We use our showers every day, but do you give much thought to the health of your showerhead? Take a close look: Do you see small black dots on the face of the head? It may be black mold. One way to disinfect your showerhead is to disconnect it and submerge it in hydrogen peroxide. Do this for one hour, and then reattach it. Run the hottest water you have for a few minutes to flush it all out. This will remove the harmful mold without the need to totally replace the showerhead.

Do you have a swimming pool at home? With the end of the summer season around the corner, there's no need to totally drain the pool when you can find uses for the water around your yard. First, remove all the skimmers with chlorine tablets from the pool. Then fill a few buckets, watering cans and other containers with the pool water. Let the water sit outside for one week so the chlorine can dissipate. Use this water to hydrate your outdoor plants and lawn. The remaining pool water is still good until it's time to close up your pool for the season.

About 3.7 billion pounds of carpet -- from area rugs to wall-to-wall style -- are thrown away every year, making it one of the top materials to fill up our nation's dumps. Carpet is recyclable, and the flooring industry is making efforts to claim old carpeting and turn it into new products. The nonprofit Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) has diverted billion of pounds of carpet away from landfills through efforts with contractors, manufacturers and homeowners. The next time you need to replace your carpet, visit its website at carpetrecovery.org to find the carpet recycler nearest you.