Posted by woodrow ~ March 17th, 2011
If you suffer from asthma and allergies like I do, you know that there can be more trouble in your home than meets the eye. Often you’ll complete a thorough cleaning of a new or remodeled home only to burst into a fresh spate of sneezing and watery eyes. For most people, home allergies are sparked by black mold that grows in the basement and interiors. For me, and millions of other sufferers, the real culprits are dust mites.
If you’re still hacking and hewing after having a thorough black mold inspection that turned up negative, then it’s time to consider bringing in a cleaning service or contractor to perform a deep cleaning. Deep cleaning procedures typically include a thorough scrub with industrial-grade vacuums fitted with HEPA filters. Remember, any effort to improve your living conditions is a valid home improvement project.
Cleaning interiors and protecting against mites
Adult dust mites lay up to 40 eggs each, and the eggs hatch nymphs that feed on bed dust, human dander, fungi, and tiny particles that remain from spills of human or pet food and crumbs. Experts at the Ohio State University blame dust mites for eczema, respiratory ailments and headaches. As much as 90 percent of asthmatic conditions can be attributed to mites. Dust mites are practically invisible to the human eye.
Researchers say a typical human mattress can play host to 10 million mites. That means you’ll have to constantly be cleaning—if you are allergic. One way to cut infestations is to replace all down or feather pillows with those filled with synthetic materials. Choose latex mattresses over other materials. Put on a plastic mattress cover made specifically to cut down on allergens and damp brush it daily. Use cotton bedding instead of wool products.
Vacuum frequently with a HEPA vacuum and, if possible, in lieu of carpeting, install wood flooring without any fabric that can host the mites. The Mayo Clinic recommends that you receive a skin or blood test from a physician to detect possible allergy to dust mites.
Even with deep cleaning and a bedroom home improvement project to minimize mites, you may still need to take antihistamines or decongestants. Consider installing a home air purifier. And keep the humidity in your home as low as possible. Pesticides are not a good option—especially in your bedroom.
Remember to clean, clean and clean again. Home allergies are nothing to sneeze at!
Tags: cleaning, home improvement, interiors
Posted in Bathrooms, General Remodeling, Home Maintenance, Remodeling, Uncategorized | 11 Comments »
Posted by woodrow ~ March 11th, 2011
Most homeowners believe that the worst household mold originates in the bathroom. Truth is, mold is all around us in the home. Spores travel through the heating and cooling system and your vents. They enter on a fall day when a breeze stirs them up from a pile of rotting leaves or cut grass. Once inside the home, they can affect those with allergies as well as those without any prior health condition. Your eyes water and turn red, your throat is sore, you sneeze and your skin can break out with a rash.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that it may be impossible to entirely eradicate mold spores in the home. For most of us, it’s a matter of degree. Toxic mold produces mycotoxins, particles that have been linked to memory loss and pulmonary illnesses in infants and the elderly. I have asthma and am especially vulnerable to the more subtle and sinister irritants and molds that build colonies in my home.
Mold loves water
If you have water leaks in the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen and basement pipe system, it’s like sending out an engraved invitation to mold. That’s why a routine walk-around in your home from top to bottom can prevent nasty out breaks. Remember, mold causes stains and costly cosmetic damage to your home that’s nothing to sneeze at. Concrete molds love to move into basements where there’s an unsealed dryer vent, leaky water pipes or pooled seepage from cracked walls and flooring. If you have cracks, use hydraulic cement that dries into a water seal in under five minutes.
If you find mold growing in your bathroom, clean it frequently and find new ways to increase ventilation via a new window, ceiling fan or dehumidifier. You may need to take out the carpeting in a serious case. If your windows bead up frequently, you may need to install storm windows or install double paned replacements.
Black mold and calling in a contractor
Black mold, according to the EPA, loves to spawn in dark places in the home. It’s not always black, but it’s always nasty. If you don’t address the moisture problem in your home and just clean up the mold, it grows back with a vengeance. If you believe your home is susceptible, call in a contractor to perform black mold testing.
Like most home problems, you can prevent mold with routine maintenance and common sense. But you have to be motivated to perform routine checks.
Tags: bathroom, contractor, mold
Posted in Bathrooms, General Remodeling, HVAC, Home Maintenance, Remodeling, Working With Contractors | 14 Comments »
Posted by woodrow ~ March 6th, 2011
If you’re considering remodeling your kitchen, think about ways to do it in modular fashion, improving the overall space one step, one appliance at a time. There are countless ideas for the small kitchen that make sense when you don’t have a fortune to spend. Adding a new cooktop or stove within your budget is a great way to begin kitchen remodeling.
Thermador Hybrid
Gas cooktops are the most popular options for the serious cook. Models come with 13,000 – 18,000 BTU burners, and you can even find gas cooktops with low-BTU simmer burners. Expect to spend between $500 and $2,500, depending on your needs and optional bells and whistles. Consumer Research selected the 36-inch GE Profile JGP975WEKWW as its top-rated gas cooktop. The Profile comes with durable porcelain enamel, rather than the painted metal tops that come with the low-end cooktops. But expect to pay at least $914 for one.
Going with electric cooktops in your kitchen
Electric coil cooktops offer the least-expensive outlay for a cooking surface. However, electric cooktops work under continuous heat rather than the cycled heating offered by smooth electric cooktops. On the plus side, coils hold more heat after you shut off the burner than do the flattop models. Coil cooktops come in a power range from 1,500 to 2,600 watts. A 30-inch model starts around $300.
Consumer Research chooses the Electrolux Icon E30EC65ESS as the best model for a smooth-top electric cooktop. The model comes with five radiant burners that heat up quickly. Expect to pay around $1,100 for an Icon.
Complement the kitchen stove with a hybrid cooktop
Thermador manufactures a radiant-induction hybrid heating system that produces 17 different power levels and eliminates the need for magnetic pots and pans required by traditional induction stoves. The hybrid is one of the fastest-cooking tops on the market, but you pay for the performance. The silver-mirrored cooktops range from $3,049 to $3,599. Black ceramic models cost less, from $2,449 to $3,229.
If you’re not qualified to install a new cooktop yourself, you can still upgrade your kitchen for a reasonable price. Hiring a contractor when the money is tight often depends on the market and the amount of work you can do on your own. It’s still the off-season for labor, so start rounding up bids before the spring arrives with a flurry of customers scurrying into remodeling projects.
Tags: kitchen, kitchen remodeling, stove
Posted in General Remodeling, Kitchens, Remodeling, Uncategorized, Working With Contractors | 12 Comments »
Posted by woodrow ~ March 4th, 2011
Are you wondering what remodeling trends will rise to the top of the pack this year? So did the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) when it polled member builders and contractors that belong to its 58 chapters nationwide. Remember, as you look over the results, that they may be colored by the kinds of work in which the polled contractors specialize, rather than economic realities seen in the recent Cost vs. Value Report. Tallied by Remodeling Magazine, this report compiled actual figures on returns for your investment today for a range of home improvement projects.
According to CBS Moneywatch writer Ilyce Glink, NARI builders and contractors echo the advice you’ve read here for months: tackle small scale, easy-to-finance projects right now. NARI contractors suggest small bathroom remodeling projects at the top of the trends. Because you may have more than one bathroom, you can do one or two small bathroom projects and stay between the lines of affordability and value.
Repairing fundamental problems
This year, expect homeowners and contractors to tackle structural woes that address “must-do” rather than “would love to do” repairs. These might include siding repairs, new siding, roof patching and gutter maintenance. I suggested projects along these lines earlier this week when I talked about short-term maintenance projects that you should complete, lest you turn away would-be buyers.
Outdoor decks are in the NARI contractor list for remodeling trends this year. Despite their choice, I remind you that decks are a tricky proposition, based largely on where you live. The Cost vs. Value Report at Remodeling Magazine shows a 66-percent return in home value (ROI) on a $15,373 composite deck addition across the nation in 2010. That’s no stunner, trend or no trend.
Turn up the warmth
One interesting trend, according to NARI builders, includes a homeowner return to warmer colors for home interiors. The minimalist use of neutral paint tones of grays and whites will give way this year to earth tones that lend a greater sense of coziness.
Finally, should you pay a contractor in cash? According to Moneywatch, homeowners who can afford projects out of existing coffers are doing so rather than grabbing additional debt. That may mean, the NARI trend survey showed, that you settle on upgrading highlights or features–such as kitchen cabinets or appliances–rather than re-do an entire room.
If it sounds like you’ve heard all this before, it’s because remodeling trends for 2011 seem to echo the prudent consumer behavior that fit the economic realities in 2010.
Tags: bathroom, contractor, deck
Posted in Bathrooms, Decks and Fences, General Remodeling, Remodeling, Working With Contractors | 7 Comments »
#
#
