6 Life-saving Tips For Running A Generator At Home

In almost every home in Nigeria, you will find a generator because power is unstable. Some run their generator for 24 hours while others run it in the night.  However, in recent times, we have heard of people dying because of generator fumes. It is unfortunate but true. Obviously, this carbon monoxide is very harmful to the body. In line with this, Latest9ja shares lifesaving tips for running a generator at home.

A group of Generator producing smoke 

Your generator should be far away from your window

As long as generators use dirty energy such fuel or diesel, it will always release fumes. So, it should be reasonably far away from your window. Do not say that because you tightly shut your window and doors, you want to place it beside it. It is dangerous.

Use your generator outdoor

You will be shocked that some people in this country use their generator right in their parlour or sitting room. They don’t want to leave it outside for fear of it being stolen or because they are too lazy to go outside to switch it off. You are joking with your life if you continue with this practice.

Do not run it in an enclosed area

A generator needs ventilation to function properly because of the heat it produces while it is working. Always use your generator in an open space so that it will be able to breathe. A generator may stop working or explode if there is no ventilation.

Turn off all your appliances

Before you start your generator, turn off all your appliances to prevent any damage. This is because a power surge can destroy your devices. Also, do not overload your generator.

Never refuel a hot generator

It is no gainsaying that you should not refuel a generator while it is running let alone when it is hot. Your generator may explode if you do this. Hence, switch off before refuelling.

Periodic maintenance

Always maintain your generator by taking it for regular checkup especially when it produces fumes. Sooner or rather than later, it will collapse.

5 Things to consider before renting an apartment for the first time

When you become a part of the private rented sector for the first time, there are a number of things you have to consider to ensure you are not cheated and that you’re in a secure and safe tenancy Latest9ja shares 6 things you as a first time renter should consider before renting an apartment.

A graphic image named "For Rent" 

Tenancy Contracts

Though they tend to be long, confusing and full of legal jargon, it is important to avoid the temptation of just skipping to the end and signing it without reading. A tenancy contract is a legally binding document that mandates your landlord to do certain things that you definitely should be aware of to avoid being taken by a rude surprise.

Upfront Costs

It’s easy for first-time renters to forget that aside monthly or yearly rent, there are also upfront costs of renting an apartment and you’ll almost always have to complete the payment of the costs before you can move into the apartment. You should prepare and plan ahead for these costs to avoid a rude shock in this area.

Long Term Costs

Aside monthly or yearly rent, there are other utility payments like electricity, water etc. that you have to consider. You need to be sure if certain utilities are covered by your rent and provided for or if you will have to either source for them or pay for them.

Take a Meter Reading Before Signing on the Dotted Line

Landlords are fond of passing on previous electricity bills to new and unsuspecting tenants. Ensure you are not a victim of this by taking a meter reading of the electricity meter when you come to inspect the house. You can also request to see evidence that electricity bills have been paid to date and there are no outstanding bills left for you to shoulder. Please ensure you do this to avoid being charged by PHCN for electricity previous tenants used.

Safety and Appearance of the Neighbourhood

Many first-time renters often get carried away with the excitement of renting their first apartment and forget to assess the safety of the neighbourhood their renting the apartment in. Please ensure you do not make this mistake. Landlords will hardly be truthful or sincere about the safety of the neighbourhood of their apartments, so you have to ask around and make necessary enquiries. You can talk to one or two people who live and work around the area to get information about what the area is really like.

Accessibility

Try to get an apartment that has an easy or relatively easy access to public transportation, provision stores, medical facilities or anything else you consider important to your living situation. This will help make life in the apartment easier for you.

[A MUST READ] Do You Know You Can Make Money From These Online Jobs?

By now, as many of you are aware, I am of the belief that the internet is more than just where we should just catch fun. No rule says we cannot have fun while we earn.

After all, the fun itself is not really free. We all buy data to access the internet. So, what if we also make some money out of it? I mean, what if we decide to earn legitimately from it?

It is on this ground that I am bringing fresh online ideas that you can tap into. They are easy-to-do because they are not time-consuming and require virtually no skill. More still, they are in great demand. You just need to know where to look on the internet.

Subsequently, they have to hire others. If you pick one or two from the list of these jobs, you will soon discover that all you need do is learn the ropes of how to go about it. With time, you will be able to deliver plenty jobs in a short time while earning handsomely.

So are you ready to earn some money online? If your answer is “yes”, then read on.

1. Transcription: This job requires you to convert speech on audio or video files to written texts. As you can see, this requires no skill. When you receive any job, you are to listen to the recording and write it word-for-word. The transcriptions can be on anything ranging from proceedings at a meeting to voice dictations etc. To make it easy on yourself, you should get a headset which can help boost the sound of the recordings which will, in turn, make your transcription easy.

2. Article writing: Article writing is one job that is always on demand. Most people think this is difficult and require skill, but it does not. Many people with education that has nothing to do with writing are doing this job to make ends meet. Most information on the internet is recycled, and very few are new.

Clients are aware of this, and that is why they will give you writing jobs from a wide variety of subjects. If you can basically research, understand and rewrite stuffs, then you are good to go. The reason you need to know how to rewrite in your own words is to avoid plagiarism.

3. Online Data Entry: These kind jobs command some experience and basic computer knowledge. In this job, you are to input data which may be alphabetic, numeric or symbolic into a company’s system. The data may come in handwritten forms or audio files. You need to be well organized to excel in this job. Also, meeting deadlines is very important. Of course, it offers great flexibility regarding work timings: night or day shifts, part time or full time.

4. Voice Over: How good is your oral English? If you have a good command of English language and pronunciation, this is what is ideal for you. There are individuals and companies who need audio recordings for various purposes.

Going directly to online markets where people like you are, is more cost effective for them. You will often get requests for voice over on virtually anything you can imagine. Jobs of this nature generally will require at least a 30 seconds voice over for which you will be paid.

5. Translation: If you can speak two or more foreign languages, you may be interested in this. People who can speak another foreign language are like hot cakes.

There are various reasons why this kind of people is needed online. It could be to hire them as an instructor or to translate from one language to another. And since people who can speak multiple languages are in short supply, the offer for their service is often very attractive.

6. Affiliate Marketing: This is one job that many people are yet to take advantage of. Maybe the reason is that the idea has not been around them for long. What this job entails is recommending products to people online. People always need clarifications when they want to make purchases so they can be better informed.

This is where you come in. Whenever they make the purchase of the products, you will get a commission from the sale. I have compiled everything you need to succeed in Affiliate Marketing as you will see below. The job is easy. What you need to do is simply to make recommendations. And there is no limit to how much you can earn.

In summary, there are so many ideas on earning online. If you’ve never found the ones that suits you, it is because you never did any research. With the above fresh ideas, you begin to earn right from the comfort of your home. All you need do is pick one and start working on.

Finally here! 6 Ultimate Solutions To Snoring!

Snoring can be very irritating sometimes. Imagine when sleeping and a weird noise is sounding from a hotel room. It is so loud that you think it is a bomb and this happens whenever the person sleeps. Unfortunately, when you tell your friend or your partner that they are snoring, they will vehemently deny it. I don’t snore, they will say. But how will you know if you snore except someone tells you? Anyway, when next you snore, your friend can just record it for you to believe. This said if you are a habitual snorer, and your friends have told you several times about it. 

Clear your nostrils

If your nostrils or nasal passages are blocked, it is 90% definite that you are going to snore. You should always clear your nostrils if it is blocked before you sleep.

Sleep on your side

Sleeping on your back will make you snore. When you recline on your back, it will force the base of your tongue and soft palate to crash to the back wall of your throat, causing you to snore during sleep. Sleeping on your side will prevent this.

Stay hydrated

The more you are dehydrated, the more susceptible you are to snoring. So, drink several cups of water daily to chase snoring away.

Lose weight

Both slim and chubby individuals snore. But over time, studies have shown that if you are overweight, your neck will gather too much tissue which can affect your breathing. So, shed some weight to deal with snoring.

Use an anti-snoring mouthpiece or guard

If you snore, then you should buy anti-snoring guard to prevent snoring whenever you sleep. However, know that using this guard doesn’t necessarily mean that you do not snore. You should use the anti-snoring guard when you want to sleep and on a doctor’s recommendation.

Avoid bedtime alcohol and smoking

Drinking alcohol or smoking few hours before you sleep is a recipe for snoring because it won’t allow you muscles to relax. You will be surprised that even people who do not snore will, after drinking alcohol or smoking.

8 SKIN CLEARING REMEDIES YOU SHOULD KNOW

Good skincare is the best way to avoid acne, blemishes and dark spots. It takes work and dedication to stick to your routine and maintain good skincare. These are  8 skin-clearing remedies that will not only help you maintain good skin care, but are simple enough to implement routinely.

Mixture of Raw Honey and Brown Sugar

Mix 1 tablespoon of raw honey with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix them together well and then store in a glass jar with an airtight lid. The mixture should be kept at room temperature. Before you apply the mixture to your skin, wash your face well. Apply ½ tablespoon of the scrub to your wet skin. Gently massage the mixture in a circular motion and avoid getting it in your eyes. When you are done with the scrub, rinse your face with lukewarm water and pat dry with a towel. This remedy helps to remove dark spots.

Note that you should be careful with this remedy and use sparingly, as it can have a bleaching effect on the skin when it’s overdone.

Aloe Vera

This is a highly nutritious plant that does wonders for the skin. It is easy to grow and is attractive enough to be used as a decorative item in your home. Aloe Vera is succulent; therefore it stores a lot of water within its leaves and only needs to be watered at least two or three times a month. Buying a potted aloe vera plant is also easy and rather inexpensive.

Use aloe vera regularly to reduce inflammation, and prevent bacteria from affecting your acne. Also, rub aloe vera on dark spots once or twice daily to reduce hyperpigmentation and clear dark spots.

Vitamin E

Purchase liquid vitamin E. Dab the liquid onto the dark spots on your face. If you don’t have liquid vitamin E, buy vitamin E capsules. Open the capsules and mix with little water until a thin liquid is formed. This remedy provides the skin with plenty antioxidants to help even your skin tone.

Sweet Organic Honey

First, rinse your face with warm water. Then, take a spoonful of organic honey and spread evenly on your face. Leave it on your face for 30 minutes, and then rinse with warm water. This brings a glow to your skin and helps to prevent acne.

Jojoba Oil

This is an effective natural moisturizer. You can use a pipette to drop 5 to 6 drops of the oil on a cotton ball, then dab on your acne. The oil doesn’t clog your pores; rather it works to improve your natural oil balance.

Cucumber

Cucumbers have nourishing, hydrating and astringent properties that help improve the overall appearance of the skin by repairing damaged skin cells, removing dead skin cells and adding a fresh glow to your skin. It helps to prevent acne and black spots.

To apply, you first cut a fresh cucumber into thick slices and then rub thoroughly all over your face. Leave it on overnight and rinse with warm water in the morning. You should try to do this daily before going to bed.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

Purchase a bottle of apple cider vinegar, then mix equal parts of water and apple cider vinegar together. Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and apply on your face in a circular motion. Leave it on overnight and wash the area preferably with warm water in the morning. You should try to do this every night before going to bed. The acids present in the ACV exfoliate dead skin cells and reveals a fresh and healthy layer of skin cells. ACV is also an astringent and prevents your pores from getting infected and inflamed.

Egg White and Lemon Mask

Gather and beat 1 egg white until it becomes frothy. Add juice from ½ a lemon to your egg white, and then mix together. Apply the mask to your face and leave on for 30 minutes. Gently rinse it off with warm water and apply a moisturizer on your skin.

Egg white helps to tighten your pores and remove built up dirt from your skin. Lemon not only exfoliates but brightens your skin, so you should therefore use sparingly to temper its bleaching effects.  Lemon is also a good source of alpha hydroxyl acids and vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to reduce hyper production of melanin, so aside using lemon for your mask, you should also consider eating food with high vitamin C content.

7 Ways To Increase Your Blog’s Traffic

We create blogs for people to visit and read our content. But most times, we find this is not the case and it seems like our blogs are not visible to our target audience. These are 7 ways to help increase your blog’s traffic.

BE STRATEGIC WITH YOUR CONTENT MARKETING EFFORTS

Increasing your blog traffic is not just about creating quality content, it’s largely about being strategic about your content. This means you should ensure your content meets a specific need. It should be centered on your audience, what they love and what they want to read.

For ideas on this, you can check out Quora or any popular question-and-answer site to know the questions people want answered that relate to your blog’s focus. You can also try blog topic generators, keyword search tools or content marketing tools like Buzzsumo to learn more about what your target audience reads and what gets their attention. In all, be sure to incorporate appealing infographics and visual aids for your posts, to create content that people will want to read and share.

Also, to help your content marketing efforts you should ensure you post evergreen content on your blog, one that will remain relevant even after a long while. You should also ensure your headlines are catchy and useful enough to your target audience to get clicked.

TAILOR YOUR CONTENT TO AN AUDIENCE LIKELY TO SHARE

Try to tailor your content to and target communities that are active with content sharing. For example, great and useful infographics, interesting videos and remarkable collection of facts and articles that contain interesting information should be targeted at audiences who are potential content distributors (people who are sure to have accounts on multiple social networks) and heavy content sharers (people who are extremely active users that run blogs, sites or are growing their social network to influencer level).

FIND OUT WHERE A LARGE PORTION OF YOUR AUDIENCE IS

Google search can help you with this. You basically need to identify blogs, forums, websites and social media communities where active discussions and content about subjects within your blog’s focus are shared. A web-based tool like Google’s Display Planner can help you expand and be more definitive with your search. Once you’ve identified the communities, you can start participating in them. But be careful not to rush into this participation, first attempt to understand the nature of the community and what is and isn’t appropriate in the community, to avoid mistakes when commenting and contributing.

INSTALL AN ANALYTICS SOFTWARE

One of the best and free analytics software to install is Google Analytics. This tool will help you see where visits originate, the sources that drive quality traffic and what others are saying about you and your content when they link over. The great insights gotten from this tool will help to define your marketing path and help you put more effort into effective marketing paths. It will also help you know where you are succeeding and where you have an opportunity.

JOIN SOCIAL SHARING COMMUNITIES

Social sharing sites present a great way to share your content. Aside the fact that they provide excellent inspiration for your blog posts, they also provide a platform that engages with other social sharing platforms and increase the likelihood of getting more fans and developing more links and traffic. You should be sure to be active on these platforms and engage with others, don’t just drop-by to simply leave links and upload posts and go.

GUEST BLOG (AND ALLOW OTHERS TO GUEST BLOG ON YOUR BLOG TOO)

No man is an island. You should entertain the idea of guest blogging on other blogs and allowing others to guest blog on yours. Friends and professional connections can help with this, especially if you are just starting out with your blog and don’t have much bloggers interesting in guest blogging on your blog or allowing you guest blog on theirs.

Guest blogging is a great way to spread your reach and increase your traffic. You should ensure you do not get discouraged when you get multiple ‘no’ responses. You should also send samples of your work along with your request to guest blog. In addition, rather than asking for a fresh contribution from someone with a ‘significant industry profile’, ask them for specific pieces they have written before that apply to your area.

OPTIMIZE YOUR BLOG FOR SPEED AND MOBILE

If your blog takes forever to load, it can discourage readers from visiting your blog. Google’s Page Speed Insight tool can help you analyze the speed of your blog site and give you tips on how to improve it.

Most people who visit your blog are likely to do so with their mobile devices; you should therefore seek for ways to optimize your blog site for mobile. Consider using plugins like WordPress plugins to execute this.