By Kristen Poland

COLUMBIA -- Lew Wayburn looks for ways to make everyday problems just a little bit simpler.

A resident of Columbia, Wayburn has invented one product ready for the market that he hopes will revolutionize the outdoor home decorating industry, and has another in the works that he hopes will revolutionize the outdoor cooling industry.

Patent-pending Twist-EEZ are specialized stainless steel hooks made for hanging Christmas lights, wreaths, signs, flags, flower boxes and other decorations to the outside of homes that have vinyl siding. Unlike hooks that require nails or screws, Twist-EEZ fit onto vinyl siding without causing holes that could void a warranty. The hooks are made based on the principle that when you twist a wire at one point, the wire at every other point moves with it.

“It’s really surprising; the hooks look very flimsy but they’re not at all,” Wayburn said.

So far the hooks have been proven to hold up to 13 pounds securely, but Wayburn said he suspects the hooks can hold much more weight but he hasn’t tested it yet. For heavier items, more than one hook could be used to increase support.

The idea for Twist-EEZ came a few years ago when Wayburn and his wife, Debbie, purchased vinyl siding for their home. To her dismay, Debbie realized that she couldn’t hang her decorative signs back onto their home without drilling holes that would void the couple’s warranty.

“She told me I’d need to figure out a way to fix this,” Wayburn said. “It took me a couple of years but I did it.”

Currently there are plastic hooks on the market with a similar application but they can’t hold much weight. Wayburn said the plastic hooks might be useful for hanging Christmas lights, but couldn’t hold anything heavier like wreaths or signs.

Wayburn hoped to have Twist-EEZ on the market in time for this year’s Christmas season, but he said he’s missed the deadline to get his product in large retailers. He hopes to have the product on the shelves at some smaller, local retailers and then in larger retailers as soon as possible.

Wayburn’s other major invention is an affordable outdoor cooling system that would be integrated into a patio umbrella or awning. Since the product is still not ready for the patent office, Wayburn won’t give much detail about the product’s composition except to say that it will create a “cool zone that is much more than just hot air blowing around.”

“This is a really exciting project,” Wayburn said. “We think it will be appealing not only to homeowners, but to restaurants and hotels. If it’s, say 95 degrees outside, this product will cool the surrounding area to about 80 degrees.”

The product, QoolBreeze, will be manufactured under the company name NuQool Inc. It was recognized earlier this year by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness for the council’s New Ideas for New Carolina. NuQuool was recognized as an “Innovator” and was awarded a $500 cash prize. Wayburn and his partners are working with SCLaunch! on the project, and are also working with the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership on funding for the project.

Formerly the director of core technology and new business concepts for KryoTech Inc. in West Columbia, Wayburn currently concentrates on his inventions and does occasional engineering consulting work. He said he’s got a list of about 700 potential inventions that he’s trying to find the time to research.

“I think God gave me a gift of creativity but sometimes it feels like a curse because I can’t shut it off and my list grows faster than I have time for,” Wayburn said. “Now, much of the time, my ideas are crazy and wind up not being worth pursuing for one reason or another. But once in awhile, I’ll think things through and come up with a good idea.”