Warm weather is on the way, and too often homeowners take their home cooling unit for granted. How old is your air conditioner? When was it last replaced? You don’t want your air conditioning unit to quit working during a hot spell. The following signs will let you know if this is the time to replace your cooling unit with a new one before the summer heat arrives.

The Age Of Your Air Conditioner

The age of your air conditioner has a lot to do with its efficiency. With good maintenance, an air conditioner can last up to 15 years, but if you were not the original purchaser you don’t know how well it was cared for. If the unit is 10 years old and needs repairs, over time you will save money by replacing it. Technology has improved the efficiency and performance of new air conditioners, and that will save on energy costs.

Your Electric Bill Keeps Increasing

Have you noticed your electric gradually increasing each month? Check your Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating. New air conditioners are required to have a minimum of a 13 SEER rating. If your rating is under 13, your unit is not performing efficiently. Replacing your current air conditioner with a more efficient unit will lower your energy costs and keep your home at a comfortably sustained temperature.

Frequent Repairs

If your air conditioning unit is breaking down frequently and needing expensive repairs, it makes sense to replace it. When older units need repairs, AC Repair Atlanta technicians may not have parts on hand. You will have to be uncomfortably warm while waiting for replacement parts. Parts for new models are almost always in stock, and that means your unit will be working at capacity in a short time.

Yearly Maintenance

One of the most important ways to extend the life of your air conditioning unit is to have regular yearly maintenance. If you have neglected this step in years past, your unit may not be operating efficiently. If you bought your home with its current air conditioner in place, you can’t know how often maintenance was performed. Make a maintenance appointment, and find out what condition your unit is in. It may need to be replaced. It’s always best to find out the problems before it breaks down and you are left sitting in the heat while you wait for a new air conditioner to arrive.

Hard To Cool Home

There is a problem with your air conditioner if it isn’t keeping your home cool and comfortable. It may be your unit is old and tired, or you may have the wrong size air conditioner for your home. Whatever is keeping your home from being cool and comfortable, you can change it with a new unit. Replacing your current air conditioner with a smart unit will give you the ability to check temperatures and settings remotely and adjust them through your smartphone.

Noisy While Running

If you hear unusual sounds while your air conditioning unit is running, you may have a serious problem. Call your technician and have the unit checked.

Your Unit Uses R-22

Any time your air conditioner needs refrigerant added, it signals there is a coolant leak. It’s very expensive to top off your system with R-22 refrigerant (Freon). It can cost over $150.00 per pound plus the charge for the service call. The total cost can easily run between $500 and $1,000. If your unit uses R-22 and has a leak, you can expect the compressor to go next. That can cost up to $2,000. Since R-22 is being phased out and will no longer be produced in 2020, it’s financially wise to replace the leaking unit instead of throwing away money on an air conditioning unit that will be useless in the near future. The cost of the remaining R-22 in the marketplace after production stops is expected to skyrocket.

Choosing A New Air Conditioner

If your air conditioner is an old unit that doesn’t have a draft fan or vent dampers, and if it has a pilot light instead of electronic ignition, you should consider replacing it. When you select a new air conditioner, Consumer Report reminds consumers to always check the warranty when making a purchase. Technological advancements in the air conditioning industry have created “smart” units which give the homeowner remote access and control to raise or lower thermostat settings and set times for each adjustment to be activated. Smart units save homeowners considerable money on energy costs.

Check this list to see if your air conditioner is experiencing issues that indicate replacement is the wisest solution. Don’t get caught unprepared during summer’s hottest days.

Owen Burrows works as a home maintenance repair man and enjoys spreading his tips for homeowners a little further by writing for an online audience.

Since time immemorial, people have used wood to build important structures like their homes and places of work. But as modernization took place, wood has been replaced if not supplemented with synthetic building materials like concrete and steel. However, when it comes to garden sheds, people still prefer the old charm of timber sheds for their homes due to a lot of reasons.

The first and foremost reason people have wooden garden sheds is for storage. People can use sheds to store their garden tools like their lawn mowers or store their bikes and boats in. In farms, sheds are used to store farm equipment like tractors or used to house farm animals like horses and cattle. Buying a shed, or at least thinking of having one, hinges on several factors which need to be considered since it could affect the overall look of your home.

As mentioned, a lot of your stuff and important equipment can be stored in sheds, so the first thing you need to consider is the size of the timber shed you want. People love timber sheds because they can be easily customized as far as design and structure are concerned. Wood is one material that is easily manipulated, and as such, you can easily build one you like according to your specifications. When ordering sheds online, you can research on the different materials available like ecowood, treated pine, Baltic pine or red cedar. You can check the site for timber shed and other types you can order that will suit your needs.

Another reason why people love timber sheds is the fact that it is eco-friendly. It is one material that retains the least amount of carbon which makes it a sustainable and competitive resource. With all the talk about saving the environment from further damage, timber sheds are a great answer because timber it is recyclable, waste-efficient, biodegradable and most importantly, non-toxic. And since it can regenerate, that means we will never run out of timber for our building needs. Timber also has the lowest embodied energy which means it stores less carbon than most building materials, making for structures that are eco-friendly and better not only for the environment but our health as well.

While steel sheds are the least expensive types of sheds, timber sheds are also available in various types that can suit any budget and are easy to maintain as well. Quality timber sheds are made to be resistant to damages from moisture, sun exposure and insect infestations. It is also weatherproof and provides an aesthetically-pleasing backdrop to any garden and blends in seamlessly with most home decors.

Before you decide to purchase a particular shed, check its structure first. Make sure that the boards are straight and don’t have any dark marks or knots since this can indicate a weak structure. The great thing about timber sheds is if it does need repairs, you can just fix single boards over the years without having to deconstruct the whole thing. It is unparalleled as far as cost-effectiveness and durability are concerned and therefore, worth your every penny.

If you are someone who subscribes to the benefits of buying organic whenever you can it will make perfect sense to adopt this same healthy and ethical approach when you are looking to update your mattress.

You spend a lot of time in your bed so you want it to give you a comfortable night’s sleep, and if you can achieve this aim using natural materials, it is a positive outcome all round.

Here is a look at what it means when a bed is certified as organic, what materials you can expect to find in your mattress and bedding, plus an insight into the sort of toxins that you can eliminate when you go down the organic route.

The real deal

If you are already interested in trying to buy organic products wherever possible you will no doubt understand that certain ethical standards have to be met before a product is allowed to be described as organic.

If you see a mattress described as organic what does this actually mean?

The first point to make is that organic means certified organic every time if the manufacturer is playing by the rules, so in order to stake a claim to be genuinely 100% organic, the product has to be independently certified by a recognized certifying agent.

If you see claims on products such as eco-friendly or environmentally friendly and natural, these are all well well and good by they are just marketing claims and could mean a product is not officially certified as organic.

For example, when you are reading through a detailed review of the 5 top selling mattresses from Zinus, who combine naturally sourced materials to make their product if you see that the product is certified as organic, you will know what you are getting when you decide to buy.

What’s inside?

Typical organic components that you might expect to see listed as used in the manufacture of your mattress include wool, cotton, and latex.

Naturally, you will be expecting that to be organic cotton which has been grown without using synthetic chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers and has not been genetically modified in any way.

Organic cotton should prove to be a healthier and safer option for you and it can be kinder to your skin.

Organic wool is an efficient and natural way of keeping you cool at night, thanks to the natural wax called lanolin that manages to keep the sheep dry and soft even when exposed to the elements.

Check for a list of what organic products have been used to make the mattress, especially if you are someone who is allergic to wool. Although, you should be able to find a viable organic alternative that doesn’t contain wool if that is a particular problem.

You might be wondering about the inclusion of latex in an organic mattress, but that will be fine provided the manufacturer has used organic chemical-free latex.

Organic latex is very useful as it tends to give the right amount of firmness and support that you would normally want from your mattress but without the need for any springs or metal. The other good news about natural latex is that it is resistant to dust mites and mold, which is a positive aspect if you suffer from allergies.

Totally organic option

If you are interested in the idea of upgrading to an organic mattress you will also want to make the move to organic natural bedding products.

One of the primary reasons why many consumers decide to make the switch from their regular bedding to an organic alternative is to remove the threat of being exposed to toxins.

When you consider how many hours each week you spend in your bed that adds up to a lot of time each year spent being potentially exposed to toxins like formaldehyde and boric acid amongst others.

The reason these products are in your bedding in the first place is to provide solutions like keeping your sheets free from wrinkles, but are the possible health issues worth that small inconvenience?

Breathe more easily

As well as removing your exposure to potential toxins by going organic there is the aspect of breathability to consider as well.

If you decide to change to organic bedding to complement your organic mattress the payback will be a bed that feels cool and fresh when you climb into it.

Resting your head on buckwheat pillows and covering yourself with other similarly organic bedding items, will allow you to stay cool and comfortable throughout the night. 

Choosing natural organic materials for your mattress and bedding is not just a healthy choice, it will be comfortable one too.

Joel French works for a furniture company and in his personal life takes a great interest in eco-friendly and natural products wherever possible. He combines his 2 worlds writing about the newer range of eco-friendly bedding and mattresses coming on the market.

We all need to drink plenty of water every day to stay hydrated and healthy but it can sometimes put you off from pouring a glass of water from your faucet when you don’t really know what you might be drinking along with your water.

There are contaminants that can find your way from the faucet to your stomach with each drink of water that you have, so it makes sense to find out exactly what you are drinking and how to take steps to make it safer.

Here is a look at what sort of contaminants might be in your water, how to test to see how safe it is and what action to take if you want to enjoy safe drinking water every time.

Would you like some lead with your water?

The fact that all municipal water supplies have to be tested for over 90 different contaminants including bacteria and lead amongst others, will tell you that your simple glass of water could potentially be anything but pure if it becomes contaminated.

Where you live and the age of your house are just some of the factors that can influence the quality of the water supply and the specific contaminants that you could be under threat from.

If you live in an old house and the water pipes that run underneath your property are made of lead these have the potential to corrode and cause small particles to enter the water supply.

Also, the taste of your water will often vary according to where you are getting your supply from, although you can expect your water to tested in accordance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to make sure it is safe.

Despite this assurance, it would be a good idea to have your tap water tested if you have any specific concerns about the safety of your drinking water.

Better safe than sorry

Having your water tested can give you an indication on what sort of risks you might be exposing your family to with normal drinking water straight from the faucet.

If the tests reveal that there is lead present in the water and it is above 15 parts per billion (ppb) that should be a cause for concern, and the results might also reveal the presence of parasites, bacteria and even arsenic amongst other things.

If the test results showed that there was a higher level of lead in your water than the maximum ppb it would be a good idea to arrange blood tests for your family. This is because extensive exposure can be particularly damaging to children and can even cause developmental problems.

You don’t want to take these sort of risks with every glass of water straight from your faucet.

If you want to make sure that your drinking water is of the highest quality every time, it would make sense to look at an option like The Berkey Filters so that you can enjoy purified water where bacteria, chlorine, fluoride and other contaminants have been filtered out.

Working together to protect your health 

It is worth saying that the United States does, on the whole, enjoy an enviable reputation for being able to produce one of the most reliable and safest supplies of drinking water to its citizens in comparison to many other countries around the world.

Despite the fact that public water systems are heavily regulated, and standards are rigorously enforced, there are still isolated incidents of health scares. You should expect a certain level of contaminants in your local water supply that comes straight from the faucet, no matter how safe the levels are deemed to be.

Roughly ten percent of the population get their water from private wells. These are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act so anyone getting their water from a well will need to take their own precautions to try and ensure their drinking water is safe to consume.

Safer alternatives

 Filtered water is a good way of achieving consistency with your drinking water supply. You could also boil the water that you intend to drink which will be an effective way of killing Cryptosporidium, but that can be a lot of hassle. 

Bottled water is another potential alternative, but that can get expensive to keep buying a regular supply.

The solution is to first find out what exactly is in your local drinking water and then look at a way of getting the purest water for your family drinking needs based on the results and how comfortable you are with the contaminants that might come out of the faucet and into your glass.

Walter J Mcdaniel has worked in importing Home and Garden product business for over 7 years. He has a B.S. in business from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He has worked in Asia and Europe before he established his own company.