Healthier Home in 2010

I guess it's that time of year. Time to make New Year's resolutions. Hopefully this time I won't break it by Janaury 2.

Since this blog is about clean homes, I suppose my resolution making should start there. So, here it is. I'm going to make my home a healthier place, and here's how I'll do it.

1. I'll confess to having forgotten to change my furnace filter to the point where the furnace simply stopped working. That won't happen any more. By the way, the pleated filters are far superior even though they can be pricey.

2. I'm going to vacuum my home at least twice a week -- more often during allergy season. Fortunately, our central vacuum system takes all of the pollen, allergens and dust it captures completely out of the house.

3. I'm going to get rid of the toxic chemicals that are filling up my garage by taking advantage of a Household Hazardous Waste collection program this spring.

I welcome any of your suggestions.

A Cleaner Decade

We're seeing a lot of stories on line and in the mainstream press about highlights and milestones of the first decade of the 21st Century.

Technically, the next decade doesn't really start until 1/1/11. Rather than argue that point, I'll jump on the milestones bandwagon and proclaim this as the decade of clean indoor air. And unlike Lava lamps, disco and "big hair" this trend is not a passing fad.

Think about it, the environment and its impact on all of us has been a major topic of discussion during the past 10 years. And that includes the indoor environment as well. And considerable attention has been given to products that make the indoor environment cleaner.

Air filtration has become a huge issue. Whether you're talking about pleated furnace filters, or built-in air purification systems. American homeowners want to rid the air of allergens, dust and other particulates.

That same concern has led to the growing popularity of central vacuums. A study of allergy patients proved they can relieve symptoms because they get all the dust they capture out of the house without stirring up dust inside.

Better ventilation systems are being installed in homes to assure fresh air.

Paints, adhesives and cleaning products contain fewer VOCs.

In short, the air we breathe in our homes is no longer being taken for granted. That's something we can all take comfort in.

Ho Ho Humbug

I put up the family Christmas tree the other day, a 12-year-old artificial monster in a box that has more duct tape than cardboard.

Even a fake tree falls prey to old age. When I finished putting it up there were as many fake needles on the carpeted floor as there were on the tree.

Normally cleaning the living room floor takes about 15 minutes. This time it took a good hour. I started by running the central vacuum power head across the carpet, but after a while I noticed that needles were showing up in places they hadn't been earlier. What happened was the needles wrapped themselves around the brush roll and eventually worked themselves free when the roller made a complete rotation.

Then it dawned on me. If I simply disconnected the electric power brush, I could use the wand without an attachment. The suction power of the central vac was more than adequate to make snare the needles without allowing them to clog the hose.

It took awhile because I had to hunt down the needles one by one. But I got the job done.