ECO-TIPS: HOUSEHOLD This page will include ideas and tips that individuals can use within the home setting, providing minimal impact on the environment. Many of these ideas also have the benefit of being less expensive than some of the high impact commercial solutions. In the Home Energy efficiency is also 'eco-efficiency.' Here are some common but sometimes overlooked energy eco-tips for the home: Replacing a standard light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb saves the energy equivalent of 600 lbs. of coal over the life of the bulb. Check with your energy provider to see if they have conservation programs that offer discounts or free bulbs. Many hardware stores have a variety of low-flow showerheads. They range from 2.5 gallons/minute or less. And don't forget to insulate the water heater. The gas or electric heater will have to heat the water less often if it is properly insulated. Check for the Energy Star label on your new appliances. It helps the atmosphere and your wallet! Many of you have heard about isulating the attic but what about under the floors in the crawl-space or celler? If you notice an unusally cold floor on winter mornings, check for insulation between the joists in the celler. The insulation is usually 16 inches wide by 6 inches deep and can be purchased at most home centers. Wrap all water pipes with insulation. It usually comes in two forms; either foam wrap that looks like black padding or the standard silver insulation material that wraps around the pipe in a circular motion. It's not very expensive and will save heat loss through the pipes when running hot water and save money by decreasing the chance of pipes freezing and bursting during the winter months. Install a programmable thermostat. This will allow you to set the heat to come on when you're home and you can avoid heating the house during the middle of the day. You can program the thermostat to 68 degrees from 5 am to 8 am and again from 5 pm to 11 pm. The rest of the day the thermostat can be set at 60 degrees. Multiply this savings by the degrees you save on all those winter days and it really adds up! (PS Be careful about temperature settings if you have sensitive plants or things like musical instruments that can't take cold temperatures. Most plants, pets, and musical intruments can take 60 degrees) If you have a fireplace, install a fireplace screen. Available online or at home centers in many styles, this will help eliminat drafts when the fireplace is not in use and also stop smoky blowback from the fire. (PS Make sure your chimney is in working order before winter sets in) Weather strip all exterior doors. This is simple to do and very inexpensive. Anywhere you see light coming in around an exterior door is a place where the cold can come in...or more precisely, where the heat goes out! Weatherstripping for doors comes in the foam peel-n-stick variety or the brass or aluminum screw on type. I put on the brass and rubber type and it took me about 15 minutes per door to install. Even when it's windy, you can't feel any air coming in. And on the higher end of the scale, replacing all windows with the new energy efficient thermal windows saves a lot of heating and cooling costs! _________________________________________________________________________ And clearing your home of toxins is also easy these days! Actually, it always has been but you never see commercials for it! Here are a few tips: All purpose cleaner: Mix 2 teaspoons borax, 1 teaspoon soap, and 1 quart water. Store in a spray bottle. Add vinegar or washing soda to cut grease. Disinfectant: Dissolve 1/4 cup borax in 1 - 1/2 gallons of hot water. Scouring powder: Use a firm bristle brush and scrub with soap combined with borax, table salt, or baking soda. Oven cleaner: Sprinkle the bottom of the oven with baking soda and spray with water periodically to keep it damp. Let it set overnight. Scoop out the baking soda and rinse well. To prevent grease build-up, always clean spills as soon as the oven cools down. As a last resort, use 1/2 cup ammonia dissolved in 1 gallon of hot water for scrubbing out particularly bad grease and grime. Provide plenty of fresh air! Drain cleaner: Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for about 20 minutes and then rinse it down with boiling water. To clear a badly clogged drain, use a plunger or a metal snake. (tip: when pouring the cup of vinegar down the drain, keep eyes away as the baking/vinegar mixture will fizz) Window cleaner: Pour 1/4 cup vinegar in approximately 1/2 gallon of warm water in a bucket. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon liquid soap (natural soaps are available) and a pinch of cornstarch. Wipe down windows with this mixture and dry with a lint-free cloth. Use a spray bottle with club soda (not seltzer) for touch-ups. Tub and Tile cleaner: Sprinkle on bakin soda, scour with a wet sponge and rinse. For mineral deposits, soak a washcloth in vinegar and leave it on the deposit overnight. For soap scum deposits, spread liquid castile soap or clarifying shampoo (organic) on the surface and leave it for an hour or so. The deposits will be softened and then can be easily scrubbed away with a brush. Furniture Polish: Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/4 cup white vinegar, and 20 drops of lemon essential oil in a 16 oz. spray bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake well. Spray onto furniture and wipe dry immediately with a soft cloth. Brass: Mix equal parts salt and flour with a little vinegar, then rub. Chrome: Rub with undiluted vinegar. Copper: Rub with lemon juice and salt or hot vinegar and salt. Silver or Stainless Steel: Rub with paste of baking soda and water. In the laundry room: Bleach: Use only powdered, non-chlorine bleach. Detergent: When you first switch from detergents to soap, wash laundry once with washing soda alone to get rid of detergent residue and avoid yellowing of fabric. After that, add 1/3 cup washing soda to water before placing clothes in machine and substitute soap flakes or powder for detergent. For more cleaning power, add 1/2 cup borax. Fabric softener: Add 1 cup vinegar or 1/4 cup baking soda during final rinse. Spray starch: Dissolve 2 teaspoons cornstarch in 1 pint cold water in a spray bottle. Shake before each use. Dry cleaning: Commonly used dry cleaning solvents are toxic. Buy clothing you can wash. Many garments labeled "dry clean only" can be safely hand-washed using mild soap and cold water or sent out for pressing. If you must dry clean, look for cleaners that use a "wet-cleaning" method. _________________________________________________________________________ The following tips brought to you by the CT DEP (http://www.dep.state.ct.us/wst/p2/individual/house.htm). There are more recipes for a toxic free home from books such as: "Clean House, Clean Planet" by Karen Logan, "Home Safe Home" by Debra Lynn Dadd, and "Better Basics for the Home" by Annie Berthhold-Bond. Many common household cleaning products have hazardous chemicals. Didn't you ever wonder why the laundry isle in the supermarket was so 'stinky?' A product is probably hazardous to you and the environment if it's: Toxic (can injure of kill if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin) Flammable (may explode or ignite, even when cool) Corrosive (can cause permanent tissue damage through contact) Reactive (creates an explosion or produces deadly vapors) If the labels says "Danger," "Poison," "Caution," or "Warning," think about why you would want it anywhere near you! There are better ways to get a clean oven or shiny furniture! Compost those grass clippings and leaves! It’s easy to do with some cheap chicken wire from the hardware store. Just make a three or four foot diameter cylinder of chicken wire throw some leaves in the bottom, then a little dirt (for the organic microbes), and grass clippings on top. You could leave it alone and the pile will be gone by the next year. I’ve done this myself, (without the chicken wire) and it works! You can compost it faster by stirring it up with a pitchfork or shovel every once in awhile. And you’ll have super organic (provided there was no pesticides on the lawn) compost soil for your gardening the next year. Have a garage sale! It’s a way for you to recycle your stuff! Here’s a couple of tips on garage (tag) sales: combine forces with your neighbors or find out if the local university has flea markets you can sell you wares. Some University senior classes have flea markets where anyone can pay a fee for a number of parking spaces to set up some tables and sell. And price things to sell! People are there for the ridiculously cheap bargain and you’re there to get rid of the stuff! The true trick of garage sales for you (and the environment) is to NOT replace the stuff you sold with more stuff! Take the money and buy an experience, take a daytrip, or pay off some bills, or put it into savings, anything but buying more stuff. I think you'll find you delight in finding ways to live more lightly upon the earth. And she'll thank you for it too! Eco-Tips for Pest Control: Radon Information: The full list of Eco-Tips categories as planned, with more categories being added as need dictates: Household Eco-Tips Yard and Garden Eco-Tips Miscellaneous Eco-Tips The Sierra Club is a non-profit member-supported, public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions--legislative, administrative, legal, and electoral. Sierra Club, 85 Second St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441, USA. Telephone (415) 977-5500 (voice), (415) 977-5799 (FAX). Sierra Club® and One Earth, One Chance® are registered trademarks of the Sierra Club. This page created & maintained for the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club by RootGrafix Web Design. E-mail the webmaster at birchbark@rootgrafix.com with any site-related questions, updates, or needs. Last Update: March 23, 2004.