Managing Home Maintenance Costs

When it comes to appliance energy use and trying to reduce your energy footprint, I like to apply the 80:20 rule. Focus on the things that are going to save me a lot of money vs. those that may save me very little. Once I have gained as much as I can, only if it makes sense from an ROI(return on investment) will I take a look at the smaller savings to be gained.  One light bulb may not save much when you convert from incandescent to fluorescent lights. Converting all of your lights can begin to add up. In a previous post, we talked about how converting three lights would save $29 per year. When multiplied across all of our lights inside the home, it would add up to much higher savings.

What Appliances Cost More to Operate?

So which appliances cost more to run? Well it depends on your personal use of these appliances, the rate you pay for power and of course their energy rating. For example, in our location air conditioning costs us approximately $150 per year. Running ceiling fans may cost us $20 / year for the same period instead of using AC. Cooking with an oven at 350 F 15 days a month for an hour on average  may cost us$43. Heating with a microwave will cost us about $32, although a microwave is much more efficient and does not need to be run as long as the oven.

That new plasma TV you leave on all day will cost as much as $88 a year. Reducing the number of hours that you actually watch it will reduce the cost by perhaps half to $44. The same LCD sized TV will cost $20 less or $68 a year to operate with the same assumptions. Even while not on these devices still consume energy, but it only represents a few dollars per year times the number of devices that you actually have.

How to Control Appliance Energy Use

None of these amounts are huge dollars, unless you run your AC for extended times. Many people do have to do in southern climates, it really means that you have to get into the habit of turning things off all of the time. Run your appliances in non peak hours, and convert to less expensive appliances in terms of energy use. This is the only way you are going to get control of your energy cost and minimize this cost as much as possible.

Convert all of your lights that are on a lot to florescent lights. When you purchase appliances, go for the energy efficient ones. When you walk out of a room, turn the lights off, turn the TV off etc. Run your AC less and if you are not at home, turn your AC temperature up so that it is not running unnecessarily.

If possible delay electrical use into non peak times. In our case that means running the dishwasher and the dryer after 7pm at night or on the weekends. I also turn the pool pump off during the day so that the pump is not drawing electricity during the day when rates are at their peak.

Charging Electric Cars

Appliance energy use is just part of the equation. What is about to change is the use of electricity to charge our new cars. Hybrid cars do not require to be charged from the electrical grid, however purely electrical cars must be charged from the grid. The best time to charge these vehicles will be at night when the non peak rates are available. You will save money by driving an electric vehicle. However you can manage this cost as well by controlling when you actually charge the car. In reality it is just another appliance that just uses energy.

As usage goes up and more investment is required. The electrical companies will be increasing their rates even further than they already have. As time goes on it will become even more important to manage your appliances energy use. It will become more important to control your monthly electrical cost. We will be writing a lot more about this subject in coming posts so stay tuned!

For more posts about energy use and how to reduce the energy you use, click here.

There are several different methods of dustless  Hardwood floor refinishing available on the market.  There are pros and con’s to each and of course not all vendors will offer both methods.  Regardless of which method you choose, there were always be some dust to deal with and you will want to take the appropriate precautions to both avoid this dust as well as prevent the dust from finding it’s way throughout your home into areas that are not being refinished. This is particularly bother some to people who like their place really clean and who do not want to deal with allergic reactions to the dust.

Traditional hardwood floor refinishing involves sanding the entire floor with a sanding machine which creates a lot of dust which can find it’s way into every nook and cranny of your home. This sanding of the floor and all of the dust is not attractive to many consumers who must clean afterwords and who also may have allergies to wood dust.

There are two methods of dustless  hardwood floor refinishing available on the market:

• High powered vacuum systems
• Chemical dustless  hardwood floor refinishing

High powered vacuum systems

Professionals will use a high powered vacuum systems to capture all of the dust from each sander and blow it outside into a machine with a bag to capture all of the dust. There always be a little dust left in the home, however the amount is usually less than 10% and the cleanup in the area that is being refinished is much less than traditional methods.

If you have a number of rooms to complete, venders will have a large hose attached to the vacuum machine with a splitter that allows more than one sander to operate at the same time. They should also place plastic covering over all doors and windows, including vents to prevent dust going to other areas of the home.

All refinishing of hardwood floors generate some dust that remains in the home. Professionals will wipe down all walls  once the sanding activity is completed.

Chemical dustless  Hardwood floor refinishing

The process of chemical dustless  hardwood floor refinishing involves a technician scuffing the floor lightly. Then adding a chemical to etch the floor.  Cleaning of the floor and repair of minor damage should be completed before applying the new finishing coat. This can be accomplished much quicker than doing a complete sanding of the floor. In addition it creates much less dust than traditional sanding.

Note that if you have a lot of damage to your floors or many coats of stain or protective covering, you may not be able to use this method. Check with your hardwood floor professional prior to making any decisions regarding this approach.

Always experiment with the chemical etching on a small section of the floor to ensure that you will be satisfied with the result. Choose an area that is out of the way and will not be noticed if it does not turn out the way you anticipated.

Advantages of Dustless Hardwood Floor Refinishing

There are many advantages associated with either system. We have listed a few of them as follows:

• Chemical refinishing can be accomplished more quickly
• Chemical refinishing is less expensive than traditional methods
• Both approaches generate much less dust
• Vacuum systems take 90% of the dust outside
• People with allergies will be impacted less with these approaches
• Cleaning afterwords is reduced significantly

Disadvantages of Dustless Hardwood Floor Refinishing

There are many disadvantages associated with both system. We have listed a few of them as follows:

• Not all floors can use the chemical dustless refinishing method
• Floors with major damage may require traditional sanding methods
• Some people may be bothered by the chemical used to etch the floors
• All refinishing reduces the overall life of your floors
• All refinishing approaches will generate some dust
• Consumers will need to tolerate the sound of the vacuum and sanders while this work is being completed

While no really wants to have to refinish their hardwood floors, there will come a time when refinishing will be required. You can delay this requirement by protecting your floor with the following easily followed steps:

• Always remove your shoes at the entrance to your home
• Vacuum your floors at least once per week, more often in high traffic areas
• Damp mop your floors once a month

The methods and steps are designed to minimize the amount of grit that is tracked into the home. This avoids the grit being ground into the hardwood floors by people walking on it. This grit will mar the floor or perhaps even scratch it. Grit will also leave the floor dirty as well which is why you need to damp mop often. You can get away with damp mopping as often as once per month if you do not track a lot of dirt and grit  into your home.

Every year we clean our windows, usually in the spring and fall. It is a good time to remove the dirt and grime from the windows so that they are glistening and clean. We have wondered what the best window cleaning solutions are and what the best methods are to clean windows? Tomorrow is the big day for me, since I am one of those do it your self guys and do not like to pay for things that I can do myself. It is time to prepare and so I did a little research to find out what the best methods and solutions are.

Safety When Cleaning Your Windows

We have a two story house so I need to use an extension ladder and whenever you are on a ladder it is important to practice safe methods while using a ladder. Always make sure that the ladder is well position and have someone hold it for you while you are on the ladder. Secondly never reach while on the ladder. It is better to get down and move the ladder vs. reaching and throwing yourself off balance causing a fall.

Use a squeegee on a long pole for those hard to reach locations is also a safer way to approach these situations. For some people who are afraid of being on a ladder, you are far better off to just hire someone to clean your windows instead. The cost to clean windows is relatively inexpensive. I just received a quote for $34 / hour and 3 minutes per window which works out to a $1.70 per window which is pretty inexpensive.

Best Window Cleaning Equipment

Assuming you are going to clean you own windows, you will need a pail to hold the cleaning solution, sponge to wipe the glass with and remove much of the dirt and grime and a squeegee to remove the water solution that is left on the windows.

Avoid using something like paper towels. Not only do you have the cost of the towels, it is difficult to carry them on a ladder and you should not rub a window since the dirt on the window is being rubbed around with the towel and if there is grit on the window you can scratch the window. Using a sponge will allow you to rub the window with water and cleaning solution, the sponge will pick up much of the dirt. rinse the sponge at regular intervals and then dry the window using a squeegee just like the professionals do.

Best Window Cleaning Solutions

Everyone has an opinion on what the Best Window Cleaning solutions are. My favorite is water and vinegar, about 2/3 water and a 1/3 vinegar. the vinegar eats into the dirt and grease on the window and once you was and rinse with the sponge you will have a squeaky clean window after you run the squeegee over it. I find this works really well, however there are other opinions.

Other folks prefer to use a mild soap that is good at removing grease. Follow the same steps using the sponge to clean your window and then squeegee it as well. The soap will lubricate the window somewhat and allow the squeegee to glide over the window leaving it streak free and crystal clear.

How Often Should We Clean the Windows

It obviously depends on were you live and how dirty your windows get through the seasons. I prefer to clean them in the spring and the fall so that they are nice and clean most of the year. Note that you must also clean both sides and not just the outside. It helps to have someone cleaning the windows on the inside at the same time. This way you can be sure that you actually have removed all of the dirt from both sides of the windows.

Remember if you are nervous about getting up on the ladder, hire someone to clean the windows for you. It is not that expensive and who knows you might save yourself from having a serious accident. For more information about home maintenance, click here.

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