your Express Script / Medco plan but with mine the prescriptions are not completely free. You'll need to pay a certain amount that the insurance does cover. If this amount you need to pay is under a certain amount (mine was under$100 but could be different for you depending on your insurance plan), Express Scripts / Medco will send you a bill that you can pay with check, credit card, etc. If it is over $100 (again, might be different from you depending on which plan, if there are different coverage plans, you are on,) this could delay things a bit and the insurer ( Medco / ExpressScript ) will then ask you for payment first before processing. You can contact their customer service team if you want to know what this is going to cost you or if you need more details.That is it. I hope that helped you to learn how to order a 90 day supply Medco Express Script

How to Get Money Out of Blue Cross Insurance For Exercising
 

Urinal Cartridge Sealant Purpose

There are some things that you do not want to skip when you are maintaining your water free urinal systems. The big one is that you want to ensure that you have the right waterless cartridge inserted into your water free urinal. If you do not have this cartridge installed you have completely undermined the entire purpose of having a water free system that is clean, without odor, and less wear and tear on the plumbing.

If you do have the right urinal cartridge installed, then congratulations, you are almost there. The next thing you don't want to cut corners on is the sealant. Each waterfree urinal cartridge kit comes with a pack of sealant (my guess is that you can buy them separately but the Sloan WES 150 we use comes with sealant and a whole lot more). This sealant is typically blue and has a nice smell to it. The sealant is very important for the proper operation of your cartridge.

The cartridge is designed to trap certain uric by product (sediments from pee) that cause odors and are tough on your drain and plumbing. The cartridge also prevents people from jamming the drain with other objects not meant to go down it (such as litter). This prevents the stink and smell of clogs and a backed up urinal.

When you install a new cartridge you want to fill it with sealant. The sealant actually seals the filter. It basically fills in the rest of the area of the cartridge filters that would normally permit odors to escape. The cartridge has a small hole in the top that allows urine to run down the drain. The sealant fills this hole and the rest of the passageway in the cartridge. Filling this hole prevents odor from backing up from the drain and out the filter. The sealant is able to do this and not wash way because of 1) The design of the cartridge and 2) the sealant has less viscosity less dense than most liquids such as urine and holds its ground pretty good. This allows the flow of urine to pass through the sealant and down the drain, while the sealant remains in place and prevents the smell of the drain from creeping back into the bathroom.

That is the basic urinal cartridge sealant purpose. Hopefully this explains how the sealant works and what it is meant to do.

Thanks for stopping by and reading this post.  If you want to learn more about these urinal filters, check out my post that easily navigates you through a problem you might have if the cartridge cap ever breaks.  Check out my  Where Do I Find a New Sloan Cartridge Cap  article.... or the what is that top on the Slaon filter called post

If You Are Interested in Learning More About Sloan Waterfree Urinals I wrote on Post on Buying WaterFree Urinals

How to Put In WES 150 155 Waterless Sloan Cartridges

WES 150 Filter Cartridge in Urinal

Installing a New WES 150 or WES 155 Water Free Sloan Bathroom Cartridges

There are better posts out there on putting new cartridges into your water free / waterless bathrooms. I'm more experienced with the Sloan brand waterless systems but this might apply to others as well.

Properly installing new cartridge at their recommended flush amount will ensure you are protecting your system, drain, and plumbing as well as perhaps helping the environment and definitely reducing odors. These steps are mainly for the WES 150 and WES 155 that we use at work but this might work for other systems you may choose as well

Buying The Right Kit

Replacement urinal cartridges are not cheap. This isn't a five dollar item. You want to be absolutely certain that you are buying the right kit to fit your urinal. Just as important, you want to buy a kit that comes with all the necessary tools, especially if you don't have these tools.

Be sure each kit comes with:

The water free urinal cartridge (of course ;-)

Disposable Bag(s)

Disposable gloves

Nylon Trap Brush

Bag(s) of Sealant

A Cartridge tool that lets you install and uninstall the cartridge

Step 1 - Put Rubber Gloves on! Then put Insert the Tool into the holes of the cartridge. Then let go of the tool. Don't pull anything out yet. If the holes are covered by a circular disk, that disk is called the diverter. You'll need to use gloves and remove that first. Sloane (Falcon) stopped making these discs so you might not see it anymore

Step 2 - Get 4 liters ( 1 gallon ) of soapy water and pour it into the drain. This is to get the urine out of the cartridge (ie displace it ). Note, this is why we put the tool in first (step 1) . If you put the soapy water in first you might have trouble seeing the holes (let alone get the disk off if it is there)

Step 3 - Get one of those disposable bags ready nearby.

Step 4 - Grabbing the tool by the handle (your gloves are on by now right?) turn the tool counter-clockwise until the cartridge unlocks.

Step 5 - Pull the cartridge out from the drain hole it sits in but DO NOT take it all the way out of the drain hole. With the tool still in, pour the liquids out of the cartridge and down the drain. Don't worry, any harmful, non-green, etc sediment etc should remain trapped in the cartridge so don't worry about pouring the liquid down.

Step 6 - With no more liquid coming out, but the cartridge into the bag and close up the bag.

Where to Purchase Cartridges and More Great Info

Step 7 - Get that nylon brush ( 1 1/2 inches wide brush) and scrub down into the drain and push the brush into the drain to the point you can't see the brush and keep scrubbing. Scrub that entire horizontal area that runs behind the drain (portion you can't see)

Step 8 - remove the brush. Prepare 5 gallons (20 liters ) of hot soapy water. You don't have to boil it (I've been asked this) just use hot tap water as hot as you can get it. Pour it down the drain.

LG Smart Cell Phone Language From Spanish to English

So the other day I'm using my Lucid LG smart phone and suddenly the phone gets way too smart for me.  It started "speaking" another language.

I'm not sure what I did but I accidentally, whether through jostling in my pocket or just from fiddling with my phone, changed the language on my Lucid LG from English to Spanish.  In other words, all of the icons, setting controls, Google page, etc, etc, etc where now in Spanish instead of English.

There are tons of sites that can teach you how to correct this but I couldn't find any that actually could teach you using and English Language to Spanish Language (and vice-versa I suppose ;-)  translation.   What I mean is, all of the fixes I found on the Internet where in English.  For example, they'll all tell you when changing your phone setting from one language to another do this:  Settings, Language and Keyboard-Language- Then pick the language of your choice.    This advise is helpful, but only if you know the Spanish translation to "settings", "language" & "keyboard", and "language."  I found with my entire phone looking like Portuguese, or Spanish or whatever, there was no easy way for me to interpret "settings", "language" & "keyboard", and "language." into Spanish.  I wound up having to go to a translation site to figure all this out.

Anyway, since I now know how to fix my phone to that all the words and voice commands are in English instead of Spanish, let me take you through the steps.

How to change LG Lucid smart phone from Spanish to English

Step 1

Are you on your home screen? Yes?  Great, now press the button on your cell phone that is located at the very lowest left area of your phone. It is the one with the square on it (actually there is one small square inside a larger one.

Step 2

Then select  "Ajustes" (ie Settings)

Step 3

Then Press "Idioma y teclado"  (ie Language and Keyboard)

Step 4

Then choose "Idioma"  (ie Language)

Step 5

Then choose English (or the language of your choice)

There! You should be all set.   I'll do a quick repeat in (mostly) Spanish here adjustes-idioma y teclado-idioma- select language you want (English or any other one available)

Other Ways to Fix, Troubleshoot, Use and Get Help on Your LG Lucid Cell Phone

A Troubleshooting Guide to LG Smartphone That I Came Up With.  Tons of troubleshooting advice for your LG Lucid phone. OK, maybe not "tons", but many issues I came up with I categorized on that post.  Have a look.

Emails Not Appearing In InBox on LG SmartPhone, Troubleshoot Here  Newest emails not appearing on LG Lucid, believe me, your not the only one to have this bug on this phone, here's how to fix it.




 

Can't Log Off Match.Com Always Logged On Match

You like searching for love on Match.com but you find that you are logged on all the time right? For some reason you are not being logged off Match.com. That is, when others view you it says something line " online now " but you aren't even on your computer or using the related application on your cell phone. This could be embarrassing if you think you have found that someone special and they take notice that you are still searching for a date on Match 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There are a number of reasons why Match isn't logging you off. One reason there is no sign off is that when you are searching the site on your PC or Mac you are failing to log off before closing the website's window on your computer screen. This is probably too simple of an explanation though. I think your real problem here is that you've installed the Match.com app on your cell phone and the app you are using it a little tricky to use when it comes to logging on and logging off.

A quick way to double check this is to go to the Match app icon on your cell phone touch screen and press the icon. Once the app opens determine if it is asking you to log in or are you logged in right away? If you are logged in right away, the issue is that you are not logging out of the application before you close it. In other words, you are just pressing the back button on your phone, or closing the app without actually going to "Log Out" or "Sign Off" button

At least as of today's date I find the Match app pretty tricky to log out. Here is what I suggest:

Step 1

First, keep in mind that I am doing this on an LG Lucid cell phone but I suspect it will work the same on any phone. OK try this.....
When you are done browsing views, profiles, interests, photos, etc look to see if there is a "Menu" tab on the bottom of your screen. Don't press the menu tab, just see if one is there.

Step 2 - Not Seeing The "Menu" Tab

If you are not seeing the "Menu" tab press the back button on your cell phone. On the LG Lucid it is the bottom button with the arrow turning on itself. This button is next to the search (magnifying glass) button.

Press the back button until you see the "Menu" tab at the bottom of the screen. Again, don't press menu

Step 3 - If You See The "Menu" tab
Once you see this button go ahead and press the menu button on your cell phone. NOTE, do Not press the menu TAB on your cell phone touch screen, only press the menu button on your cell phone. On the LG Lucid this button is on the bottom far left with the square on it. It is not a button or icon on the application itself, it is the one on the cell phone.

Step 4 - Refresh Settings Help

When you press the button the application should give you the option of "Refresh Settings Help" Press "Settings"

Step 5 - Press Sign Out

Then press "Sign Out" If you can't find "Sign Out" don't worry, you aren't the only one that struggles with this one. You'll see visibility settings, user info, text alerts, notifications and above all of that, in the upper right corner of the screen is the "Sign Out" button. Press it and you'll be signed out.

I hope that helps. Please Check Out Some Other Match Dot Com Tips Below

What Happens When I Click The Maybe Button When Rating Matches?

OK, How Do I Tell When My Match.Com Subscription is Over?