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NOW What?

This page will contain anything from current thoughts -- issues, product introductions (or warnings), to previous issues worth keeping. Please come back from time to time and see what's new. Last updated 3 - 20 - 2008.

Disaster recovery.

Some Weather experts are predicting an increase in severe storm events and more energetic storms in general for this year. So, do you have a disaster recovery plan for your household? In addition to weather related disasters, there is also the possibility of fire, (with smoke and water damage), theft, gas explosions, floods or water pipes bursting, auto accidents, and the catch all “Ooops, I didn’t think the tree would fall in that direction”.

The most important point for disaster recovery is to keep people and pets alive and as safe as possible. For this article, I would like you to think about the use of home safes, bank safe deposit boxes, and my favorite – fire resistant cases.

Bank safe deposit boxes are good for things with intrinsic value like barer bonds and family jewelry. Safe deposit boxes are not suitable for digital data on magnetic media for the obvious reason that even a small magnetic field in the steel can degrade you data over time. Typically upon a person’s death, a bank safe deposit box will be sealed pending action by the probate court, so do not put an only copy of your last will and testament or any life insurance policies into a bank safe deposit box, (copies OK). A life insurance policy is more than the papers with ink on them that spell out the agreement between the policy holder and the insurance company. As long as the policy is in effect, lost or misplaced policy papers can be replaced, just call the agent or insurance company. It is a good idea to let your family know that you have insurance, maybe give someone a copy of the benefits page with policy numbers on it.

Home safes are designed to limit access to your valuables and important papers, even from you. If you wear the same gold watch every day, you would not want the hassle of getting it out of a home safe each morning. However, you might not want a child to grab an antique pocket watch off the dresser to use in a game of hammer throw in the back yard. Ask your insurance agent if a home safe will save some money on your premium. For magnetic data storage you are still better off using an off site service, but you might find a safe built for this purpose.

Fire resistant cases cost as little as twenty bucks. The cases are best for things important to you, but of little value to others. Family picture negatives, diplomas, maybe your computer passwords, health records, etc., are good things to keep safe from disaster. A fire resistant case will swell up in high heat, protecting the contents for the time it is rated for. A fire resistant case will generally not protect contents from flooding, so store it is a place with this in mind. If you can pass a magnetic compass around the inside walls of a fire resistant case and it does not react strongly, you can probably put a CD or DVD of family digital pictures in the case for storage. However, please make another copy to store off site just in case.

What is a simple, yet powerful tool for drivers to increase gas mileage? The mighty tire air pressure gage, ($1 to $5 most models). Radial tires can have low air pressure and not look low. The owner’s manual of the vehicle will tell you the proper inflation for the tires. Most passenger car tires can say 35 PSI maximum, but the proper level is usually 32 PSI.

Keeping your tires properly inflated saves fuel and is safer. Accurate tire pressure readings are done when the tires are cool. If the tires are warm from driving, add two pounds to the value, (say 34 PSI instead of 32 PSI). I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the car to clean off the valve stem road grime that clings to my fingers.

In my area it is getting harder to find a gas station that has a free air hose to fill up the tires. Most stations do not have an air hose at all, and some are trying to charge money for air. If your vehicle does not have a built in air compressor, you can buy a small compressor with a 12 volt (cigarette lighter) accessory plug power supply for about $5 to $10. Portable compressors can be found in discount tool stores, overstock departments and the like.

I once lived in a house that was built before the Civil War, and we did put up plastic sheeting over the windows to save heat. We usually put the plastic up right after the Holidays, especially the ten foot tall windows in the main room, (in addition to the heavy drapes with separate liners). The plastic would provide an additional dead air space to slow heat loss. What I remember most was the immediate improvement in comfort in the room. I can only imagine the money we saved. Plastic sheeting was a winter only thing for us. For permanent improvement in window area R-Value to save on heating and air conditioning bills, I suggest new windows, (expensive), or window treatments with good thermal qualities.

Thermal.

The Thermal properties of window treatments are expressed in two different measurements: R-Value, and Shading Coefficient.

R-Value is a numeric expression of resitance to the flow of heat. The higher the number, the more the window treatment provides insulation to your room. R-Value is the most common measurement of heat resistance in all sorts of building products. Fiberglass insulation for a wall might have an R-Value of 15. Fiberglass insulation for the attic might have and R-Value of 23. What about the windows? Single pane glass windows may have an R-Value from about 0.90 to 1.00. A double-glazed window may have an R-Value from about 1.75 to 2.00. An inch thick film-insulated glass window can have an R-Value of 6.00 by suspending a transparent polyester film between layers of the glass. A triple Cellular window treatment, with all that dead air space, may add an additional 3 points the window's R-Value. A normal double Cellular shade may add an additional 2.5 points to the R-Value of the window. Generally, aluminum blinds, pleated shades, and roller shades offer the lowest window treatment R-Values.

Have you ever been in a greenhouse, or sat in a car with leather seats after the car was parked in bright sunlight with the windows rolled up? Eeeee-Ouch! The Shading Coefficient is a numeric expression of a window treatment's ability to resist heat gain, shade the room, and reflect heat. This number is like a golf score, the lower the number the better for you. This is how it works.

1. The percentage of heat reduction is established. (Example: 75%)
2. This number is subtracted from 100. (Example: 100 - 75 = 25)
3. This second number is made into a decimal. (Example: 25 * 0.01= .25)

So a Shading Coefficient number of 0.35 is better than 0.45. The only generalizations for this type of rating are that sheer window treatments that let light through will have poorer ratings, and multiple cell Cellular shades will have better ratings. So many factors affect this rating that they can surprise you.

"With much higher costs of home heating expected this winter, I think it would be prudent to cover a few insulation subjects over the next month or so." (from last update)

Weather-stripping for your doors and windows is an affordable and relatively basic project to save on heating and cooling costs in your home. The idea is simple – plug the paths of unwanted air flow around the doors and windows, but still be able to USE the doors and windows. A perfect seal at corners, locks and deadbolts is probably not going to happen, but you can reduce the majority of air flow. There are a lot of products out there with different uses and longevity. So, you will need to understand the problems in your home when you shop, (hopefully you will find someone competent to ask for help).

As you survey your home weather-stripping, take notes as to what kind is on there now. Do any of the existing weather strips need replacing? Measure each application to the outside corner, and note each individual length so you won’t have to patch together any lengths of weather stripping. Foam stripping is the only kind that total linier feet is what you shop for.

This week I bought a new outdoor thermometer because my old one was so sun faded that I could no longer read the dial through the faceplate. While shopping, I also looked at different home insulation products. I looked at products used for quick fix projects and major projects like whole attic insulations. Prices were up, but nothing shocked me.

With much higher costs of home heating expected this winter, I think it would be prudent to cover a few insulation subjects over the next month or so. With this holiday weekend, many of us will be doing small projects or maintenance related to insulation. At the very least, you should consider looking around your home for things to do in the future. The sooner you improve the insulation of your home, the more energy you will save.

One maintenance project is to clean around windows and doors. Look for gaps that need re-calking or weather-stripping. Check the doorway thresholds for bent or worn bottom plates, you may want to replace them or add threshold gasket – door shoe, door sweep combinations. Not all doors fit well in there frames. If you see light coming through between the door and frame or if you feel airflow, you have a gap. You might consider weather-stripping the doorway. I like the thin foam stripping that sticks on easy and can be pulled off when the weather breaks in the spring.

I have relatively new windows and sliding glass door with deep channels. I use a vacuum hose and an old toothbrush to clean the channels. If the slide action is a bit slow, I will clean with a wet cloth, then once the channel is dry, apply a dry lubricant spray, (leaves a silicone or other dry film – the same spray I use on car door gaskets to prevent winter icing and sticking of car doors and trunk lid), to the channel for proper operation.

Now is a good time to have your furnace checked, install carbon monoxide detector(s), and call the chimney sweep or use those special logs to reduce the risk of chimney fires if you use a fireplace. Try using the cool nights to feel for drafts in the house. Remember that in order for heated air to escape your house, cooler air must enter. So feel for cool air seeping into the basement or lower part of your home.

It is almost spring cleaning time, and I know a number of you are looking around your home and mumbling that one room or another looks a bit shabby. Well, please clean first. If things still look old and dingy or your spouse suggests all new furniture or a major re-model job, (is there such a thing as a small re-model, no-not really), stop and think a minute about the whole room in detail. Small things usually make a big difference. Why buy new lamps when new lamp shades will do? New face plates for light switches and power outlets enhance a room, especially bedrooms. For me painting a whole room is no big deal, but before you paint or re-wallpaper a whole room, think about just a wallpaper border or painting the trim around doors and baseboards only. When things like carpet, furniture, and window treatments are old and worn out, it is obvious. Otherwise think of having them professionally cleaned. Artwork and nick-knacks can hang around so long that you no longer see them but your sub-conscious mind knows some things have got to go. Changing light bulbs for higher or lower wattage can affect a room. Be creative, try stepping outside – clear your mind – then walk into your home as if you had never seen it before. Note what you like and do not like, if anything.

Last week I was shopping in my local wholesale club, looking for a variety of things including new cleaning towels. In the automotive section I found a 100 pack of shop towels, (the red ones), a 50 pack of cotton terry cloth towels, and a 25 pack of micro-fiber towels, all for about the same price of $13 to $15. I passed on the red shop towels as I am not planning to strip an engine soon. I still have half a dozed cotton towels in good shape. So, I bought the 25 pack of micro-fiber towels for $13.

For those of you who do not know what I am referring to, micro-fibers are synthetic and tiny, many times smaller than wool or other natural fibers. The surface area per square inch of micro-fiber cloth is significantly greater, (in multiples), than the surface area of a regular cloth. I have used micro-fiber cloths to clean optical lenses for years. Micro-fibers show up in clothing like slacks and outer shells of winter coats. The hand of these micro-fiber cloths feel slick to me. Anyway, this is the first time I have used micro-fiber cleaning cloths, and I am pleasantly surprised at how well they pick up dirt and especially dust.

These micro-fiber cleaning cloths are just over a foot square and resemble cotton terry cloth towels with a smaller – tighter nap. Used as dry dust rags, they are simply amazing, clearly superior to any dusting cloths I have ever used in my life. One swipe with these micro-fiber cloths was all it took to lift the dust off of smooth, not always flat surfaces around my home and in my car. From the sides of the television to the dashboard, swoosh the dust was trapped in the fibers of the cloth. Without adding pressure to the cloths, I was getting the dust off of furniture handles, tops of doorsills, curved lamp surfaces, my trophies, picture frames, the air filter case, car interior trim, and more. They work well at removing fingerprints off of chrome trim handles. The problems that I had were with rough surfaces like the undersides of wood trim pieces that had not been sanded smooth, where the micro-fibers snagged onto the burs.

Next, I washed one micro-fiber cloth with warm sudsy water. The amount of dirt that came out of the cloth seemed larger in volume for its size. This makes sense because the cloth held so much more dust around its fibers than a normal terry cloth of that size. Using the towel wet was a less profound difference to a terry cloth, mainly because the warm soapy water does so much of the work. However, I found the micro-fiber towel could grab more dirt before the need to rinse it out. Again, I found the micro-fibers would snag easier than cotton terry cloth. I washed clean this one micro-fiber towel and let it hang dry overnight. Once dry, this towel looked like some of the fibers had bound together, but nothing significant, (a little teasing brought the nap nearly back). I used this now dry towel on more dust and there was no noticeable lack of grabbing the dust. I’m sure that as more fibers are lost to snags and washing the effectiveness will decrease, but that is true of cotton terry cloths as well.

To sum up, I like these new micro-fiber cleaning cloths. Remember not to wash or dry them at too hot a temperature as the tiny fibers are easer to melt than natural fibers.

BATTERIES!

Batteries! Got Some? Not having fresh batteries with all these new toys is like having a bag of your favorite cereal and no Milk. Of course, there is that one woman who in her collage days used cranberry juice on her cereal. But we won't go there.

The most ravenous battery muncher I have is the digital camera. Digital camera's do not work well with rechargeable batteries when the camera and the flash work off the same bank of batteries. Rechargeable AA and AAA batteries are usually 1.2v instead of 1.5v.

There are settings on my camera that help save battery life. However, I bought two accessories that really helped save on the batteries. First, a card reader that plugs into a USB port. I can leave the camera off, remove the digital media and plug it into the card reader to upload the images into the computer. Without the card reader, the camera plugs into the USB port and must be ON to upload the images. Second, I bought a faster memory card. The card is four times faster in saving each image. This speed allows me to take more pictures per minute as well as save battery life for the pictures I do take. Plus, the card is so large I have yet to fill it up on any given outing with the camera.

If you already have a CR-RW drive, I recommend you occasionally save your pictures to a CD-R or CD-RW disc with a readme.txt file to describe each file. If you upgrade to a new system and forget the pictures, or your hard drive crashes, you will still have your pictures. Also, business card size CD-R hold 50 MB of picture data and are easily mailed to family members.

Major Subjects.

Paint	Faux Paint	Window Treatments	Wallpaper.
Carpet	Flooring	Main Page

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