Have you ever considered changing out those old incandescent light bulbs in your home? If you haven't let me give you a few reasons why doing so is a good idea.
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Save Money
One package of light bulbs can save you several hundred dollars over the life of the bulb. This savings is largely due to the fact that compact fluorescents use less energy than traditional bulbs and therefore reduce monthly utility bills. In addition to the advantage in energy efficiency, compact fluorescents also last much longer than traditional bulbs. Very often these bulbs may last several years which means you would have bought several incandescent lights during that time period.
Overall you can see that there are several benefits to compact fluorescent bulbs that make them a wise choice when it comes to making home improvements.
In today's post I would like to continue the solar information series and talk a little bit about solar fountains. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with what a solar fountain is, allow me to give you a brief overview. A solar fountain is essentially a water fountain that is solar powered. These water fountains can increase the aesthetic appeal of any yard or garden. Not only are water fountains beautiful but they can often attract birds to bathe and create a generally tranquil environment. The sounds of water flowing and birds chirping is enough to make anyone relax. So what are some of the benefits of using a solar fountain? Well for one a solar fountain, surprisingly enough, is solar powered! I know I know you would never have guessed. Well aside from the many benefits of solar energy in general pumps that run on solar energy tend to have several other distinct advantages over pumps that require battery or wall power. For one they tend to last longer and require much less maintenance. This is because the advanced technology used in these pumps has eliminated the need for constant maintenance. So if you are looking for a way to beautify your landscape, then consider adding a beautiful solar fountain. I'm sure you will love it.
Solar powered lighting has gained in popularity with homeowners all over the country. Solar powered lights enhance a landscape tremendously and provide beautiful soft light. Since they are fully powered by the sun these lights can be placed virtually anywhere that receives a decent amount of sun exposure. This makes them one of the most versatile outdoor lighting options available. When this technology first began to make its way into stores and subsequently into the yards of many consumers, they were not very well received by all. Many home-owners complained that the lights were too dim or that they would only work sporadically. This negative feedback caused many consumers to hold off on investing in solar lighting for their front or back yards. Over time, however, advances in technology have started to change consumer sentiment. Instead of avoiding solar lights consumers have started to embrace them as viable outdoor lighting options. The improvements made in solar technology coupled with the fact that costs have continued to come down have made solar lights a very attractive way for home-owners to spruce up the appearance of their front and back yards. Solar lighting has also become very popular amongst landscapers who have been quick to recommend its usage to many customers. Solar lights usually have several solar cells which act as receptors for light energy. Each solar cell can extract a small amount of energy from the millions of photons that rain down from the sun. This small amount of energy can be used to power an energy efficient light bulb for several hours or even days. Many solar lights come with battery backups that store energy produced in the daytime so that it can be used to power the lights once the sun goes down. This technology is not only environmentally friendly but enhances the look of any yard.
Builders in many parts of the country have begun to use spray foam insulation as an alternative to many other types of insulation. Why is this the case? Well there are several benefits that spray foam insulation offers over more traditional methods of insulating a home. For one, this type of insulation is significantly better than more traditional methods. Not only is the r-factor generally higher but it allows for a less centralized application. Being that it is sprayed, it has the opportunity to cover more area since it can fall into smaller crevices that traditional insulation can not seal. Builders have begun investing heavily in spray foam insulation equipment to improve the overall energy efficiency of their homes. This not only makes the home more marketable to potential buyers but allows the building contractor to market himself as a "green builder". So whether you are a seasoned contractor or a weekend warrior spray foam insulation could be a great way to go.
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine named Carson who runs a website that does reviews of Alpharetta plumbing companies, when he gave me some information on how he reviews companies that I thought would be cool to share here in the blog. He primarily searches websites like Kudzu.com, MerchantCircle.com, insiderpages.com, angieslist.com and a few others. He basically takes his time to read at least 50 reviews(if available) on each company and then he tracks down the review writers to verify their experience. I was quite shocked and asked him how successful he is at getting responses from these reviewers. He said that he gets responses better than 50% of the time primarily because he only contacts people who actively use the various platforms where the reviews are posted. His whole goal is to cut through the crap that lots of companies now flood the internet with and make sure that when people read a review they can trust what they read. His reviews are really awesome and he is going to help out a lot of people. Not only does he review plumbers in Alpharetta, he also reviews plumbers in Marietta, and most of the entire metro Atlanta area. If you are looking for a plumber in Atlanta, you will definitely want to check out his site first. Now I've known Carson for quite some time and I asked him why he is doing what he is doing and he gave a rather curious answer. He said something to the effect of "screwing people gets old and he needs to do something to clear his conscience". I thought for a while and said well if that is the case then I will do my best to help you and I promised him that I would send him a little traffic by doing a write-up on his site on this blog. So make sure you check out his site and leave him a comment telling him to keep up the good work.
With the recent cold front that has crippled the eastern United States many people have had to find creative ways to stay warm. While most homes have central air units, the cost to heat in times like these can cause consumers to look for other heating options. Many people have turned to space heaters as a way to save money. There are a variety of different types of space heaters that are available at most retail stores. These include, ceramic heater, oil filled radiators, and heat dishes among others. These offer homeowners the opportunity to heat a single room in the house while keeping the general thermostat at a lower temperature to keep costs down. Do these work? Yes they do. They can often reduce a winter heating bill dramatically. Check out this article if you are looking for other ways to reduce winter heating bills. Another important aspect of staying warm in the winter is making sure that your home central heating unit is operating efficiently. Many heating and air companies offer system checkups which can diagnose any problems before they cause full system failure. The last thing you want in times like these is to wake up freezing because your primary heating system failed. In Atlanta heating and air companies have seen a large increase in system failures due to the construction boom of the early and mid 2000's. Construction debris makes its way into heat pumps and exterior units which can be a ticking time bomb for a central air unit. Take the time to have your home's central air checked out to make sure your system is healthy.
Today we are going to discuss how home-owners can maximize the lifetime of their carpet and area rugs. Many people know that it is important to have their carpets and area rugs cleaned regularly but the best way to clean them is often a mystery. Many homeowners use over the counter home carpet shampoo but this is not the most effective way to clean many types of area rugs. Let's go over a few effective ways to clean those carpets. In a recent conversation with Lisa Anderson who specializes in area rug cleaning in San Diego, I found out that there are lots of natural products that perform exceptionally well. One such product was the Green Miracle Cleaner. This cleaning product is used in both commercial and residential carpet cleaning and has developed a reputation as a terrific cleaning product. The product is available online at several major distributors and is priced rather modestly when compared to other cleaning products in the market.
I also spoke with John Lewis who runs a full service Atlanta carpet cleaning company, who recommends cleaning carpets at least twice annually. The amount of bacteria and fungi that grow in typical carpet is staggering and most vacuum cleaners do a poor job of thoroughly cleaning the carpet. Area rugs in particular need even more frequent cleaning. This is because they generally have a different type of fiber which allows for dust and debris to collect more regularly. So for those home-owners with area rugs, John recommends these be cleaned at least 4 times a year. Most of the cleaning can be done with a standard carpet cleaner. According to Mr. Lewis, the cleaning agent is the most important ingredient in achieving the desired goal. He did mention that special care should be made for bright or solid colored area rugs. Red rugs in particular have a tendency to bleed and this can cause the dye to be inadvertently transferred to other rugs that are a different color. The last thing you want is to go to clean your beige living room rug after cleaning your red dining room rug and discover that your living room rug now has red accents. So be sure to examine the cleaning and care tab to clean effectively. In summary, make sure that when the seasons change you clean those area rugs(carefully) and once in the summer and once in the winter you should clean the entire carpet.
