Almost every home has air ducts of some kind, whether a central HVAC or heat exchange unit. And the majority of these systems use straight, galvanized steel pipe instead of the accordion type. And although the flex pipe is easier to attach to stringers the smooth pipe allows for better airflow and will not trap lint and other particles in its folds the way the flex pipe does.

Mold and Allergens

However, even smooth ducting can get coated with dirt and lint. There are elbows and other roadblocks that slow down the flow and allow particles to build up. In addition, some particles are charged or moist and will “plate” onto the surface. This build-up can create indoor air pollution because mold and mites can breed and release spores, bacteria and other toxic by-products into the air. Occupants with allergies can be severely affected by these airborne particles and this is why regular cleaning should be practiced.

Complete Cleaning

Cleaning a complete set of ductwork can run between $200 and $1000, depending on the size and scope of the system. In some cases a cleaning company will charge more because the pipes are in hard-to-reach places. A duct cleaning company should agree to clean out all systems including drip trays, fans, grills, diffusers, heat exchange units, filter systems, fan motors and housing and furnace filters. All exhaust should go straight outside. As well, the company should provide drop sheets and other protective measures for the home and possessions.

Chemical Poisoning

If the professional cleaning company is going to use chemical cleaners find out what they are. Sometimes the chemicals will be worse than the organic allergens. There are environmentally-safe cleaners on the market so make sure the cleaning  company understands you don’t want chemicals.

Interviewing the Cleaning Company

- Do they belong to NADCA (The National Air Duct Cleaning Association)? This organization has standards and the company should be able to show membership.

- Ask how many years the company has been in business

- Ask for references and check them

- Check the better Business Bureau. This is not a determining factor but the information will help you top decide.

- Are they licensed for the area (if necessary)?

Remember, a novice company with inexperienced people, no matter how well-intentioned, can release harmful pollutants into the home that cn have serious consequences down the road. So go for experience.

Windows are always mentioned for their aesthetic value, viewing capacity and energy-efficiency but few articles raise the subject of safety – especially when it comes to children. A 40 pound child striking a window with his or her hand can not only break it but slice up an arm in the process. Windows in play rooms should feature a glass which breaks into chunks rather than shards. In addition the windows should be at the right height for safety and easy access to outside during emergencies.

The main escape route during a fire is the front door. In many emergency pamphlets it is mentioned that children should be able to reach the door by crawling blindfolded because, in smoke, their faces will be close to floor for air and there will be a lot of smoke.

The second areas of escaping are the windows and these should be large enough for a firefighter in full gear to get through. the rule of thumb for dimensions is 5.7 square feet with a height no shorter than 24 inches high and a width no shorter than 20 inches.

Window guards protect the occupants of a house from intruders, and prevent children from falling out of upstairs windows, but these can be dangerous during a fire. Proper care should be taken to show kids how to open them in case of fire. Most have a release bar. In addition, homeowners with older windows should check to see that they are not sealed shut.

After getting the window open there should be a way to get down from the upstairs room. Safety ladders can be kept by the windows in case of fire. These are kept in a bag attached to the space below the window and can be easily released during a fire. kids should be shown how to release them.

Air conditioners and any window obstructions should be easy to take out during an emergencey, even by children. As well, the areas around the windows should be clear of furniture like dressers and bookshelves.

Hanging drywall by yourself is not recommended. Each sheet weighs from between 45 pounds for 3/8″ x 4′ x 8′ to 70 pound for the same size only 5/8″ thick. And even with two people pushing sheets up to the ceiling can be a daunting task because your arms are extended and it’s hard to grab the drill and screws. Luckily for the professionals there have been a few inventions to aid them.

1.  Drywall Bench: For measuring and cutting boards without having to lower them to the floor. This saves on time and sore backs. The good ones are adjustable from 33″ to 44″ in 2″ increments.

2.  Panel Lift Assist: The drywall panel is placed in the carrier shelf. This shelf is cranked up with a winch and can set the panels on high walls or the ceiling for easy screw attachment. The more expensive models can be operated with a hand drill instead of manula winching.

3.  Panel Carry: From the folding pocket model to the wheeled one the panel carrier is invaluable for doing any kind of drywall. Drywall panels are not extrememly heacy, they are just unwieldy. The magic in these devices is that they distribute the weight so that a person can easily carry a sheet.

4.  Circle Cutter: This inexpensive device works like a draftsman’s compass and saveshaving to do circels freehand.

5.  Lifter: Holding a panel off the floor at a desired height requires blocks. If it is still too low you have to shim in another block. A lifter is as cheap as $9 and will hold the panel at the desired height.

6.  T-Squares: Since the drywall sheets are square having to measure with a tape measure and then cut with atright edge takes a lot of time. A t-square has the measurements and some even have slots to put in the knife blade to hold it at that measurement. The installer just slides the t-square down the edge and a perfect line is scored.

7.  Keyhole Saw: Nothing replaces a sharp keyhole saw for cutting out wall outlets and other small indentations.

8.  Knives: The cutter is the personal preference of each drywall hanger. Many have replaceable utility blades while others use the snap-off kind which come in long strips.

9.  Rippers: These are long cutting tools that make a perfect cut in record time.

Like any tools, the drywall assists save the installer time and wasted materials, which adds up to money.

If you have ever been a nightclub or theater during the day it would surprise you. The image of the previous night’s performance, with the special-effects lighting, would be lost as cleaning crews moved about the flat-black ceilings and cluttered piping on suspended catwalks. It is an illusion, as is a Hollywood movie set.

Landscaping can also be treated in the same way. Because even the most modest of yards can look like a dreamland if the proper lighting is considered. Plain bushes and trees can come to life with colored lighting shining through the branches or up the trunks. it just takes some planning and imagination.

Until just a couple of years ago lighting was expensive. Even putting out Christmas lights for three weeks upped the power bill by up to 25% of the year’s budget. Therefore, having outdoor lighting, even for a short time, was an added strain on the light bill. Now, low voltage systems make consistent night lighting and affordable practice.

LED (light emitting diode) fixtures are beginning to revolutionize lighting in that they use up to 75% less power than the equal candle power of incandescent and halogen lighting. In addition, these lights last 40,000 hours or 20 years worth of lighting and are powered by DC current from an adapter so the danger of electrocution is non-existent.

Solar landscaping lights are also becoming popular because, for good reason, there is no power outlay. Right now they are somewhat limited in what is available but in a few years most of the outdoor lighting will be solar.

To place lighting there are many options. Putting the fixtures at the bottoms of tree trunks is popular as is shining them up the walls of the home. However there are lights that illuminate paths to like step light and path lights that are made to fit in brick walls. Intermittent LEDs shining on walls or shrubs mimic fireflies or fairies.

Water feature lights are also becoming popular. Completely submersible these lights produce a glow from under running streams, in fountains and shining on pools. In addition to lighting up the bottoms of ponds they can come in the shapes of fish.

Creative lighting is now in the hands of everyont. Your imagination is the only limit.

Because of the rising fuel costs many homeowners are getting infra-red (IR) scans done showing areas of heat for their homes. How this works is that an IR camera has a heat detecting device that is cooled by liquid nitrogen to increase accuracy. When this device is pointed at the outside of a home  the areas where heat is escaping are lit up in colors: black, blue and violet for the coldest all the way to  red, yellow and white for the hottest.

In most IR tests the windows show up in the red zone because the double-pane units are barely R-2 when compared with the new walls that are approaching R-18. So when the IR camera takes a picture of the home the walls will be a green color. However, doing the IR test can also provide valuable information on how well the builder insulated your new home. For example, below some windows there may be white areas where the insulator cut corners and never put insulation in – or forgot to do it. The drywall teams, not wanting to be held up, just went right over the areas. Leaks around improperly-installed windows will also show on IR camera.

How to Improve the IR Scan

1.  Add insulation in the attic:  R-40+ ( 13 inches of fiberglass or cellulose)

2.  Triple-Pane Windows: More thermal breaks than double

3.  Gas-filled (Argon or Krypton) spaces between glass panes improves insulating factor 6-9%

4.  Emissivity Coatings: Transparent foil coating reflects heat back into the home

5.  Caulking around windows: Caulking and wood shrink over time leavinf small gaps which can produce drafts.

Many people don’t think to clean their chimney until the weather turns cold. When that happens the chimney cleaning companies are going 12 hours a day trying to keep up with the demand. Why? Because a dirty chimney can mean smoke coming into the home and even a fire.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America  CSIA is a non-profit organization which provides education on chimney and venting both to those in the chimney industry and the homeowner. Chimney sweeping, as was portrayed in the movie Mary Poppins, used to be black-faced men with long brushes on broom handles that actually climbed into some chimneys to clean them. (In some cases children were wrapped in a sheepskin and the wad was pulled down through the chimney!) This was because the coal-fired heaters and furnaces created a flammable soot that was responsible for the destruction on huge portions of European cities.

Chimney technicians provide a function which is still in effect because of oil and wood heating. They removes debris like bird nests and leaf blocks along with the traditional “sweeping” of the chimney flue. In addition they can install wood burning stoves, replace the flues with stainless-steel liners and put on caps for those chimneys that don’t have them.

However, in the fall hundreds of imposters may roam the streets knocking on doors for a quick buck. Not only do many of them not have the skills required they may actually damage parts of the chimney creating a real hazard. In addition, improper attention to service may create unnecessary fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. The CSIA advises that you look for the following information before hiring a chimney cleaning service.

1. Years in Business
2. Current References
3. Any Better Business Bureau Complaints?
4. Liability Insurance Police
5. CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep should be on the job site

One of the most frustrating duties in the spring is to get the lawnmower going. Why? This is because the mower was not properly stored the previous fall.

Most people don’t know that gasoline leaves a residue. In fact most petroleum products do and gas i s no exception. So if you leave a lawnmower or weedwhacker with gas in the carburetor the residue can form on the walls and prevent proper mixture of air and gas.

1.  Remove the Gas: Get an old plastic or metal tray and place it beside the lawnmover. Take off the gas cap and tip the mower over so that the gas in the tank begins to run into the tray. Keep tipping until the tank is empty.

2.  Run the Engine: Now start the lawnmower with the gas line set to “off.” It will run for a few minutes until the gasoline has drained from the carburetor.

3.  Change the Oil: With the engine now warm the impure solids in the oil will be in suspension and can be drained out with the old oil. Refill to the correct level with an oil product recommended by the mowing company.

4.  Change the Air Filter: On most brands the air filter is a soft foam dipped in oil. Squeeze the oil from this foam and rinse in a varsol solution. Now, dip in fresh engine oil just to the saturation point and put back.

5.  Lubricate the Engine: Take out the spark plug and put a teaspoon-full of oil into the cylinder. The oil film will prevent a “metal-on-metal” start in the spring.

4.  Clean the Mower: Tip the mower and scrape off the oil grass clumps with a putty knife or hard plastic spatula. Now hose off the whole mower taking care not to get water into the cables.

5. Paint or Oil Chassis: If your mower has a steel chassis you can lengthen its life by wire-brushing the chassis and either painting with rust paint or oiling the underside.

6. Sharpen the Blade: While the mower is on its side take off the blade and sharpen or get it professional sharpened.

7.  Store Inside: It is not advisable to leave the mower outside even with a protective covering.

Now you are ready to start mowing in the spring.

It was not so long ago that entrance and other exterior doors were made from solid wood panels inserted into a door frame called a stile or rail, depending in what part of the country you live. People still love wood doors because they offer a richness that impresses any visitor. In addition, anything short of driving a truck through the house will not compromise a sold-wood door. However, wood needs to be preserved and painted to maintain this luster. And even all this attention might not save it from cracking in the sun or warping in dampness after time. In addition, solid wood only has an R-value of 4, which puts it at the mark of a good double-seal window. This is why old homes used to have storm doors.

Steel and aluminum doors with foam cores became a popular choice a few decades back. These were styled like panel doors and do the job quite well. But these too required maintenance and were susceptible to bumps and denting. In addition their fake wood-grain looked really fake and the earlier models never had thermal breaks, a barrier to cold being conducted through the metal on the edges.

Fiberglass has been making great inroads into the door market. It has great thermal breaks and filled with closed-cell foam insulation so the r-value approaches that of some walls, R – 8. It will not rot or peel in the sun or warp in damp conditions. This is because fiberglass is also a material that has a memory. They make hunting bows, skis and car parts from the material for this very reason.

The realism of fiberglass doors is amazing right down to the mitered joints for the “stiles.” However, if you don’t like the color you can also paint and, in certain models, stain the surface. A stainable-fiberglass door treated like a real wood stain job although the stain will not soak into the fiberglass. Just let it dry and build it up with light coats and unless you know better you would swear that it’s real wood.

Many manufacturers of fiberglass doors offer staining kits and the instructions on how to do it. Just check at the building supply place and check out the ones that can be stained.

Out of any other source in the home bathrooms create the most moisture. Showers, baths and the constant use of sinks throw great quantities of water vapor into the interior of the home and, unless there is a ventilation system, this moisture has no where to go but condense on windows and other cold surfaces. And where there is excess moisture on a continual basuis there will be mold.

Bathroom fans are the first line of defense against excess relative humidity in the home. Without them you would have to run a dehumidifier to keep up with the moisture content. And this happens even in dry climates. And where most bathrooms do have exhaust fans there is a question as to their efficiency.

There are three types of bathroom exhaust fans:

1) Impeller: These are like airplane propellers and are the method of exhaust in most fans. Piping above the fan takes the moisture-laden air outside.

2) Blower: Looking somewhat like a hamster wheel in a cage this type is actually more efficient than the impeller.

3) Heat Recovery Fan: In an HVAC system the fans are centrally-located and usually have dehumidifying capabilities. A tube will run to the drain and this is how the moisture is taken out.

Old bathroom fans were noisy and inefficient. They had built-in lighting that was overly-diffused and was a waste of electricity.  In many cases the ducts went straight up into the attic creating moisture problem fo the roof joists and decking.

Proper Fan Systems

Most new homes have a heat recovery & ventilation system (HRV) which gets rid of moisture as it puts fresh air into the home. If this is not in your home look for these features:

1.  Exhaust Rate: Most fans are rated in cubic feet per minute. The rule for choosing the right one is a minum of 50cfm for a small bathroom. Larger bathrooms need a bigger displacement of water vapor so check the package for the cfm.

2.  Noise: Noise pollution is around us all the time and bathrooms are an enclosed area that can amplify the sound level, or sones. The best fans have a rating of .5 sones and the older ones were over 4.

3.  Energy Rating: As with the noise rate the wattage of the older fans was atrocious – almost 80 watts. The new ones are barely 20 watts.

4.  Maintenance: Cheap fans become noisy very quickly and have top be constantly oiled. Newer ones are permanently lubricated and spare parts are available.

5.  Accessories: Having a light, fan and heat lamp in the same unit is like the old TV/stereo units – when one acts up the whole unit has to be taken in and fixed. As well, lower quality parts are usually put in the units to keep the overall price down. Get separate units.

6.  Ducting: Use smooth pipe and not the accordion, stretch type. This flexible pipe reduces the air flow and moisture can linger in the pipe causing mold to form.

7.   Cleaning: Fans should be cleaned seasonally by taking off the grill and vacuuming.

Many kids like a terrarium, an aquarium set-up for animals instead of fish. In most cases it features a climate like a wetland, which will include salamanders, frogs or other animals that like a damp environment. Others have a desert climate and include many types of reptiles. Balanced terrariums are snapshots of real conditions in nature

A home is a micro-climate all its own, just like the terrarium in many respects. If a terrarium isn’t balanced the animals will get sick and die. In a home the occupants may suffer from allergies or discomfort.

If the home is too dry people may suffer from chapped lips or scratchy throats. In addition, static electricity may be high which might affect electronic equipment and computers. A home that is too wet sports condensation on the windows, musty smells and mold in the bathroom. In fact even a good bathroom fan may not be able to clear all the moisture. One of the ways to be able to check the relative humidity of a home is with a hygrometer.

A hygrometer is readily available at hardware stores and should be calibrated before using. This is because all regions of the world are not created equally in terms of RH and the RH in a factory in China will not match that of a farm in North Dakota. When taking it around the home you will notice that not all the rooms are equal. In fact, the basement may be a lot higher than the upstairs living room. For the best readings leave it in a neutral spot in the room (away from heater and doors) for a few hours and the take the relative humidity (RH) reading.

RH readings that are 100% mean that the air can hold as much water vapor as possible and this will begin to condense into water on the windows and other cold surfaces. Like in nature, warm air can hold more humidity than cold air so the RH will change with the temperature. The recommended RH in winter is 30-50%. this will prevent dry, itchy skin. When the temperature outside gets lower than 10 degrees Fahrenheit the recommended indoor RH is 30%.

Newer homes have heat exchanging systems which can balance the RH by exhausting damp air. In addition, humidifiers and dehumidifiers can be attached to the HVAC system.

Many older houses take advantage of slow-moving ceiling fans to move air around. Sometimes this will balance out the RH in a home. In coastal regions, or places around large bodies of water, a dehumidifier will take the excess water from the air. In dryer climates a humifier will spray fine water droplets into the air. However, humidifiers should only use distilled water as airborne salts from evaporated water may cause health concerns.