Making your home green

As I am patiently waiting to close, I have been trying to do some research as to how to make my home a little more earth friendly.

I have been seeing advertisements for low VOC paints by Benjamin Moore and was wondering if anyone else has used these and is it worth it?

I also plan on using more earth friendly cleaning products in the house as well.

Any other suggestions??

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Home Depot also carries a brand of "natural" paint - low fumes or chemicals or something....

A great way to be more "green" is to make sure your home is weatherproof. Make sure windows/doors and insullation is nice and thick. This will prevent waste of air conditioning (electricity) and heating (possibly oil or gas) in cooling/heating your home.

Will also save you money too!

I have all the "green" lightbulbs in my home, that helps too.

Tea Towels are like cloth towels - they sell them at BBB and Target and places like that. Not terry cloth, kind of a different material, hard to describe.

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Message edited 5/9/2009 5:02:26 PM.

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Not all "zero VOC" paints are actually zero. The government allows manufacturers to advertise that claim if the base white is zero. Then they add the color to the paint, and that can have as many VOCs as they want to add.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of research in going totally green. A lot of products make green claims, but when you find out about them, they aren't as green as they claim.

I did my whole house with http://www.mythicpaint.com/ . It is 100% zero VOCs, even the colorant.

However, if you can't afford the zero VOC, try and get as low as possible.

I also did all my wood staining and sealing with Soy-based products from http://www.ecosafetyproducts.com/Concrete-Wood-Stains-s/117.htm

All of the stuff I've used looks brand-new after 7 months or so. My painter really liked the quality and usability of the products (and the fact that he wasn't breathing those fumes).

As for cleaning, Vinegar is your friend! It's a great cleaner, all natural (it's half of salad dressing), and it's also good for killing weeds...

If you have any specific green questions, there are several of us here that can help you out. I've done a lot of big green projects (did a major house reno last year), and I have solar panels. Several other posters here (Greenfreak, among others) are great at all the day-to-day things you can do to make your life greener.

Re: Making your home green

Your not green unless you start doing some of the following....

Recycle
Compost
Push Lawn Mower or better yet drought free plants
Bagless vacuum
CFL's bulbs or better yet LED lighting
HE Washing Machine and Steam Dryer
LED TV's will save you 40% on your electric bill... And they're Lead, Mercury and VOC free.

Re: Making your home green

Posted by GoldenRod

Not all "zero VOC" paints are actually zero. The government allows manufacturers to advertise that claim if the base white is zero. Then they add the color to the paint, and that can have as many VOCs as they want to add.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of research in going totally green. A lot of products make green claims, but when you find out about them, they aren't as green as they claim.

I did my whole house with http://www.mythicpaint.com/ . It is 100% zero VOCs, even the colorant.

However, if you can't afford the zero VOC, try and get as low as possible.

I also did all my wood staining and sealing with Soy-based products from http://www.ecosafetyproducts.com/Concrete-Wood-Stains-s/117.htm

All of the stuff I've used looks brand-new after 7 months or so. My painter really liked the quality and usability of the products (and the fact that he wasn't breathing those fumes).

As for cleaning, Vinegar is your friend! It's a great cleaner, all natural (it's half of salad dressing), and it's also good for killing weeds...

If you have any specific green questions, there are several of us here that can help you out. I've done a lot of big green projects (did a major house reno last year), and I have solar panels. Several other posters here (Greenfreak, among others) are great at all the day-to-day things you can do to make your life greener.

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Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

Re: Making your home green

- When it comes to appliances, the MOST important appliance to go energy efficient first is the fridge. It runs 24/7, so it uses the most energy. Make sure you keep the coils on the fridge clean and the seals are good. When you get new appliances, sell your old ones. Even if they're not in good shape or not working, if you put it on Craigslist, someone will buy it or take it off your hands for free (if you can't sell it, might as well recycle it with someone else).

- Unplug all unneeded appliances, phone chargers, tvs, etc. Do you really need an oven clock, coffee machine clock, microwave clock, and a wall clock telling you what time it is in the kitchen? If unplugging them is a pain, plug them into a power strip with an on/off switch. Even things that are plugged in, but not on can use "phantom power."

- The VOC free paint at Home Depot (Freshaire) I think is VOC free even with the tint added or at least low VOC, but the color choices were kind of limited. You might be better off looking at one of the bigger paint stores, just make sure that the tint is VOC free, too.

- Install CFLs (I wonder if environmentally, you're better off waiting until an incandescent bulb dies before throwing it out - unless you give it to someone else). You probably do not want to install them in areas that are moist (bathrooms) or when the light is not going to be on for very long (bathrooms, again). Moisture and a lot of on/off switches causes CFLs to die a little faster.

- Get a programmable thermostat. Instead of keeping your household temperature at 68C all day long, you can set it so that it's 68C when you're home in the morning and evening, 64 when you're sleeping and at work. BIG savings.

I've been in my condo for 1.5 years (800 sq ft, 2BR, 1.5Bath). My average daily killowatt-hour usage (electric) went from about 20 last winter to about 9 this winter. My average daily therm usage (gas) went from about 3.2 to 2.0. This winter has also been colder than the last winter.

The most important thing to remember is that every little bit helps.

Re: Making your home green

Check out this link:

http://www.greenhomeguide.org/news_and_events/pr_111808.html

There is another link (gottfriedhome.com) within the article that shows the USGBC founder's home that achieved a LEED Platinum rating- there's a list of manufacturers and everything there- very interesting, and could be helpful.

HTH!

Re: Making your home green

Also, contact LIPA's REAP program. I think they're lenient on the salary requirements when it comes to a new fridge, but they will give you all new CFLs (even if you already have some installed) and they'll seal up some areas where you could be getting drafts. They don't do the greatest job with the sealing, but it is free. :)