Greening your home: Start at the tap

(ARA) – In today’s environmentally conscious times, it seems we’re surrounded by the need to shop, act and live “green.”  Some of our choices are easy and small, while others can be big and costly.  But one thing is for sure – each choice can make a significant difference. Some of the most important green choices we can make are right within our own home, according to Kevin McJoynt at Danze, Inc. “Installing items like Energy Star appliances and energy-efficient windows is a great step in moving your home to be more green,” says McJoynt. “But changing your in-home water usage can have the most impact.” According to McJoynt, water shortages, energy demands and the cost of transporting water continue to rise. “Finding ways to simply reduce our usage without dramatically altering our lifestyle could save billions of gallons of water each year in the United States.” McJoynt offers up these tips on how you can immediately start conserving water (and save money) in your home:
  • Replace older toilets (1992 or earlier) with newer, high efficiency toilets (HETs).  They operate at 1.28 gallons per flush and could save 11 gallons of water per toilet per day.  Danze has several new HETs that outperform and are more stylish than many toilets found in current homes.
  • Be sure to turn off the tap when brushing your teeth – it could save nearly 3,000 gallons of water per year.
  • Update your bathrooms with newer WaterSense certified lavatory faucets,  According to the Environmental Protection Agency Waterense program, if every household in the U.S. installed these water-saving lavatory faucets, more than $350 million in water utility bills and more than 60 billion gallons of water annually would be saved, plus $600 million in energy costs for heating the water.
  • Always turn the water off between tasks.  Letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.
  • Make sure to wash only full loads of laundry.  Using a high-efficiency washing mahine is ideal, as they use about 28 gallons of water per load, versus an average machine that uses 41 gallons.
  • Take a shower rather than a bath.  A full bath tub requires up to 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute show uses 10 to 25 gallons.  Want to be even more efficient? Switch your showerhead to a water-saving option.
  • We realize showers are a tricky one when it comes to saving water.  Homeowners want to make sure they have a well-performing shower experience,” says McJoynt.  “However, the EPA WaterSense program recently published standards for showerheads that consider both conservation and performance to build support of these water-saving units.  Be sure to look for the WaterSense certification mark.”
  • Fix those leaks.  Most leaky faucets can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.
  • “Better design and engineering of many new bathroom products actually gives the user improved performance as well as efficiency,” adds McJoynt.  “Faucets, toilets and showerheads are great examples.  They’re just like other appliances that use less energy, but still work very well.” 
If all the water-saving green choices still have you overwhelmed, select one tip at a time and incorporate it into your home.  Looking for other tips?  Visit EPA’s Water Sense website.        

Considering air duct cleaning? What homeowners must know

(ARA) – Imagine 40 pounds of dust spread throughout your home, pushed into the air for you and your family to breathe up to seven times a day, via your heating and cooling system.  Pretty gross thought, right?  Well, unfortunately there is a high possibility that this is the exact situation in your house right now.

Through normal occupation in a home, a sizeable amount of contaminants, such as dander, dust and chemicals, are generated.  In a typical six-room home, up to 40 pounds of dust is created annually through everyday living, according to NADCA: The HVAC Inspection, Maintenance and Restoration Association.  These contaminants are pulled into the HVAC system and re-circulated five to seven times per day, on average.

Your heating and cooling system can be considered the lungs of your home, taking in air and breathing it out.  Generally, the cleaner the lungs, the cleaner the air in your home .  That’s why it’s important to get a quality HVAC cleaning done on a regular basis.  But beware, not everyone claiming to be an HVAC cleaning porfessional can do the job the right way.

There are some important things you need to consider so you avoid companies with unethical business practices or bad cleaning techniques:

  • Beware of fly-by-night companies who use scare tactics.  Instead of actually cleaning a customer’s HVAC system, these scam companies squeeze money out of their clients by causing them anxiety and worry.  Homeowners are told they have mold and other toxic substances in their systems – claims which are most likely false and used merely to extort money.
  • Watch out for bait-and-switch coupons,  Coupons and flyers advetising rock bottom prices on “whole house air duct cleaning” arrive in the mail daily for some households.  These companies might come to your home for a very reasonable price, but once they are in, either do a subpar job, or switch to much higher costing cleaning services that often are not to industry standards.
  • Look for a professional who is a member of MAD.  Members include HVAC industry professionals, including air systems cleaning specialists, mold remediators and HVAC inspectors who follow strict industry standards.  All members must have a certified Air System Cleaning Specialist (ASCS) on staff,  Visit www.nadca.com to find a member company near you.
  • Remember, not every house needs an HVAC cleaning.  A quality company will do an inspection first and recommend a complete cleaning only if necessary  They should be able to point out debris buildup that is visible to the human eye, such as by removing a floor register and taking a picture with a digital camera.
  • A proper cleaning should not only involve a big hose stuck in your home’s ductwork, but actual cleaning of the HVAC components as well.  Homeowners should run through a checklist with the duct cleaner they hire to ensure everything is done properly.  You can find a thorough checklist on www.nadca.com.

Cleaning your HVAC system can have many potential benefits.  In addition to reducing contaminants and providing your home with better indoor air quality, you may enjoy energy savings as well.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 25 to 40 percent of the energy used for heating or cooling a home is wasted.  A clean HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature, and therefore, less energy is used, helping you save money on your utility bill.

Is your home making you sick?

(ARA) – Your home – it’s your castle, your sanctuary.  But could the place you go to escape the rest of the world be bad for you?  Formaldehyde, chloroform and even asbestos could be in your home and you may not even know it. First, the good news. “Today we’re designing houses that are green-friendly,” says Dan Lee, Interior Design instructor at The Art Institute of Dallas, a campus of South University, and the president of Lee Design Group.  “Materials today have fewer chemicals and less carcinogenic substances.” But if you’re in an older house or did some remodeling or refurbishing on your own, there could be substances in your home that are bad for your health.  “There’s something called volatile organic compounds or VOCs,” says Kathleen Wakefield, Interior Design and Design & Technical Graphics program coordinator at The Art Institute of San Antonio, a branch of The Art Institute of Houston.  She adds, “They are emitted from certain solids and liquids like paint.” Wakefield says that short-term exposure to VOCs can cause nausea and irritation to the eyes, while long-term exposure could damage your kidneys and liver.  VOCs are also emitted from carpet foam made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  So Wakefield suggests that if you’re putting down carpet you stay elsewhere for a few weeks while the chemicals are being released, And keep windows open if possible to air out the space more quickly and not trap the compounds in your home. Lee suggests you avoid carpet altogether. “Go with wood or natural stone floors over carpets and make sure you’re shopping for PVC-free floors,” he says. When adding a little color to your home, look for paints with low or no VOC emissions.  It should be right on the label.  According to Wakefield, federal limits for flat paint are 250 milligrams per liter, and 380 milligrams per liter for all other kinds.  California standards are more stringent – 100 milligrams per liter for flat paint and 150 milligrams per liter for all others. If you’re building your home from the ground up, consider using copper plumbing.  “Builders have gotten away from copper and switched to PVC,” says Lee, “but copper is a natural sterilizer,  If water sits in copper, it’s being sterilized.  In PVC, it’s growing something.” If your home was built in the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s, the press board used could contain formaldehyde, explains Lee.  And the plastic laminate in those homes was almost always glued and manufactured with formaldehyde as well.  And if your home was built before the ’60s, the floor and wall coverings may contain asbestos gluing agents. If you’re careful about the materials you’re using in your home building and remodeling projects, make sure that caution extends to the household products you bring into your house as well, says Lee.  Many fabric softeners actualy contain chloroform, benzyl acetate and pentane.  These are cancer-causing agents, warns Lee.  Also, make sure you’re using natural pesticides in the yard as well. Wakefield advises researching products on the internet before you go out and buy them.  She also advises hiring an interior designer that specializes in environmental and sustainable design for any home improvement and renovation projects you undertake.