Stand at fan height and look down each blade. Do any look warped, cracked, or bent? Check the blade holders, the metal pieces at the base of each blade, and check for any cracks or wear. If you have broken or warped blades or blade holders you should contact your fan's manufacturer for a replacement. Hold the yardstick up to the ceiling and spin the fan so that the outside edge of a blade lines up with the yardstick. Note the height of the blade, and then check the other blades to make sure they are the same. Keep the yardstick in place the entire time, spinning the fan to make sure all the blades meet the yardstick at the same height. Since fans blades are usually tilted, make sure you measure from the same edge on every blade -- the highest corner is usually the easiest to mark. If you don't have a yardstick, a board or piece of paper should work too. Use a permanent marker to note the height of each blade, keeping your measurement instrument in the same place while spinning the blades. this screw may be covered up or hard to reach, but it is found where the blade hanger (metal piece attaching the wooden blade to the fan) meets the motor. Get in and tighten this screw, which should raise the fan. Do not do this if a blade holder is cracked, as it could cause it to break. However, light pressure can be used to bend the blade to the right height. Hold onto the base of the fan with one hand, keeping it still. Put gentle upward or downward pressure on the blade holder at the point where it meets the blade to align it correctly. Check the height of the blades one more time to make sure everything is well aligned. Remember to use your yardstick and spin the blades instead of moving the measuring stick. If the wobble is gone, it should stay that way unless someone accidentally clips a blade. A vertical variance of even 1/8" in one blade can cause it to wobble, so make sure you get this right before moving on to fan balancing.

Summary: Use a step-ladder to check each blade for warping. Use a yardstick to measure for equal blade height. Tighten the screws connecting the blade hanger to the motor for any low blades. Gently bend the blade holders up or down to get them aligned. Test the fan.

If you are having trouble clearing a Eustachian tube blockage on your own, consider making an appointment with your doctor. You'll need to describe your symptoms so your doctor can advise you on the best course of action. Be sure to schedule an appointment with your doctor right away if you have a headache that continues for more than a couple days, or if there is pain associated with your Eustachian tube blockage. If you have chronic Eustachian tube blockage, you may want to talk to your doctor about the possibility of corrective tubal surgery. In severe cases, your doctor may recommend placing a pressure equalization tube (PET) in your eardrum in a fairly minor surgical procedure. This surgery is quite common in young children who have recurrent ear infections because of poor-functioning Eustachian tubes. In this minor surgery, your doctor will make a tiny incision in your eardrum that allow access to any fluid that has built up so it can be suctioned out. The incision may need to remain open for a little while to allow the swelling of the Eustachian tube lining to go down. Discuss this option with your doctor and decide if it is the right path for your treatment.

Summary: Visit your doctor. Consider getting PET tubes. Get myringotomy.

While South Carolina is the only state that has outlawed tobacco screens entirely it's important to know that more than half the states in the United States have provisions in place that prevent employers from establishing hiring practices or incorporating punishment based on your activities outside of work, including tobacco use. If you live in one of the 29 states with these provisions in place, you don't need to submit for a tobacco screen willfully. Click here for a state-by-state breakdown of tobacco screening laws. "Tobacco tests" are usually performed by screening for cotinine, and are usually some combination of mouth swabs, urinalysis, and blood testing. Cotinine is the primary metabolite of nicotine. Nicotine leaves the body in a few hours, but cotinine has a longer half-life, and is usually present for up to a week. Cotinine has a half-life of 16 hours, meaning that half of all the trace leaves your body every 16 hours, or so. If you're a light smoker, most of it should be gone in 48 hours, depending on how much you smoke, but most tests will pick up trace amounts, especially in the mouth swab. Cotinine tests screen for smokable as well as smokeless tobacco, including vape pens and other e-cigarettes. Depending on how much you smoke, there's no way of knowing how much time you'll need to be all the way in the clear, but with the right combination of techniques, you can be fairly confident that you'll pass if you stop using any kind of nicotine 3-4 days before your test for lighter smokers and 5-7 days for heavier smokers. Read the next section to learn how to quit for a week, or more. If you smoke in excess of a pack a day, may need to quit smoking farther out ahead of your test. It can't ever hurt to stop earlier, if possible. If you're a social smoker, or only smoke occasionally, just make sure you quit a few days leading up to the test and you should be fine. Any time you've got to pass a urine screen and you're worried about cutting it close, start increasing the amount of fluids you're drinking throughout the day. Drink plain filtered water. It's good to drink as much as two liters per day, or about half a gallon, to keep your body flushing itself regularly. Drink warm water with a little bit of lemon in it. To break it up, try warm water with garlic, leeks, or ginger to help your body eliminate fluids. Drink lots of herbal tea, containing ginger, dandelion root, juniper, which have natural diuretic properties. Drink lots of natural cranberry juice. Most commercial drinks labelled "cran" something or other are really low in actual cranberry juice and high in sugar and apple. If you can, try to get real cranberry juice that's 100% cranberry for the best diuretic effect. Go to any head shop and you can find a variety of expensive beverages that all guarantee you can pass any drug or tobacco screen and keep smoking right up to the test. Read the ingredients. These drinks are usually just some combination of fruit juices and electrolytes that you'll pay an arm and a leg for, which won't be any more effective than drinks you can get for free, or for much cheaper. Use some smarts and avoid throwing money away on these drinks. If trace amounts show up on your screen, it is possible to blame a smoky bar, a smoky band practice, or other possible second-hand smoke encounters, although this may conflict with prior questionnaire information that you may have filled out in anticipation of the test. Most cotinine screens are performed in the workplace for insurance purposes. If a trace amount showed up, you can usually get out of it pretty easily with an excuse like this. If you smoke the day of the test, the amounts will be much higher, though, and you won't be able to blame second-hand smoke for that. You still need to quit, for a few days at least.
Summary: Make sure the tobacco test is being performed legally. Understand how the screen works. Stop using all kinds of tobacco at least 5-7 days before the test. Flush out your system by drinking diuretics. Don't blow money on "detox" drinks. Blame second-hand smoke.