According
to a report by Energy Star, home heating and cooling costs can be cut
by 20% by properly sealing and insulating a home. A one-time investment
can permanently benefit your home and save you money.

Attics

Heat
rises in a home, with warm air leaving from the attic and upper levels
and pulling in from the lower levels through the basement, crawlspace,
and outside. Reduce the conditioned air exiting from the attic by
insulating all areas and replace any insulation that is old or moist.
Check that the entire floor is sealed underneath the insulation, and
caulk or use spray foam insulation on any cracks or crevices.

Using
10-12 inches of insulation on an attic floor is standard, giving it an
R-38 insulation rating. However, adding enough insulation to bring it
to R-50 or more is recommended. Attic stairways are also a major escape
route for warm air. The gaps created by an attic stairway can amount to
as much as 40 square inches! Self-adhesive foam tape can be run along
the upper edges of the attic staircase door to help reduce this
leakage. Use eyehooks or a latch to jam the door against the foam when
it’s not in use.

There are also many places around the home
itself where air can leak in. Use caulk or spray foam to seal holes
where wires enter into the basement and main house area. Seal around
all these cables, pipes and other crevices. Make sure to brush away any
dirt or cobwebs before applying caulk or spray foam.

Basements and Crawlspaces

Insulating
the basement is a very effective way to add energy-efficiency to your
home. Because water vapor comes into the basement through the concrete
walls, this insulation should be water resistant and include a vapor
barrier. Otherwise, it can become a habitat for mold and the moisture
will ruin the insulation.

Encapsulating a crawlspace is also
a fantastic way to make a home more energy-efficient. By sealing
crawlspace vents, warm air is prevented from entering in the summer,
where it would add humidity to the home. Sealing crawlspace vents also
keeps cold air out that would otherwise seep into the house in the
winter. A seal is created between the crawlspace walls and the air in a
home that protects pipes, water heater, and heating ducts from cold.

Plumbing

The
water heater and pipes can lose a great deal of heat as they run
through a damp basement and especially in a cold, vented crawlspace.
Insulating the pipes and covering the water heater with an inexpensive
insulative blanket can help the keep the heat where it should be.
Heating and/or cooling vents that have been installed improperly can
leak 25% of the air they vent into the crawlspace, basement and attic.
Have a professional clean the vents and test them for leaks that need
to be sealed.

Windows and Doors

As much as
30-35% of the heat in a home is lost through the windows. Glass panes
are the weakest link in a home’s insulation, and on cold days, it can
feel uncomfortable near the windows in even a properly heated home.

If
the windows are broken or have cracked panes, then they should be
replaced. Single-paned steel cellar windows that are drafty and rusting
also lose a great deal of heat and should be replaced with vinyl,
double-thermopane windows. Buying windows with a Low-E coating will
take advantage of sunlight to keep warmth in the home in the winter and
cool temperatures in the summer. In the basement, installing proper
window wells with covers will protect basement windows from blowing
winds as well as help prevent flooding.

Installing storm
windows and weather stripping over normal windows will do wonders for
keeping heat in and outside sounds out. Weather stripping caulk is
clear and designed to strip off without damaging paint when it’s no
longer needed. Thick, high quality drapes can add beauty and insulation
to windows as well- especially if the curtains are drawn during cold
weather. Weather stripping the doors is also a fantastic way to keep
conditioned air in the house while making a home cozier, quieter, and
more secure. And according to USA Today, United States residents can
get up to a $500 tax credit on efficient doors and $200 on windows!
(Source =
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2005-08-01-breaks_x.htm)

Appliances

Proper
care of appliances will save a great deal of money in the long run.
Most effective maintenance requires a one-time repair or an annual
service and should be no trouble at all. Keep appliances in good order,
and they will continue to perform at their peak.

 Making your Home Energy-Efficient From the Bottom Up!

Basement Systems and Total Basement Finishing
are dedicated to adding energy efficiency from the bottom up. We can
insulate your basement walls and floor and dehumidify the space, making
a cleaner, healier living space. Our SaniDry Basement Air System
can dehumidify your basement while cleaning the air of particles as
small as two microns- smaller than mold spores and dust mite feces. Our
ThermalDry Floor Matting
can insulate your basement floor, making it ten degrees warmer than
your concrete whiile providing a vapor barrier that keeps humidity out
of your basement and protects any carpet laid on it from mold, rot and
mildew. Adding insulation to your furnace, pipes and ducts is a great
way to protect your home from the cold air of a crawlspace, but doing
so does not protect your home from the air that seeps up through the
crawlspace into your home. Basement Systems can seal off your
crawlspace vents and encapsulate the area with our CleanSpace Crawlspace Encapsulation System.
Our tough 20-mil plastic will keep your crawlspace walls and floor from
letting humidity into your home and will discourage pests and insects.
It installs in about a day, and once installed, your crawlspace will be
usable as storage.

Dropping the humidity below 60% with
CleanSpace and a SaniDry will make mold go dormant and stop it from
creating spores. Additionally, dust mites will not have enough moisture
to live on and will not send their fecal material into the air, which
would then travel into the main area of your home. A dry crawlspace
will be safer from rot and your entire house will be a healthier place.

Her mother, Joann, had literally died of embarrassment! Joann had noticed blood in her stool almost a year before she was diagnosed with colon cancer.

At first she told herself it must have been those beets she ate.

Then she thought it was most likely her hemorrhoids, although she had not had a flair-up of hemorrhoids since Natalie’s birth 52 years earlier.

The truth was that Joann was embarrassed to talk with her doctor about private topics such as her bowel habits.

She didn’t raise the concern with her doctor until she had bloating, cramping and abdominal pain.

This led to the diagnosis of colon cancer that ultimately took her life.

Natalie’s brother-in-law, who was a nurse, wondered whether Joann would still be alive if she had told her doctor about the blood in her stool when she first noticed it.

Let’s face it; certain topics are embarrassing to talk about with your doctor.

I call them the 5 P’s:

• Peeing

• Pooping

• Paying

• Procreating

• Psychic moaning 

Although at first blush the challenge of talking with your doctor about embarrassing medical topics seems simple enough, for some people, it can cause significant suffering.

Hillary, for example, had what’s now called a shy bladder.

She had not used a public restroom in over 20 years.

She was too embarrassed to talk with her doctor about this; instead, she remained a prisoner to her bladder.

Ed was laid off from work and could no longer afford his asthma medications.

Instead of talking with his doctor about it, he decided to do without   He wound up in the emergency room with an asthma attack that could have been avoided with regular medication.

Tom had some sexual side effects from his blood pressure medicine.

Instead of talking with his doctor and getting a different medicine, he just stopped taking it.

The doctors wonder if this might have contributed to his heart attack.

Jerry noticed his loss of appetite and sleeping problems as his caregiver responsibilities for his aging father mounted.

He wondered if he might be depressed, but dismissed the thought because real men don’t get depressed.

Imagine how each of these stories might have been different if these individuals who suffered in silence could have talked with their doctors.  Here are 6 tips that can help you talk with your doctor about embarrassing medical topics:

1. Own the embarrassment.

Say to your doctor, “This is a taboo topic in our family, so it’s hard for me to ask.

Is it normal to have a funny smell coming from your belly button?”  

2. Find the words.  Your doctor speaks a specialized language acquired through years of training.

Sometimes patients are embarrassed because they don’t know the “right words” or have a hard time describing the problem.  Remember that your job is to communicate.

You don’t need to know the fancy words to do that.

If a patient said to me, “Dad had an operation on the dingle-ball thing at the back of his throat”, I would know just what he meant. And, the patient would seem relieved when I said, “Oh, you mean the uvula. ” The best way to make sure you and your doctor understand each other is to use anatomically correct words.

Get a basic anatomy atlas.

Use anatomically correct words with your children.

3. Practice saying the words.

Sometimes embarrassing words can be hard to get out of your mouth.

Gertrude, a 90-year-old patient said to me, “You youngsters don’t understand how much things have changed.

When I got breast cancer in the 1962, the words ‘breast’ and ‘cancer’ were not uttered in polite company. ”  Some words are still embarrassing to say.

Practice saying these words out loud when you’re alone!  That will make it easier to say them at the doctor’s office 

4. Find the right person to ask.  You may have an easy rapport with the nurse or physician’s assistant at your doctor’s office.

You can bring up the sensitive topic with them.

Say, “Trish, could you please give the doctor a heads up.

I want to know why I should say no to those steroids my buddies at the gym are offering me.

I would love to look like they do. ” 

5. Find the right way to ask.

Maybe it’s easier for you to drop a note or a cartoon to your doctor rather than ask in person.

Find the style that works best for you.

6. Remember that your doctor is there to help you, not to judge you.

Your doctor has heard it all before.

I promise!  Your doctor will not think less of you for asking an embarrassing medical question; in fact, your doctor with think more of you for overcoming your fear and helping you take charge of your health.

Check the previous clients’ testimonials before hiring cleaning services St Louis . Ask for the credentials of the workmen when you want to hire for St Louis cleaning services .

There are lots of responsibilities in your life today that you need to look after and cleaning your home is one of them. However, in the busy schedules of our day-to-day lives, we find it hard to make time for certain things. It is for this reason that hiring cleaning services St Louis is ideal. A professional service will handle the cleanliness of your home with expertise, helping you save on time and focus on other things in your life. St Louis cleaning services will make sure that you come home to a clean environment which allows you to live stress free and happy.

As there are many advantages to hiring cleaning services St Louis, it is vital that you select one which is the best for you. When you are on your search for St Louis cleaning services, see thoroughly the services provided by them. Also, look for the type of cleaning materials that are being used by them. Ideally they should not use harsh chemicals that are toxic in nature and may affect the environment. The residue chemical on your floor should not cause any harm to the members of the family as well, especially if you have a toddler around. Next, you must think about the cost. You may not want all of your home cleaned, but certain parts. See if the agency offers such customised services.

Contact the cleaning services St Louis you have shortlisted and find out whether they suit your requirements. A service may not be available when you need them to be. It is essential that St Louis cleaning services work on a schedule that fits your routine so that your home is cleaned when you need it to be. If you require a service which visits you daily, verify if that is possible with them. It could be possible that some services work once every other day and this might not be what you need.

Ask about the kind of equipment they use at the cleaning services St Louis. You should only settle for what’s best. If a service is using low grade equipments then your home may not be cleaned properly. The number of years St Louis cleaning services have worked for can say a lot about the experience they have in their job. A good service should also be able to help you with consultancy as well and give you tips on how to maintain your home better. Their useful tips can make the job easy for you and for them.

Hiring cleaning services St Louis is a convenient option of making sure your home stays clean at all times and not fall victim to certain problems like mould and dust. This means that you need to choose the best one from a variety of St Louis cleaning services. Remember to ask for the credentials of the professionals to confirm that they know what they are doing and it is safe to employ them as they would be working inside your home. Begin your research early so that you have time enough to get a good service to work before your house gets too untidy.

Exterior paintiong is an important part of home improvement. Paint is like a shield for the facade of the house. If you paint your house in a proper way it becomes more aesthetically attractive and more durable. 

Before starting exterior painting you need to manage with all preparatory works. 

Exterior painting of the house is a multi-level process, which does not begin at all with painting, but much earlier.

How to prepare a house for painting

In order to start painting, the house needs to be prepared. If you just buy some paint and start painting the facade of your home, your efforts will be in vain. A new coat of paint will not be long on an untreated, uncleaned surface.

Surface treatment also consists of more than one step

It is important to remove the old coat of paint. Do not paint when there is a remnant of old paint. But this is not enough. The surface needs to be made smooth. If there is a surface roughness, then the paint will not be durable.

It is important to ensure that the surface is clean. Dirt will also spoil the paint. It is necessary to ensure the cleanliness of the surface before starting to paint.

Do not forget that fungus can spoil any structure. Therefore, it is recommended that the surface be treated with appropriate antiseptics before making paint layers. After you have gone through all the stages of surface preparation, you can start painting.

If you are not a professional you can search in any search engine for exterior painting contractor near me and choose the contractor whom you will find positive feedback about and who you decide to trust the performance of this work.

It is noteworthy that exterior painting contractors https://ikhomepros.com/exterior-painting-contractor-near-me-in-chicago/ is actually a solution to the issue of painting, which includes both the preparatory stages and the painting itself. Be sure to pay attention to how the performers are ready to offer you a warranty of work.

Selection of materials for exterior painting

Materials for exterior painting must be of high quality and appropriate for the intended use. The paint should be selected one that is suitable for painting the house outside. Other materials will be needed.

If you take the services of exterior painting companies, you do not need to select materials and paints yourself. The company will introduce the technologies that it owns and thanks to which it has painted more than one object.

At the same time, if you do all the work yourself, then save money. This is also an advantage. It is important that everything is done correctly.

Exterior painting will improve the house and allow a new look at it. The longevity of the whole house will also be increased. A layer of paint, made correctly – this is the prevention of destruction. It is beneficial for homeowners to paint their homes, as in practical terms, as well aesthetically.