Get the latest and greatest information on professional cleaning in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Othello Washington!
Here at Dura-Shine Clean, cleaning is our passion! We love cleaning and another thing we love doing is helping you in your everyday life, from home-life balance tips, to favorite recipes, and even ways to cut down on your electrical bill. Who wouldn't benefit from saving a few dollars and managing their energy usage better? Especially when we have a busy home life, our house is constantly running on electrical gadgets, appliances, and other energy suckers. It is not surprising that appliances account for 20% of our household’s energy consumption. These include clothing washer and dryers and refrigerators. When purchasing an appliance, you should always look for an Energy Star rated appliance, which is a federal rating for energy efficient appliances - these consume less energy overall in their lifespan.
But besides going in and buying a completely new set of appliances, there are simple everyday actions we can take to reduce how much electricity we consume in our household. A good recommendation is placing simple reminders around our home, especially around electrical outlets and appliances. Also, if you have small children in your home, be sure to baby proof around the home.
Here are some simple things we can do to cut down on our energy bill
Contact your city's utility department
The majority of them will offer an energy auditor to visit your home completely free of charge to conduct an evaluation. Isn't that great? After they've evaluated your home's energy consumption habits, appliances, and heating and cooling, they'll smart make recommendations for upgrades. Some upgrades require a large upfront cost, but will provide great savings in the long run, so they're a worthwhile investment.
Green Lighting
Substitute energy-inefficient incandescent light bulbs for CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs. These can be easily found in your local appliance or home improvement store. Believe it or not CFLs use 66% less energy than incandescent light bulbs so they are highly recommended for energy savings.
Unplug!
This one seems like a no brainer, but here it comes: Plug and unplug your electronics! The quickest way to do this is to use power strips for connecting your TV and other electronics and then turning the strip off when not in use. Also make sure to unplug all cell phone, battery, tablet, and other electronic chargers when you're not using them to save energy. Believe it or not, but our chargers draw power continuously! So unplug them! You can also set your desktop computer to hibernate mode to lessen the load even more.
These simple changes can have a big impact on your electrical and utility bills. At Dura-Shine Clean if we love anything is to make the lives of our clients easier - by keeping their home sparkling clean and sharing with them beneficial information. Like what you're reading? Check back on our blog often where we share cleaning tips, tricks, and other home improvement information. Want to make life even easier? Give us a call for a free quote on cleaning your home!
As the
leading cleaning company in the Tri-Cities, WA our team at Dura-Shine Clean is committed
to sustainability, green living and healthy families. We believe there are too
many people using toxic ingredients in their cleaning products. Our commitment
to sustainability means we use eco-friendly and non-toxic cleaning products
that are both good to the environment and safe for our clients. Homeowners,
especially families with young children worry about what is being used to clean
their home. Business owners also want to maintain safe facilities for their
clients and their employees. We also deeply care about the safety of our
cleaning team.
Eco-friendly and safe cleaning products like Procter & Gamble and Spartan Chemical source only the safest components in their products.
What we appreciate about the products we use is that both Procter & Gamble
and Spartan Chemicals provide Safety Data sheets detailing the safety rating on
every product they make. This ensures that cleaners who buy their line of
eco-friendly household cleaners have the necessary information at hand to make
a safe purchase for their clients.
According to
environmental experts, the average household contains 62 toxic chemicals (source). Run-of-the-mill household
cleaners contain aggressive chemicals like ammonia, sodium hydroxide, and
2-butoxyethanol, which appears in popular multi purpose cleaners. These
chemicals can appear in window washers, spot cleaners, oven cleaners and more.
They pose no
risk in small amounts, but if used constantly overtime they may pose serious
health risks. As for our cleaning process, one of the things we do is ensure
that all windows remain open during cleaning so the air can circulate from the
outside in, essentially reducing any harmful fumes that might be in the air.
Hiring
professional cleaners means you don’t have to worry about what is in your
cleaning products, we do the worrying for you. When we’re not there to lend a
hand, however, these safe and all-natural cleaning solutions and green cleaning tips we’ll get the job
done in the safest way possible:
1) Glass and Mirror Cleaning
Commercial
polishing agents and window cleaners contain ammonia. It’s a powerful irritant,
and those with constant exposure to ammonia (when inhaled) have higher risk of
developing chronic bronchitis and asthma. This is especially harmful to the
elderly and people with asthma. Instead of window cleaners use 4 tablespoons of
lemon juice mixed with half a gallon of water. Alternatively, use some rubbing
alcohol and witch hazel.
2) Furniture Shine
Furniture
polishing cleaners are made up of petroleum distillates and solvents, both of
which are hazardous when ingested. Be wary of keeping these around the house if
you have young children. A good substitute is a mix of two parts olive oil with
one part lemon juice and rub it against furniture using a soft fiber cloth.
3) Oven and Bathroom Cleaners, and Mildew Removers
Some of
these cleaners contain chlorine or sodium hydroxide. Chlorine can be a
respiratory irritant at an acute level, and can be a serious thyroid disrupter
(source). Sodium Hydroxide is corrosive
and can cause serious burns. Instead use baking soda or vinegar to clean things
like toilet bowls or remove mildew and clean grime.
To learn
more about how we clean give us a call at (509) 543-9608. Let Dura-Shine Clean’s knowledgeable and expert cleaning staff come in and
give your home a thorough, all-inclusive clean. We’re the leading commercial
and residential cleaning company in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco, West Richland
and surrounding areas.
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