Let's Talk Garbage

Both Earth Hour and Earth Day are quickly approaching, serving as a reminder that everyone needs to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle. One of the biggest changes we've made towards and eco-friendly lifestyle is how we view garbage. Here's a few things we do:

• reduce - We are very conscious of excess packaging. If we have a choice between an over packaged product and one with less packaging the less packaged product wins out. We have virtually eliminated foods packaged in cans by about 85% simply by home canning and using fresh in season produce. We've greatly reduced a lot of food packaging by not buying pre-packaged food, choosing to make our own less-expensive, homemade convenience mixes stored in glass mason jars. We buy used when possible which further reduces packaging and we only buy what we need. In short we don't using shopping as a form of entertainment.
• recycle - Most people equate recycling with mainly packaging and containers. In particular we try to reduce what goes to the recycle bin by not getting the container or packaging in the first place. We see recycling as much more than that. Everything from clothing to household goods to building materials can be recycled. We buy used and anything we no longer need is donated to local charities that help those less fortunate as well as resell the donations to raise funds for their charities. Recently in addition to resale stores three new recycling resources have come to light - Freecycle, Kijji and Craig's List. Freecycle works on the premise that if you have something you don't want someone else will so you offer that item for free to keep it out of the landfill. Craig's List and Kijji are free online sources where you can post an ad to either give away or sell items you don't want.
• reduced kitchen waste - My theory is that every part of kitchen waste you toss costs money so my first goal is reducing this wastage. Some peels can be left on the fruit or vegetable while those removed can be dried down and powdered to be added to soups and stews. Bones are saved to make stocks then passed onto friends who have a large dog. I'm constantly looking for ways to reducing kitchen food waste.
  
• compost - As with most home gardeners we compost. Vegetable scraps that were used for making stock end up in the compost. Certain compostable foods like coffee grounds and egg shells are quite desirable in the garden before they break down for pest control. Compost forms a cycle in which kitchen waste makes free soil ammendment which in turns provides the necessary soil and nutritional ingredients for growing healthy fruits and vegetables. Vermicomposting is on my to do list for the new house which will help with the composting during the winter months.
  
• garburator - We had a garburator in our last two houses, none here but will be intalling one at the new house. A garburator is not as eco-friendly as composting since waste put through it ends up at the municiple treatment plant and it uses electricity. However it is a viable option in locations where composting is not possible and compostable material is not picked up at curbside.
• clothing - We aren't huge clothes shoppers and definitely don't shop the clothing trends. We buy good quality clothing that lasts for years sometimes. Any clothing we no longer make use of is donated. Quite often I will take a piece of clothing we no longer use and turn the material into something else. Some of the things I've made include cushions, draft stops from pyjama or pant legs, shopping bags, doll clothes, rag rugs, patch work and even used swatch of favourite clothing in scrapbooking.
• small appliances - When it comes to small appliances my theory is less is more. When an appliance needs to be replaced we either donate the working one or put the non-working one beside the garbage to be picked up but with a good space in between when people scouting the neighbourhood the night before garbage pick-up will take it.
• other household items - We either donate or sell depending on the item. We seldom have much in this area to get rid of which is a good thing.
• actual garbage - Ideally we aim for as little as possible. I think we do pretty good but still would like to reduce it further. Actual garbage includes food packaging that can't be recycled, clothing well beyond any usefulness, some fats and meat scraps, chicken bones that the dogs can't have, used vacuum sealer bags, butcher's wrap, paint cans/empty caulk tubes, and those typed of things.
  

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Green Bags

Earth Hour 2010 is March 27 at 8:30 PM with millions worldwide turning out their lights for one hour in solidarity for this environmental cause. Earth Day 2010 is April 22 with many communities worldwide planning special events for the entire weekend. Both of these events are designed to bring an awareness to environmental concerns in the hopes of individuals adopting a more eco-friendly lifestyle. What is important is each small change we make towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle can make a huge difference not only in our personal lives but also in the health of our environment.

It isn't often that I get to use a video on this blog. In North America we have become accustomed to using plastic shopping bags but these have long been the focus of environmental debate, especially the debate between plastic verses paper grocery bags. In fact The Canadian Green Consumer Guide (1989) even discussed this issue so the debates have been going on for well over 20 years! Adding fuel to the plastic bag issue is some stores have been charging 5¢ per bag for ages. However, recently it became mandatory that all stores in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) charge 5¢ per shopping bag. What is interesting is if you look outside of North America many shoppers use wicker baskets and cloth bags for carrying groceries.

In recent times cloth bags have become a popular eco-friendly statement not only by the grocery store chains that see one more way of getting their store branding in front of people but by those wishing to eliminate the use of plastic shopping bags. Using cloth shopping bags is an easy, low cost and cost effective method of reducing your carbon footprint. Most grocery store chains and even department stores are selling cloth or coated shopping bags usually ranging in price from 99¢ to $1.99. On the low end a bag will pay for itself after 20 uses while keeping 20 plastic bags out of the landfill. So it is a win/win. At the same time when you participate in certain eco-friendly activities such as recycling toners some companies will reward you with a free cloth or coated shopping bag. My husband has empty toners from office equipment picked up and in return receives a free coated bag for each pick-up.

I haven't done an actual count but we have somewhere around 30 of the cloth or coated shopping bags. We use them for any shopping not just groceries. We also use them to cart things back and forth to the boat, carrying my latest knitting project to work on while traveling, carry library books back and forth and so much more. My husband has one given away free as a promotion for the Detroit Redwings that he carries his lunch and any other things needed to the office in the morning then brings home any dirty lunch dishes, drink bottles and that sort of thing back home in the evening. So these bags are very useful and they can easily be washed as well. The down side to using the cloth bags is it takes little time to run out of plastic bags for garbage which simply means re-adjusting how to deal with garbage, something I will discuss in a future post.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Analyze Your Energy Consumption

When I was growing up we heated with two radiant natural gas heaters on the main floor. Heat rose to the upstairs through a vent in the floor. During the winter months the bedroom windows were iced over and many a morning a scorched by toosh sitting on one of the heaters to warm up enough to get dressed. When we got married we lived in an apartment where heat and electricity was provided but the seeds of being energy efficient had already been firmly implanted. We were young when we bought our first home that was heated with wood as was our next home. The next house we bought was heated by forced gas as was the next one. This house and likely our last is also heated by forced gas.

When we moved here in 2007 we were a lot wiser as far as saving energy and resources. The design of the house meant it would be cheaper to heat The first thing I did was set up a file to track our electric, gas and water usage. Within days the caulk guns were in high gear and most of the lights had been changed out for compact fluorescent bulbs. All of our major appliances are higher end EnergyStar® rated so there would be no further savings that way. The computer and laptop are also energy efficient so short of leaving them off, there would be no further savings. The house itself is brick with the main living area on the lower level mainly below ground. The lower walls are 12 inch thick for most of the living space. The windows are older Dashwood® double pane and are in good condition. The furnace is a Clare MegaSave I that has a secondary heat exchanger that saw very little use other than in the fall as the former owner shut down the house to vacation in the sunny south during the winter. The hot water tank is a 40 gal standard gas tank that while older would not warrant changing out because of its condition. We also have a gas fireplace, gas dryer and gas outdoor grill. We put plastic up on the upper level sunporch that serves as an excellent windbreak on that upper level wall.

I spent some time on the PowerSaverPlus website today. This is an excellent online resource for users of HydrOne in Ontario, Canada. Through a series of questions this calculator determines your annual cost of energy use by appliances and gives you a comparison of how your home energy use is in relation to similar homes in your area. The nice thing about this calculator is it takes into consideration both your electricity and natural gas usage. Other energy sources such as wood and heating oil can also be factored in. The site then analyzes how you are using the energy resources and give you tips as to where you can save more money. The tips include an estimated cost to complete that recommendation as well as the projected savings so you can focus on those modifications that will have the greatest impact on reducing your energy consumption. You can calculate the pay back period for the modification from this information. A surprising number of the tips cost nothing other than effort to put into action.

Note: The following two graphs courtesy of PowerSaverPlus are from the energy analysis I did for our house today.

Monthly Energy Cost Comparison

The calculator assesses your energy usage base on the information you give it. For best results you will need the last 12 months for electricity and gas bills. The electric bill will give you a kWh and an adjusted kWh number. Use the adjusted kWh as that is what Hydro One determines you use. Enter each month into the calculator. Now look at the natural gas bill and it will give you an amount of gas you used in cubic metres. Enter each month of that into the calculator. When both sets of numbers have been entered press next then go to the section for appliances and fill that out. The last section is for tips or you can hit report. The report will give you this graph and the following graph but on the home page when you log in again you will see a pie chart of your energy usage breakdown and a linear chart for similar home comparison in dollars.

The monthly energy cost compares your energy usage to similar homes in your area. As you can see we (pink) use a fair amount less energy than similar homes (purple) in our area. On the home page our comparison chart shows we are just over the half way mark by about $20 of what others use in our area. That means we are basically using half the electricity and natural gas than others are using. This data does have to be used as only a guideline. Houses differ in energy usage based on location, insulation and how well they are sealed as well as the personal comfort levels of the residents. Identical houses can vastly differ in all these factors even if they are side by side. So this chart is best used to note the trends.

First we are well under others most months for energy use but look at January to March. When others were decreasing their overall energy use ours was increasing. I'm still trying to figure out why and can't recall anything major that would have caused the increase overall energy use. One explanation with us being in a rural area is the metres were estimated instead of being read resulting in a bit of catch-up that skews the graph.

Annual Cost Appliances

The annual cost of energy use by appliances is a very useful graph. At a glance is gives you a visual as to where you are using the most energy. That is where you should put the greatest effort to reduce. However, when answering the questions it doesn't give you the options to indicate how long a particular appliance is on. For example it would appear our AC costs are second to heating but that is not the case. This past summer our AC was on for about a total of 5 days because we only put it on when the heat and humidity levels get too uncomfortable. Our main living space is mainly below ground so is naturally cool in the summer greatly reducing the need for using the AC. I also think the computer energy usage is not accurate as they are both very energy efficient and one is only used occasionally. Something that isn't showing in the energy usage is the hot boxes - satellite receivers, adapters, router, and those types of things that are plugged in all the time using energy 24/7.

At the end of the analysis I printed off the 8 page report for our energy files. We are at the point where there is very little major to do to reduce our energy consumption. There are several minor things to do that will save energy. We will be focusing on the following points for energy reduction over the next couple of weeks. You will notice that some of the most commonly recommended tips are not on the list. That is because they have already been completed or in some cases as the dryer vent the recommendations have been exceeded. Other things like air sealing is an ongoing process that you need to be doing year round.

1. turn computer off at night - This really is not going to save us much but if it ends up being 10¢ per day for the computer, router and satellite box in energy savings it would be an annual savings of $36.50.
2. seal air leaks in ducts - This is an inexpensive, DIY task that has the potential to save $70 to $117 per year. It pays for itself in well under one heating season
3. install heat traps in hot water tank - This is another inexpensive, DIY project that can save $45 to $75 per year. It pays for itself in about 3.5 years.
4. install low flow shower heads - This is a very inexpensive, DIY project that can save $13 to $22 per year in energy savings but at the same time they save on the amount of water used.

These types of energy calculators are extremely beneficial. While they cannot possibly give you a 100% analysis, they can give you a fairly good idea of where your energy dollars are going. At the same time they can give you tips for how to improve your energy consumption. There is no charge for the service either so you can update and reassess your progress as often as you would like.


Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Increasing Our Recycling Efforts

Much of the focus at home and on this blog has been focused on our recent kitchen renovations. With the completion of the renovations I will now begin focusing on other homemaking issues. The weather is quickly becoming much cooler so those high heating bills are just around the corner. I will be sharing some ways to save on those heating costs. The holidays are also just around the corner so I will be sharing some homemade gifts that I'm making. I will also be sharing what I'm doing on the homemaking front as well as anything else home related that strikes my fancy.

We are very conscious when shopping to avoid over packaging and as much as possible we avoid those kinds of containers that cannot be recycled in our area if they cannot be reused for another purpose. We don't use near the commercially canned or boxed foods that others do because a large portion of pantry foods are home canned in re-usable mason jars or home frozen. This in itself greatly reduced the amount that goes into the recycle bin. The other day I was checking out our recycle bins. There were filled! Granted we have had a fair amount of company but still I surprised. We have two 3 foot high recycle bins, a normal small blue bin and a smaller green bin. Most things are accepted except aluminum pans, foil, sour cream and similar containers, and plastic grocery bags. Our recycles are picked up every two weeks. Recycling is good but reducing is better so now I'm on a mission to reduce our recyclables!

Coffee to Go

Picking up a cup of coffee on the way to the office, work or school. They stop by coffee shops on their breaks or lunch hour to buy coffee. And all that coffee comes in disposable cups! Anyone who travels or lives in rural areas already know the negatives of inconsiderate drivers who toss their empty coffee cups out the window!

Disposable coffee cups are not made from recyclable paper but rather 100% bleached virgin paperboard (reference). The paperboard is coated with polyethylene to help retain heat and prevent leakage. However the polyethylene prevents the cups from being recycled so all disposable coffee cups end up in landfills. As the cups decompose in the landfills they release methane, a greenhouse gas. Starbucks® alone used over 2.3 billion cups in their stores in 2006 so you can imagine how many cups are used when all coffee shops are considered and that isn't even taking into account the coffee shops that are still using styrofoam coffee cups or the plastic lids.

When I was working on my undergrad degree the university began encouraging a re-usable coffee mug with a lid. It was a simple mug with the university logo on one side and the recycle symbol on the other side. It became a statement for anyone concerned about environmental issues to fasten these mugs to their backpacks. The university cafeterias gave a discount if you used your mug. Well that mug saw me through the rest of my undergrad as well as my graduate years and it is still my favourite mug.

Tim Hortons® came out with larger, insulated plastic 500 ml (16 oz) travel mugs designed to fit into the cup holders in vehicles. Now travel mugs are widely available. They are insulated to keep drinks either hot or cold. They are convenient and dishwasher safe. We have several stainless steel, insulated travel mugs. We very seldom buy coffee in disposable cups and despite the larger (25+) get togethers we host on a regular basis, I simply refuse to use disposable coffee cups in our home. Those pictured are from two of my husband's friend who picked him up very early Sunday morning for three fun filled days of golfing. I got their cups which given the weather might have been a better deal. Coffee is cheaper and just as fast to make at home when compared to coffee from the coffee shop but what some might not know is coffee shops will gladly refill your travel mug. The only thing is you might have to get out and go in instead of sitting in line at their drive through but just look at that as a little extra exercise.

Bottled Water

We had a water cooler with the blue* 5 gallon jugs for a number of years bought when chemical spills threatened the municipal water supply. We sold the cooler when we moved to our last house and what I've noticed is our consumption of bottled water has increased. Part of this is because we are drinking more water. Part is our use is our emergency preparedness plan. Part is because bottled water is convenient to take in the car or on the boat and part is because bottled water is often on sale here for $2.99 for 24 - 500 ml bottles. At 12¢ each this is quite a savings over the 99¢ or more price tag at variety stores or gas stations when travelling. Is this false frugality?

Statistics Canada reported that 1.5 billion litres of bottled water were produced for consumption in 2003. By 2006, 3 in 10 households reported drinking bottled water. They found a correlation between bottled water consumption, income and education. Those in higher income brackets consumed more bottled water as did those with some post-secondary education although those with a university education consumed less bottled water. Americans consume 28 billion bottles of water annually with 80 per cent of those bottles ending up in the landfill. In the US producing the bottles for water created 1.5 million tons of CO₂ in 2006 which is low in comparison the oil used by the rest of the food and beverage industry. On Aug 18, 2008 London City Council (London, Ontario) voted 15-3 to ban bottled water on city premises including city owned buildings, arenas and community centres (read more here).

I looked at those figures and decided no more using bottle water unless absolutely necessary which with careful planning there should not be a need. The only reason we use water bottles at home is to prevent any insects getting into the water overnight or when we are outdoors. I bought 2 re-usable 500 ml water bottles. They have been very well received so I am going to buy more so that we have 8 total. In researching the disposable water bottle environmental impact I came across the issue of BPA (Bisphenol A)**. We will continue using our water bottles for home use but I will be careful to buy BPA-free water bottles for the ones we will be using for traveling or on the boat.

I knew about BPA because the grandbabies were using formula so there was an issue with the bottles and they had to change. BPA is in some but not all polycarbonate plastics. If there is a 7 or PC within the recycle symbol on the bottom of the bottle they may or may not contain BPA. I rushed to check our bottles and sure enough they have PC with the recycle symbol. We are using these bottles for water only as are many people. One very well known brand that made re-useable water bottles popular is Nalgene. Older Nalgene water bottles also contain BPA. The current recommendations for any water bottle that may contain BPA are:

1. Do not clean with harsh detergents (eg. dishwasher detergent).
2. Do not expose to high heat (eg. dishwasher, heated liquids, leaving in car on hot day).
3. Do not use for high acid liquids (eg. orange juice).
4. Hand wash using mild soap, rinse with clear water.
5. If you notice any signs of cracking as hard plastics will as they age, discard

* known to contain BPA
** watch for a more extensive post on BPA that will cover other sources of environmental exposure

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Kitchen Update

We are now on our sixth week of kitchen renovations. I would love to be able to report more progress but I can't. In all honesty we likely should have gutted the kitchen but that would have affected the adjoining family room ceiling. We are now doing the work ourselves but that part you already knew if you have been following this blog.

Appliances Installed

Background: The kitchen is mainly below ground with a large window opening onto the ground and a patio door opening into the backyard facing the water. While this means good energy savings because of the extra thick walls it also means we are somewhat limited for adding on in either direction. Indoors the kitchen joins the family room so there is no room for expansion there either. Essentially that means we are working with what we have in terms of space and layout. Unfortunately the previous owners put the sink in an awkward position with the corner being only a couple of inches where the countertop range was. Some of the cabinets were damaged through neglect or using too harsh of cleaners. I decided to refinish them because they are good heavy doors and recycling what we had was the right thing to do if at all possible. So during this renovation we are reusing the cabinets, cabinet doors, cabinet handles, HVAC vent and portions of the existing countertops. We haven't decided about lighting replacement but may upgrade the existing ceiling fan. The pot light over the window works fine so doesn't need replacement.

Cabinet Doors

Pictured is how the kitchen looks right this minute. Most of the cabinet doors have been rehung. The backsplash has been removed that will give about an extra inch of counter space. We were going to leave the laminate on the walls but after finding one small area where it was lifting decided to remove it. The laminate was covering an electrical receptacle (red arrow) that we didn't know about. It was reconnected by our electrician this morning! Which leads to to make a few comments on DIY.

Any DIY project is likely going to take twice the time and cost twice the amount of money you figured it would. A fundamental mistake some DIYers make is to not ask for help or hire out when they are out of the area of ability. Not only does this end up costing both time and money but so mistakes can put their families at risk. Now both my husband and I are quite comfortable doing electrical repairs however, the wiring in this box wasn't quite familiar and the box had been covered for at least as long as the previous owner did the kitchen. We discovered the box was dead but looked to be inline with other receptacles so could easily be reconnected. In this case it was easier and safer to have our electrician stop by to check it out before we did anything.

For the most part I'm happy with how the cabinet doors and handles came out. They are cleaner and brighter looking and they match the wood ceiling better. We ordered the hinges online from MyKnobs at a cost of $1.93 per set compared to $4.39 per set here. That is quite a savings! Each set came with two hinges, the necessary screws and cabinet pads. The only problem we encountered was having to drill new holes on the door backs for the hinges as the new ones were slightly smaller than the old ones.

Breakfast Island

The breakfast island has been the source of much discussion. It along with the change from carpet to ceramic tile flooring are the only things that mark the change from the family room to the kitchen. We would like to get a bit more light into the family room so the first consideration was to put frosted glass panels on both sides of the two end cupboards. Removing all the doors for refinishing showed up that this wouldn't give the effect we wanted. We knew for sure we wanted to square off the counter on the island (1) and it has now been removed. Then and we are now still discussing removing (2). Both of us agree the overall look with (2) removed would be a plus. However, my husband came up with the idea of narrowing the island by removing (3). The reasoning is the island is not used as an eating surface and in fact no one uses the island for eating even when we are entertaining. My concern is that this would be removing too much counter space something we always can use more of. I'm thinking we shouldn't narrow it because at some point we may want to use it as an eating surface and it does make a lovely serving surface as well. So I think (3) will be staying.

Tiles

Pictured is a close-up of the breakfast bar to give you a bit better idea of what we are doing. The edge (4) has already been removed. This will allow us to run the wood needed for the tile installation. Instead of doing a wood trim edging as initially planned we are now doing a ceramic tile one to match the counter. The portion in orange (5) is the portion we are debating removing. As you can see that is a substantial amount of countertop in a kitchen with little counter space so we will likely be leaving it that wide (26"). Another thing we will be fixing before tiling the wall is the switches. For some reason there's a space between the switch and plugs so we will put them together properly.

What is really exciting is seeing the tile being laid out. Now that the kitchen is in even more disarray than before and it will get worse before it's over, the tile gives a glimmer of this is going to happen. That's another side to DIY. It goes slow because life does get in the way. We don't have a week of full, non-stop time to dedicate to the project. We work when we can so the house has been in varying degrees of chaos for the past six weeks while we work time in for the kitchen around everything else.

Sink & Taps

We bought the Moen faucet (model 87444) quite some time ago. The hardware store was running a sale on Moen products. The faucet was marked down to $60 from $119.99 so imagine my surprise when I saw it was $206 on the Moen website! What appealed to us was the overall design and that Moen has a good reputation.

We ordered a Moen sink Camelot (model 22231) from HomeCenter. The regular price was $215.75 but the discounted price was $131.61! Shipping brought the total to $161.56 but considering the time and money we saved finding a sink that would exactly fit the spot the shipping costs were worth it. Notice we went with a single bowl sink. We currently have a bowl and a half sink but it won't fit the new location. The new bowl is deeper than the old larger bowl. Not only do we not have room for a double sink, we cannot have a garburator here so we decided to go with a single sink. I'm sure I will adjust.

Online shopping has become the new and environmentally friendly way to shop. You can comparison shop online saving time and money all from the comforts of home. Not only that but most shipping charges are considerably lower than what you would spend driving from store to store so not only are you saving precious gas dollars, you are also reducing your carbon footprint. One down side to online shopping is of course the shipping time. That just means you have to do a little more planning and realize that a DIY project may have to be delayed while waiting for a purchase to arrive.

The next few days should see a lot of changes so please check back for the next update.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

The Ongoing Kitchen Saga

Yesterday marked the three week period for the kitchen renovations. Most of the staining and finishing has been taking place in the garage. Unfortunately, weather conditions have not co-operated. We have experienced very high humidity levels followed by sever thunderstorms mixed with high temperatures that are not good conditions for staining or applying top coat. At the moment, I have 5 door fronts that need staining and top coating but again the skies are threatening some nasty weather.

We bought both the hinges and sink online. The hinges alone were $2.10 cheaper per pair than we could buy here. The hinges arrived todays so we will be able to start putting the doors back on the cabinets tonight getting the kitchen one step closer to completion. The sink was more of a matter of size than price. It should be here within the next couple of days.

We ran into a bit of a problem in that the trim between the cabinets and ceiling was looking very yellow after staining the cabinet frames. So I did a quick adjustment and decided to stain this trim as well. Now last minute changes are expected from any renovation project but as things happen this was not a huge problem to deal with.

As you can see from the picture, staining the trim got rid of some of the yellow tones. This is the cabinet over the breakfast bar. It shows how the kitchen and family room ceilings are connected. Once the stain cured for 24 hours, I applied polyurethane (satin) by brush.

Both the sanding and polyurethane created problems indoors. I really think the sanding was the main problem. Our dryer is natural gas so it stunk as did the the stove burners even though they were covered along with the oven. This is with all windows and doors open during application and curing as much as possible. Two loads of laundry seriously smelled like kerosene. To put this in perspective one load in my washer is the equivalent of three loads in a standard washer. I had to rewash twice to get rid of the smell. Talk about not being a happy camper!

Anytime we do renovations, I am the first to squirrel away things that can be re-used. This stems from trying to be environmentally friendly as well as being frugal. HVAC vents are a prime example. They are seldom in such bad condition they cannot be re-used. At the same time they can look rather tired and battered. Giving them new life is as easy as using spray paint. This is also an ideal way to get a custom matched vent colour to your decor. The choice of spray paint colours is quite extensive so you should be able to find a paint that will match. If you really want to try it (I have not) you can use a specialty spray that simulates rock or other surfaces but for easy cleaning I would recommend using a satin or gloss rust retardant paint.

Remove the vent cover. Soak in a solution of TSP to remove any grime or dirt. Brush with a brass brush then rinse well. If there is any signs of rusting on the cover, smooth with fine steel wool. Rinse and allow the cover to dry for 24 hours before proceeding. Spray with a rust retardant spray paint if the vent will be placed in a location prone to moisture or use a spray paint of your choice for other locations. I recommend using at least two coats of paint and you can cover with spray polyurethane for further protection if desired. This really isn't necessary but in high traffic areas like entrances or bathrooms you might want to.

A can of rust retardant spray paint will cost about $5. A more neutral colour will allow you to spruce up about 10 vent covers. Replacing these would cost about $4 each so for $5 you end up getting something that would cost $$40 and you are saving them from going to a landfill. If you are spraying them specifically for the decor element then of course the cost per vent will depend on the number of vents in that room. However, don't discount the fact that simply spray painting your vents can make them blend in better giving a smoother look to the room so for the price it is still worth it. Sometimes it is that little extra touch that does make a difference.

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Blog Action Day - The Environment & Windows

Today over fifteen thousand blogs with twelve million readers will be blogging on one topic - The Environment. Each of my blogs are participating, each from a different perspective so be sure to read them all.

As mentioned in a previous entry, I will be focusing on DIY winterizing projects that are inexpensive yet effective ways of saving more energy. Every time we reduce the amount of energy we use, we reduce our personal carbon footprint. This is a measurement of the impact human activities have on the environment. This measurement is determined by the amount of greenhouse gases produced in units of carbon dioxide (grams of CO₂ equivalents).

On a personal level, we can do something to reduce our especially in and around our homes. All the energy saving activities you do like turning off lights and using compact fluorescent bulbs reduce the amount of energy you use. Not only are you saving money but you are reducing your impact on the environment. So as I get the winterizing projects posted, please consider using one or more of them. I'm sure you will enjoy making and using them as well as the additional energy savings.

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Dishwasher Installation

Over the past eighteen months, we have replaced all of our major appliances. Energy efficiency and function have been the top deciding factors. In an earlier entry on Shopping for a Dishwasher I indicated we had narrowed down our choices for the new dishwasher. After considerable reseach we decided on the Bosch SHE44C02UC instead of the SHE44Co5UC. The installation was a planned DIY project with the help of our son-in-law who recently installed model SHE33C in their home.

Bosch SHE44C02UC

We chose the Bosch SHE44C02UC based on energy efficiency, features and lack of features. This is a tall tub model with stainless steel interior and nylon coated racks. A flow-through heater heats the water temperature to 161ºF. One of the first questions we have been asked is does the additional cost of a Bosch warrant it? We think so.

The dishwasher is reported to be one of the quietest in North America. Our kitchen opens onto the family room so noise level was a consideration. We were impressed with the condensation drying freature that hygienically dries the dishes without a heating element making it very energy efficiency. If using a gas hot water heater this model uses 315 kWh/year. We pay 5.5¢ per kWh but with the service charges the total price per kWh is about 11¢. This dishwasher will cost us approximately $25.58 per year to operate based on the Energy Star rating based on average usage without factoring in the cost of dishwashing detergent.

There were certain features we were not interested in. Similar dishwashers had a delay start and china setting. We had both of these features on the dishwasher at our old home and never used them.

The manufacturer's instructions indicate that a rinse agent must be used even if you use a detergent with a rinse agent included. They also specify using powdered detergent but tabs can be used if desired. Powdered detergent has less packaging so environmentally is friendlier plus it generally is more economical. This dishwasher uses less water as well so you need less detergent. The recommended amount is 1 tbsp (15 ml) for most loads to a mizimum of 3 tbsp (45 ml) if you have hard water. Liquid, gel or using too much detergent can damage dishware and cause etching in glassware.

The Old

The old dishwasher was an ancient KitchenAid with a rusted through tub (1). The dishwasher is in this condition due to neglect by the former owner of our home even though when it was installed it was a higher end unit. We had considerable debate where to install the dishwasher. We had the existing location (1) and the location where the built-in oven (2) was. Finally we decided to install in the existing location. In order to install the new dishwasher the old dishwasher had to be removed. We removed the built-in oven at the same time.

Removing the old dishwasher proved to be a bit more difficult that the built-in oven. My husband and son-in-law spent a good couple of hours removing this beast. It was heavy as well. The electricity to both areas had to be turned off. The electricity to the dishwasher needed to be hardwired while the electricity to the old oven was disconnected at the panel then removed. Once both appliances were removed, it was time for the cabinet prep.

Cabinet Prep

The dishwasher connections can be seen in the existing cabinet (1). The cabinet from the built-in oven (2) is being turned into either shelving or drawers but the drawer idea is winning out. We have a cabinet maker who will make matching fronts. There was a little sealing work to do but not a lot in the existing cabinet.

A closer look around the window and patio door areas show the depth and the paint colour. The wall area by the microwave is the only real wall in the kitchen to be painted. The new countertop is scheduled to be installed hopefully before Aug 6. The backsplash is being tiled with an aqua glass tile as soon as the countertop is installed. I feel like I'm on one of those shows with a time limit for renovations!

Installed

The dishwasher installed (1) looks wonderful! The guys ran into a problem with drainage since the old dishwasher drainage was practically blocked. That had to be removed and replaced. The almost 1 foot deep windowsill and patio door trim (3) has been painted with Behr Tide Pools to create a shadow effect to the walls painted Country Mist.

I would like to address the much advertised quietness of this machine. It is quite quiet but there is still some noise so don't expect not to hear anything. Still it is very, very quiet. All in all, we are very happy with our decision of buying this dishwasher and installing it ourselves.

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Replacing An Old Central Air Conditioner

There are several things to consider when replacing and old central air conditioner unit. In our last two houses we had old units with freon as a refrigerant. However, despite having minor leaks we were told to continue using the air conditioner unit until it finally quit. Given the age of both, I'm sure this wouldn't have take very long. We knew before we move into this house that the old air conditioner unit did not work and would need replacing. That gave me a little time to do research on central air conditioner units before the actual move.

Note: We are quite competent DIYers but I would not consider installing a central air conditioner unit a do-it-yourself project. This is one we left to the professionals. Our installation took about 5 hours with them doing it and at least we can rest easy knowing it was installed properly.

Old

I'm usually very careful to take before and after pictures of any renovations we do. The air conditioner installers arrived just after 8 am yesterday morning. After a few long days of painting, unpacking and organizing I had completely forgotten to take before pictures.

The old unit was set in the corner between the front porch and house (1). I didn't even think to check for the brand or model number but the installers said it was as old as the furnace that was installed in 1983. The furnace will be our next major replacement but again we have been told to use it until it no longer works. With our luck that will be about mid-winter! As you can see, the old unit (2) while in still fairly good physical condition is quite old. It did not work and has not worked for the past 15 years. When it stopped working in 1992 the previous owners decided against a repair opting instead to use a couple of window air conditioners. The evapourating coil (3) is larger than the new one. Freon, and environmentally unfriendly refrigerated was the coolant.

New

We settled on a Carirer® Comfort™ Series with Puron® Refrigerant Model 24ACA (1) for reasons I will discuss further. This unit qualified for a $50 rebate from the company but not our provincial rebate. The unit that did would have cost us $500 more for a $350 rebate but based on our usage and space limitations, it wasn't feasible. Carrier was the first company to use this environmentally friendly, energy efficient refrigerant that won't deplete the ozone layer. We had the following criteria:

1. environmentally friendly
   
2. energy efficiency
3. size restriction
4. effectiveness
5. quiet operation
   
6. cost
   

Air conditioner energy efficiency is measured by SEER, the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. SEER indicates the relative amount of energy to operate provide a specific cooling output. Had the existing unit been operational it likely would have been about a SEER of 7.0. The new unit is a SEER 13.0 giving at least a 30% savings over the cooling season. We could have gone to a higher SEER rating but were restricted by location. The more efficient units are larger and for our use did not warrant the additional costs. Based on your location and usage and higher SEER rating may be desireable.

Our house is earth bermed on the lower level making that level a fairly consistent temperature. The house is well shaded from afternoon sun almost to a fault. We are also on the water so get the cooling effect from that. A good portion of our cooling is through the earth berm, shading, water and ceiling fans. So in terms of cooling, we could go with a lower SEER unit given that it will only be running a few days a month early June to mid September. We've estimated the unit will run about 21 days per cooling season. However, we live in a very humid area so when the temperature soars it can get quite uncomfortable. Our previous house cost approximately $350 to cool for the season without an earth berm, very limited afternoon shading and massive windows resulting in a lot of solar gain. Projected cooling costs for this cooling season is about $120 or less.

The new evapourator coil (2) is a bit smaller but higher than the old one so the furnace had to be modified (3). Once the coil was installed in the furnace, the installer cut a custom made door. When we replace the furnace the duct work will be modified to fit but the coil won't need to be replaced. The new air conditioner unit fits in the old spot perfectly (4). It is a bit quieter than the older models we've had but I don't think by a lot. I trimmed back the boxwood shrub on the side closest to the unit. While the installers said that shouldn't be necessary, one of them said a 10" clearance around the unit was desirable so I did so. Anything that impedes the air flow will result in lowered energy efficiency.

As part of the installation an energy efficient, programmable thermostat was installed (not shown). There was a $50 rebate on the thermostat even though it is stamped with the company's logo with no other documentation. Total cost was $2,980 CDN less $100 in rebates including full installation. Installation included the removal and disposal of existing equipment and re-installation in the same location, re-connection or revision of gas piping, electrical and venting system along with necessary duct work modification. It also included new copper lines and 'A' coil. I would have liked to see a little discount for paying upon invoicing that I assume to be 30 days even though I wanted to pay upon installation. Their installers are not allowed to accept payment which I don't really understand and we have to pay either cash, money order or cheque as credit card payments have a 2% surcharge. At any rate the price was well within our budget. We were very pleased with the quality of the installation as well so will be recommending this firm to our friends.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn about our fun with electricity!

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Today is Earth Day so what better way to celebrate but with an entry for how to save energy on laundry. Saving on laundry tends to be one of the top topics on frugal discussions and for good reason. Let's face it, doing laundry is a fact of life. It can be time consuming, overwhelming and costly. Saving even a little in this area encourages us to save in other ways as well.

We raised a larger family so over the years (almost 30) we have done a lot of laundry. Over the years the energy costs have increased and they will continue to rise. But it is not just the price of energy that continues to rise. I've divided this entry into three sections: appliances, washing and drying. These are simply my tips and what works for me.

Appliances: I posted an entry awhile ago about my new front loading washer and matching dryer. I'm serious, if there is any way you can replace your top loading washer to a front loader do it. You will not regret it! Front loaders save on energy, water, detergent and fabric softener. Loading capacity is about three times that of a top loader so you end up saving even more including time. It is a win-win situation all around.

Washers are either manual or electric. If you are interested in a manual washer, Lehman's is one source. Other sources are yard and estate sales. I've seen plans for adapting wringer washers to solar power but have no experience with this. Driers are powered by: air, solar, electricity or natural gas. Choose the cheapest power source that best suits your needs.

Washing: My first rule of thumb is the washer is never run unless fully loaded. My second rule of thumb is I use cold wash/cold rinse most of the time with the exception being whites where I use hot wash/cold rinse. My list of laundry supplies for washing are:

• unscented laundry detergent (HE now but normal before)
• bluing (whitener)
  
• vinegar (softener)
  
• laundry bar soap (normal stains)
• meat tenderizer (enzymatic stains)
• Simple Green® (greasy stains)
  

Missing from this list but used for years are washing soda and bluing. I'm using all liquids because of the front loader but if you are using a top loader washing soda (20 Mule Team) is an inexpensive way to whiten and brighten your light colours and whites. Bluing is getting increasingly difficult to find locally but is available online from several sources including the link above. In most cases you can use about half of what the manufacturer says to use for both detergent and fabric softener. In general dry detergents may be cheaper but you will need to calculate the cost per load to be sure. Store brands are usually cheaper than brand names but again do the calculations. For greater savings eliminate fabric softener entirely and just use vinegar. If you are using a top loading washer, an extra spin will make your clothes drier resulting in shorter drying times.


Drying: By far the most cost effective way of drying clothes is on a clothes line to the point that some in frugal discussions snub those that do not dry their clothes this way. However, many cannot dry their clothes outdoors due to seasonal allergies, physical restrictions, residential restrictions, geographical location, and time constraints. In my case, for quite some time I was out of the home including a long commute that often resulted in me leaving the house at 5 am and getting home just after 6 pm, sometimes later. With the amount of laundry, hanging it outdoors was not practical. Then we started serious allergy control so no hanging clothes outdoors.

I have a folding laundry rack and at the old house had a built-in laundry line in the utility room. Between the two they might have held a load and a half, simply not practical with the amount of laundry for our size family. Another problem with hanging clothes inside is the increased humidity which actually makes your furnace/AC work harder costing you more money and can cause mould problems. I have seen instructions for building a clothes drying cupboard that involves a series of racks, hangers and an incandescent lighbulb. I cannot say how well this set-up works as I have no experience with it.

For a number of years, the main source for drying our clothes was an electric dryer even though I used an outdoor line when possible and an indoor rack when possible. For the past four years my dryer has been natural gas powered, almost 1/3 the cost of electricity here. If you can, always choose the cheaper source of energy. If you can't, use the double spin tip to dry your clothes more so they dry faster.

I'm not a big fan of fabric softeners. I've heard that dryer sheets can gunk the machine and they are definitely not environmentally friendly. Both liquid and dry fabric softeners leave a residue on the clothes. If you can wash a load and still smell the fabric softener, there's a residue! Vinegar is the more economical choice for fabric softening. It works well and helps to remove detergent residue that will cause that dingy look in clothes.

Image courtesy of Clipart Etc

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Homemade Cleaning Solutions

We have been seeing an increase in allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivity due to indoor air pollution in our homes and workplace. The problem is manufacturers convince us that our houses need to smell of the latest, greates scent du jour in order to be clean. An earlier entry focused on what chemical free cleaners I use in my home that don't harm our indoor air quality or the environment. Several recipes for cleaners follow.

Cleaners

My last entry didn't give a picture so I thought today I would post one. My favourite non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaner is Simple Green®. It can be used for so much! Since I make up my own solutions, I splurged and bought commercial spray bottles at Sam's Club but you can find similar at the dollar stores or if you really want to save, just put the word out to your friends to save their empty spray bottles for you. Notice, I do lable my spray bottles and that is important. The pile on the left is a small portion of my cleaning cloths. I bought two 25 packs of terry cloth wash cloths at K-mart for $2.99 a piece. I use these for wiping up spills and cleaning. The handheld steam cleaner is on the right and by far could almost eliminate everything else but the wash cloths!

Steam Mop

Let's see, floors - we all have them and somehow we have to keep them clean. I use three tool: swiffer, steam mop and carpet steam cleaner. My steam mop is likely the second most used cleaning appliance in my home. Floors are squeeky clean with no chemical or residue. It has more than paid for itself! Not shown in the picture is my Bissell Carpet Steam Cleaner. It is an older model earned though Z-Points years ago. It's still going strong and does a great job of cleaning carpets.

Ok, so you are all gun ho on going towards non-toxic cleaners BUT you don't want to or can invest in a handheld steam cleaner ($39.99), steam mop ($79.99) or Simple Green ($8.99). The first thing is to congratulate yourself on making one more step to a healthier home and you. The second step is to arm yourself with a few inexpensive supplies: vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, spray bottles, pure bar soap and bleach if you can use it. Total cost should be under $15. From there you can start replacing your regular toxic cleaners for more environmentally friendly onew with one or more of the following recipes. Your home will smell clean and be clean without you polluting your indoor air or your body.

Warning: Even homemade cleaners can pose a risk to children and pets. Always label your homemade cleaners including a complete list of the ingredients. Keep them out of the reach of children and in case of accidents, call your poison control centre.

All-purpose Cleaner
50 ml borax
125 ml pure soap
1 drop eucalyptus oil
4 L hot water
Mix thoroughly

Wall & Floor Tile Cleaner
125 ml shredded coarse soap
125 ml washing soda
4 L hot water
Dissolve ingredients in hot water. Use a stiff brush to scrub the tiles with the cleaner. Rinse well as soap based cleaners toend to leave a film. Dry.

Laundry Powder
250 ml pure soap flakes or powder
25 to 50 ml washing soda
*Do not use in high efficiency front loading washing machines!

Descaler
1 part vinegar
2 parts water
For kettles, pour the solution into the kettle, bring to a boil then let sit for a few minutes. Pour out solution and rinse well. For shower heads or spayers, remove and let sit 30 minutes in the solution, rinse and replace.

Window Cleaner
1 part vinegar
1 part water
Place in a spray bottle. To use spray then wipe.

Disinfectant
25 ml chlorine bleach
1 L water
Mix then pour into a spray bottle. Use for killing mould, germs and bacteria.

Non-caustic Drain Opener
125 ml baking soda
50 ml white vinegar
1 kettle boiling water
Pour the baking soda into the drain followed by the vinegar. Leave for 15 minutes. When the fizzing has stopped, pour in the boiling water.

Silver Cleaner
1L warm water
5 ml baking soda
5 ml salt
small piece of aluminum foil
Mix and place the silver in the cleaner. Replace the foil whenever it turns black. Be careful when cleaning silver plated items.

Oven Cleaner
25 ml dishwashing soap
15 ml borax
1 L warm water
Mix and pour into a spray bottle. Spray on dirty surfaces and leave for 20 minutes. You may need steel wool to remove some stubborn spots.

Scouring Powder
50 ml pure sop flakes
10 ml borax
375 ml boiling water
50 ml whiting (fine chalk powder available at art supply or decorating stores)
Dissolve the soap and borax in boiling water. Cool to room temperature and addwhiting. Pour into a plastic or glass container and seal well.

Garden Gnome
© 2007

Ten Ways to Go Green in Your Home

1. reduce
2. reuse
3. recycle
4. replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescent lights (CFL)
5. use non-toxic cleaners
6. use rechargeable batteries
7. seal air leaks
8. repair or replace leaky taps
9. insulate hot water pipes
10. wash clothes in cold water/cold rinse
    

Garden Gnome
© 2007