Keeping Your Heat Where It Belongs

Santa may like to come down your chimney, but something more costly is going up: heat!

Although your chimney probably has a working damper, it's unlikely to be airtight. Poke your hand up inside the flue and you'll probably feel the draft. A majority of damping systems in fireplaces do not adequately seal off air infiltration from outside

Masonry retrofits can be costly and chimney caps are cumbersome during fireplace season, many homeowners may opt for fitted glass fireplace. Some homeowners also leverage their fireplace by installing a heat exchanger, insert or woodstove to bring more heat into the room. Either solution can save you money and keep your heat where you want it during the cold winter months: in your home!

Don't Be In Hot Water!

The Department of Energy estimates that water heaters account for 14 percent to 25 percent of our monthly energy bill. Little wonder, since most water heaters are on 24/7.

Water heaters are often factory-set at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to scald. The Department of Energy says most of us can live comfortably with 120-degree water. You can save 3 percent to 5 percent on your water heating costs for every 10 degrees of setback.

To save even more, you can reduce hot water use with low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators, jacket the heater and wrap hot water pipes to minimize stand-by heat loss.

A Change in the Weather???

Who says you can't change the weather? While we can't stop the snow flakes from falling today, we do alter the temperature inside our homes all the time with the press of a button or the turn of a dial on our thermostat. But what many of us fail to do is "teach" our thermostat how to save us money. You can save 10 percent on your winter heating bills by adjusting your thermostat 10 to 15 degrees cooler for the eight hours you're at work, according to the Department of Energy. Cut it back an additional eight hours when you sleep and you might save 20 percent.

A Clog Free Holiday Tip

With Thanksgiving just behind us and the month of December full of holidays, the last thing you want is a clog in your toilet. People often flush materials down toilets without realizing that they contribute to clogs. These include facial tissues, wipes, napkins, paper towels, coffee grounds, feminine hygiene products, grease and other fats or oils, and diapers! As they sit in your waste pipes, they block other material you flush down afterward, until finally a clog is formed. We know it can be hard to determine whether a product should be flushed or not because many products are labeled flushable. To determine whether or not an item should go into your toilet drain, fill two bowls with water. Put toilet paper in one bowl, and the item you’re wondering about in the other. If you swish these around in the water and then leave them for about an hour, when you return, you’ should see the difference. Toilet paper disintegrates in water, so it easily goes down your drain and out through the waste pipes. Other items remain intact. If the material does not disintegrate in water, it is not flushable!