The Clean House Blog

Healthier Home in 2010

2009-12-30T13:13:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

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.

Really Cool Stuff

2009-11-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

I know some people don't think that cleaning products make good holiday gifts. Perhaps because they might imply the giftee keeps a dirty house. But there are couple central vacuum accessories that I wouldn't hesitate giving to a friend.

One is the pet grooming kit.

Normally when you turn on a typical vacuum, the friendly family dog either runs as fast as he can to the farthest point in the house, or frantically circles the vacuum barking loudly, ready to reclaim his turf.

The pet grooming kit eliminates the problem. It has an oversize brush and comb that slip onto the end of the central vacuum hose. Because the central vac is so quiet, the dog doesn't go into a frenzy. In fact, he just sits there and enjoys the pampering. Best yet, all the hair goes right into the central vac and out of the living area.

The other item is the DustDriver.
This product has a 21-inch brush that glides across a concrete floor, allowing you to sweep up the garage floor without kicking up a cloud of dust. It's perfect for the winter season when the sand your tires pick up during winter driving fall onto your garage floor.

Check these items out for yourself at your local central vacuum dealer, or you can find them on line at https://www.buybeamonline.com/products/view/cat/8.

Pre-empting the Scream

2009-11-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

What walks out of our walk-out ranch is no problem. It's what walks in that causes all the anxiety.

I decided to do my admittedly irregular inspection of the basement storage area of the house. Check the furnace filter, check for any signs of water leaks and survey the general tidyness of the place.

Then I found it. Some tiny chunks of fiberglass insulation on the floor and some tiny holes in the plastic sheeting covering the insulation. Upon closer inspection I saw droppings in a couple of corners of the concrete floor. I also knew that if my wife had been there, we'd probably be moving this week.

So I flew up the stairs, grabbed the central vacuum hose and cleaned the room like it had never been cleaned before. Yet for all my work, I didn't solve the problem. I just destroyed the evidence.

There are a number of commercial products that can help control rodents, but choosing the right one isn't easy.

I've often wondered when poison is placed in the house, what happens to the mouse that eats it. Does it head back outside, or does it crawl inside a hollow wall or attic? And is poison really appropriate?

Then there are traps that may occasionally snare a mouse, but they don't do a thing to keep them from getting into the house.

And, for me at least, a cat is not the answer. I don't care what cat fanciers say, I've never been in a home occupied by a cat that didn't smell awful.

So any ideas you have are most welcome.

Tackling the Mess of Home Improvement

2009-10-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

Cabin fever is not far away.

A rainy, cold week has defoliated my trees. My garage is a mess thanks to all the leaves that have blown in through the open garage door. Now that my time indoors is increasing, I'm finding little notes around the house that will soon be rolled together for my winter "honey do" list.

I suspect the final list will look something like this:

Paint the living room.
Replace a tiled entry floor with hardwood.
Replace a fiberglass shower stall with tile.

Each of these home improvements means I'll also have a mess to clean up. So, I'd like your advice on how to tackle some of the challenges.

When it comes to painting, It seems nearly impossible to get masking tape to stick to the top of a baseboard. Cleaning paint off stained woodwork is a real pain.

Removing tile is a filthy job. The dust and tile chips fly everywhere, and before you know it, my eyes are watering like I'd just watched the movie "Rudy."

The same holds for cutting tile.

From Shag to Plush to Frieze

2009-10-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

I remember when my parents bought their split-level home in 1975 complete with three-inch shag carpet. The vacuum roller brush would occasionally get ensnared by the long shag fibers. Once you unraveled it, you'd go back over the carpeted floor with something that looked like a garden rake to remove the footprints you left in the shag. It's amazing. You can actually see the ring in this lovely purple shag shown here.

The plush and berber carpets that overtook shag are rapidly giving way to longer-fiber frieze. With all of the attention focused on allergens in the home, some question whether that's a good idea.

There's a study that suggests it is. The Carpet and Rug Institute's study found that carpet has the beneficial effect of trapping allergens at the floor, reducing the level of particulates that can be inhaled. You can see the study findings at www.carpet-rug.org.

The challenge is maintaining that carpet with frequent deep cleaning. Because they're up to five times more powerful than an upright vacuum, consider installing a central vacuum to clean long-fiber carpet.

Carpet, Tile or Hardwood?

2009-10-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

There’s no doubt society is in an argumentative mood. One of the most interesting arguments involves carpet versus hardwood or tile. Want to have a family feud? Just bring up the subject of putting in a new floor and watch the fur fly.
Whatever you wind up installing in your home, maintaining your floors is one of the most important and most frequent cleaning tasks you have.
About 60 percent of U.S. homes have carpet. People like the warm feel when they bounce out of bed in the morning and the way it eliminates echoes so you can enjoy the surround-sound, or the fact that it’s a cushioned surface where you can wrestle with the kids. But there’s a growing debate whether the carpet in your home may be hazardous to your health.
Environmentalists Karen Ashton and Elizabeth Salter-Green of the WWF published a book in 2006 titled “The Toxic Consumer – Living Healthy in a Hazardous World.” In it, they state that typical synthetic carpet can hold up to eight times its weight in dirt, allergens and other substances that may contribute to health problems. If you have a dog or cat in the house, you can understand how dirty the carpet can get.

For that reason, keeping carpet as clean as possible should be a top priority.
Tell us how you tackle this important cleaning task.
And stay tuned, we’ll talk about the challenges of other floor surfaces later.

A Very Smart Solution

2009-09-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

People love their central vacuums but once in a while even the biggest fan gets a little frustrated from time to time when they wrap themselves up in the 30-foot hose.

A few years ago, the folks at Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems came up with a retractable hose that literally stores within itself. The problem with that early model was it didn’t work for cleaning carpet because there was no electrical wiring that would allow it to run a power brush.
Now that problem is solved. The new EasyReach Retractable Hose is extends a full 30 feet and retracts to 13 feet.

Learn more at http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA6697668.html

Welcome to Our Conversation

2009-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Americans have long had a love-hate attitude when it comes to cleaning their homes. We take pride in the result. At the same time many of us look forward to cleaning day with about the same anticipation we have for a visit to the dentist.

The Clean House Blog is a place for people to share ideas to make cleaning easier and make the results better.

We’ll cover topics like allergy-proofing your home and how to make distasteful chores more pleasant. We’ll examine cleaning products and cleaning methods to help each other clean faster, or improve the indoor air quality.

We invite you to participate in these discussions and share your best home cleaning ideas.

As we begin our discussions, you should know that this site has been developed by Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems. We will discuss central vacuums from time to time on this blog. But the purpose of this site is not to sell products. Rather it is to provide a place where people can share insights on keeping homes cleaner and healthier.