2/5/14

According to the United States Department of Energy, about 14 percent of total air filtration in a home enters through a fireplace chimney. Cold drafts can enter a chimney even if the flue is pulled shut, which can make your home less energy-efficient in the winter months. There are products in the marketplace called chimney balloons that you place inside the chimney that act as draft dodgers. They stop the cold drafts, but can be expensive. One DIY solution: Rip open a cardboard box and tape it inside the chimney as a draft stopper. It will do the trick and help you save up to 30 percent on your heating bill. Just remember to remove the box before starting a fire!

2/4/14

If you choose only one room in the house to invest in green cleaners, choose the bathroom. Many conventional cleaning products contain chemical artificial fragrances and ammonia, which can be irritating to the skin, eyes and lungs. Since bathrooms are some of the smallest rooms in the house and get the least amount of ventilation, cleaning with toxic supplies can lead to an unhealthy environment. But before you buy green cleaning products at the store, consider making your own to save money. You can find a whole host of natural solutions online that use nontoxic ingredients like white vinegar, baking soda and rubbing alcohol.

2/3/14

High-tech workout clothes that wick away moisture from your body tend to retain a strong odor after a while. The reason? Since the fabric is designed to repel water, it repels water when you’re washing it. As natural body oils stick to the fabric, barriers are created that make the synthetic fabric almost impossible to get clean. The eco-trick to cleaning workout clothes is to soak them in cold water with one cup of white vinegar before tossing them in the washing machine. The acids in white vinegar will break down the oils and help penetrate the fibers of the clothes.