March 1, 2010
Dear Ken: I'm thinking of having an energy audit. Do you think it's worth it for the money? Marjorie
An energy audit usually involves something called a "blower door test" that reveals just how air tight your house is, plus an infrared camera that shows-by highlighting various areas in different color shades-- where the main energy losses are occurring. Much of this is intuitive, so I wouldn't spend the money on an audit until you've done all the obvious things.
Make sure your attic insulation is up to today's standards. That means about 12 to 15 inches of loose, blown material, like cellulous (my favorite) or fiberglass. Also, a set of new vinyl or wood double-paned windows is a must. I like low-e glass. That's a metallic coating on the inside glass pane of each window that reflects additional heat back inside in the winter and outside during the hot months. You can add this reflective film yourself to existing windows (check with the manufacturer if yours are new, to make sure the film application doesn't affect the warranty). These two changes, alone, will save great chunks of energy compared to an older home that has never been updated.
From then on, there are more marginal savings you can achieve yourself. They each represent smaller bites of the energy-wasting apple-maybe a few percentage points each-but they can add up to significant savings over time. They include, in no particular order, a new energy efficient furnace, caulking windows and doors, insulating the water heater and other pipes, good window coverings, a new garage door, adding storm doors and on and on. For a more complete list, go to my web site, www.aroundthehouse.com and click on "Show Stuff". Once you've spent all the time and money you can afford to save your hard-earned BTU's, you could then invest in an in an audit, but it may not reveal anything you don't already know.
Dear Ken: The door hinges in my house shed some sort of black stuff. It stains the carpet and is difficult to remove. Do I have to live with it? Karen
You can sure ameliorate it. This is a combination of lubricant, dirt and microscopic sloughing of the hinge finish that accumulates and the sheds off on to the floor as the door is used. Remove all the hinge pins-one at a time on a given door--and wipe them with Goof Off, a strong solvent. Also, wipe as much as you can of this material off of each hinge leaf. Replace the pin, but do not re-lubricate! The door will let you know when it needs a little oil by squeaking and squealing. Only then, you can dribble a few drips of light oil-like Three-in-One--on to the pins. Bottom line: we tend to over oil things, and they respond by polluting the area.
The same concept applies to the big garage door. Spray a little WD-40 or Teflon-based product on the rollers and around the curve of the track once in awhile-but, please, no grease. My friends in the garage door business have a specialized spray for this job that they say works better, because it leaves a minimum residue and so the parts stay cleaner.
Dear Ken: I've seen a device advertised that claims to soften water with a magnetic field. It's pretty expensive. What do you think? Steve
I think they aren't very useful. The science just doesn't add up, and you may have noticed that their claims are somewhat vague. So save your shekels and invest, instead, in a traditional sodium ion exchange water softener. Since the process adds a small amount of sodium to the water, I like the idea of a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink so you, the kids, the dog, and the house plants all imbibe non-softened water.
