Green at Home

Options for Green Flooring

There are a variety of green ways to floor your home, which is not only good for the environment, but is also good for you and your family, roommates, and pets. Some of the options tend to cost more than conventional flooring options, but when it comes down to helping the environment, the benefits outweigh the higher costs. One option is bamboo flooring. Bamboo is grass that grows fast. Bamboo is highly sustainable because it reaches maturity quickly and has the ability to replenish itself. Bamboo is stronger than most hardwood flooring options. In addition to bamboo's strength and durability, it is available in a wide variety of earth tones and caramelized colors. Another added benefit is that bamboo flooring is water resistant which makes it a great choice for bathroom flooring. As far as pricing goes, bamboo is a little less expensive than hardwood flooring. A second option is concrete flooring. Concrete flooring is on the rise in terms of going green with your flooring for a number of reasons. Concrete uses very little energy in production compared to the other flooring types, it requires no trees to be cut down to produce it, it is recyclable, and concrete floors do ...

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How to Vacation at Home

With busy work schedules and less cash in the pocket these days, taking that summer vacation, or even a quick weekend getaway isn’t really in the cards. After months of saving extra money to take that special vacation, you arrive at a place that was entirely misrepresented on that pretty little brochure you received in your mailbox.  Tourist traps are the worst, with expensive junk and large crowds; they hardly make for the type of getaway that seems inherent in the term, vacation. People have a tendency to seek other destinations for relaxation without considering the destination that they have at their disposal every day of the year.  Their home! Why look for a nicer place to vacation when you have a nice home all year round? When you live in a nice place, it’s easy to take it for granted and forget to explore the surrounding neighborhoods and sites from time to time.  What can be passed over as old news and ordinary, with a different outlook, can reveal a whole new side to your town that you may have otherwise missed. Sometimes it’s good to getaway from it all especially if you live in a crowded city, or near in-laws. ...

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How to Dispose of Your Compact Fluorescent Lamps

In the 90’s, CFL bulbs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) cost around $20.  Today you can get them for a couple of dollars.  CFL bulbs are available in various wattage, shapes and sizes to accommodate the wide variety of standard light fittings.  Coupled with the dramatically lower cost, CFL bulbs are preferable to incandescent bulbs because they consume much less energy. CFL bulbs have a 2-5 year lifespan. The question is, what do you do with them when they die?  Don’t throw CFL’s in the bin.  It is a waste of materials, and it’s important to recognize that compact fluorescent lamps contain 3-5 milligrams of mercury.  This amount is relative to the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen, and much less than what you would find in a watch battery.  However, with the popularity of these bulbs, the potential for build up of this small amount of mercury once the CFL’s are disposed of does become a significant issue. Fortunately, an even smaller amount of the mercury remaining in the CFL bulb is in its most toxic form.  However, the bulbs are fragile and therefore caution should be exercised that mercury should not find itself in the landfill. Mercury is a dangerous ...

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Eco-Friendly Furnace Filters

It used to be that when your filters got dirty, you went to the hardware store and bought new ones, and you threw the old ones out. Obviously, this isn't the most eco friendly approach, and thus washable furnace filters were introduced. Washable furnace filters are produced with reusable technology that nears perfection when it comes down to effectiveness on foreign air particles that reside in the home and other indoor places. These filters are utilized just the same as their disposable counterparts, but instead of throwing them away when they become too dirty to use any longer, the washable furnace filters are simply washed to remove all of the dust that has accumulated over time. Not only are these filters big money savers, but they are also incredibly durable. Disposable standard filters typically need to be replaced every 2-3 months, which means every 2-3 months countless filters are being dumped in the trash and contributing to excess waste in the landfills. While washable filters need to be replaced just as often, the process of cleaning them and putting them back to use cuts back tremendously on waste and the materials and energy used to produce more filters. Washable furnace filters possess three ...

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Ductless Split-System Air Conditioners

There is a new way to cool down your home or office on the market and it's catching the attention of consumers at a rapid pace. This new cooling system will save you money on the energy bill and significantly reduce your energy usage. It's called a ductless split-system air conditioner and it gives consumers more control of how they use the air conditioning. Ductless split-system air conditioners combine the zone control of window or through the wall units, with the cooling capabilities of central air systems. Similar to central air systems, they have a compressor/condenser unit outdoors and an air-handler containing an evaporator coil and a fairly quiet fan indoors. The coolant tubing connects the two components. The great feature about the ductless split-system air conditioner is that it allows you to control each room in a household or office separately. Each space has its very own thermostat to allow for different settings around the house. This feature is a great option when comparing to central cooling systems, which only have one setting. It's wasteful to cool the entire place when you just want to cool your living room while you're watching a movie. The ductless split-system air conditioner will accommodate ...

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