#3- Weatherstrip your doors. Hold a piece of paper between the door and the frame If you can shut the door on the piece of paper and pull it out without tearing it, you need to weatherstrip around your door.

#4- Lower your thermostat. It sounds like a no-brainer, but think of it like this: for every one degree you lower your thermostat, you’ll save about 2% on your heating bill.

#5- Reverse your ceiling fans and set them on low. This can lower your energy usage by up to 15% by pushing the warm air that’s trapped up at the ceiling all around the room! (In the winter, your ceiling fan should be set to rotate clockwise.)

#1- Remove window screens and pull up your shades. This will allow more sun to come through the windows and naturally heat your home, and also make the room brighter. Close them at night to retain the heat.

#2- Change your furnace filter. As a home inspector in Northwest Indiana, I’ve seen many furnaces that have been extremely neglected, and changing the furnace filter is one of the simplest ways to save money and energy! Not only will this improve the air quality inside your home, it will make your furnace more efficient. Dirty filters decrease the air flow, and will cause your furnace to use more energy.

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Did you know that your refrigerator accounts for 15% of your home’s total power usage? If your refrigerator has clogged, dirty coils, it requires 25% more energy to run than if they were clean! Dust, dirt and pet hair can accumulate on the coils (which are designed to remove heat from the refrigerator) causing them to run longer and harder.

That’s why at least twice a year, you should vacuum the refrigerator coils (beneath the unit for newer models or at the back of your refrigerator for older models) with a brush attachment. Refer to the owner’s manual to locate the coils and access them safely (be sure to shut off the electricity or unplug the unit first!) Use a vacuum with a brush attachment to loosen and vacuum up the accumulated dust. If you have a longer brush to gently brush the dust from behind the coils, that would help as well. It’s estimated that dirty coils can increase energy use by 6%; the amount of savings will vary, but it can be anywhere from $15-$100 per year!

1. Turn off the video games. An estimated 40% of American households have video game systems– which add up to $1 billion in electricity usage per year in the country! But that number can be drastically reduced (by about $100 per household per year) simply by turning off the system when it’s not in use! Not all gaming systems have a power down option when not in use, and oftentimes those that do are not activated by default.
2. Wash your clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy used in older, top-loading models comes from the fuel used to heat the water, according to the Department of Energy. There are also laundry products specifically designed for washing clothes in cold water.
3. Install a low-flow water aerator on your sink nozzles and shower heads. The combined savings from the water and energy usage will quickly add up. If you’re not sure if you have a low-flow water aerator or now, look on the side of the sink nozzle. The rate of flow should be imprinted there. If the number is higher than 2.75 gallons per minute (gpm), it’s time to make an investment of about $5 to purchase a low-flow aerator.
4. Turn your computer off. Your average desktop computer uses about 200 watts an hour. In Northwest Indiana, you’ll pay about $0.11 per kilowatt. If you leave your computer on 24/7, this adds up to $0.52 per day, $16.06 per month, or $192.72 per year! So by turning your computer off at night alone and not counting for weekends, you’ll save about $100 per year!

Our professional home inspector provides you with peace of mind through a the professional, unbiased inspection of your new home! Whether your looking for an inspection in Northwest Indiana or the Chicago suburbs, we’ll show you everything there is to know the house so you can purchase YOUR home with confidence. The report you receive is NOT filled with technical jargon; our reports are written in every-day language that is clear and easy to understand.

#1- Ivy

All of us enjoy the whimsical, care-free picture created by ivy-covered trellises and English cottages, but the problem with climbing English Ivy is that it doesn’t know when to stop climbing! Its runners will creep under siding, through any cracks in the foundation, up trees and through cracks in masonry! When its runners penetrate a crack in a house, it expands and becomes larger, and can weaken structures to the point of collapse! Thick foliage of ivy will also retain moisture against the walls of your home, and can ruin the finish on any wood.

#2 Morning Glories
Though this pretty flower is technically an annual, it produces ALOT of seeds, which sometimes, somehow, survive our winters, and are still able to germinate in some climates after 50 years. And then they do, your yard will be overrun with Morning Glory vines. There is also a wild version of this plant with white to light pink flowers that may pop up in your yard voluntarily, even if you never planted a Morning Glory.

#3- Houttuynia
With small white flowers similar to a begonia blossom, this groundcover is extremely invasive. Its pretty-looking leaves can be varigated or blue-green with red stems. At most, it will grow a foot high, but as for how wide it will grow, the sky’s the limit! If you’re dead set on having a Houttuynia plant, keep it in a container!

You have a potentially deadly 200+ pound hazard hanging overhead in your garage — it’s your garage door. A typical 2-car garage door can weigh up to 225 pounds, and some older ones can weigh more than that.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an average of 3 children per year are killed after becoming trapped by garage doors that do not automatically stop and reverse. while others have suffered injuries or brain damage

To check the door yourself, pull the quick-release mechanism  when the garage door is closed. Manually raise and lower the garage door (Now don’t automatically think you’re a muscleman that can lift 200+ pounds with one hand; with the help of the springs, it will be considerably lighter!) It should lift smoothly, and be balanced and slide freely. It the door is out of balance, does not raise and lower evenly, or sticks, be sure to have it serviced by a professional. Garage doors that are out of balance can crash to the ground unexpectedly.

The garage door should also stay open on its own at about three feet above the ground.If it does not, have it serviced by a professional, as the spring will need to be adjusted. NEVER DO THIS BY YOURSELF! Never attempt to adjust the springs either, skydiving without a prachute would be safer! You should also test the safety sensors (the “eyes”) on a regular basis. To do this, push the wall button of your garage door opener so the garage door begins to close. Wave a long object like a broomstick in front of the sensors so it “breaks the beam.” The garage door should reverse immediately. If it does not, pull the broomstick away and allow the door to close. Clean the safety sensor “eyes” to make sure that they are clean, and adjust them to make sure they are completely even. Then open the garage door and try the test again. If the garage door does not automatically reverse when the eyes are tripped, have it serviced by a professional.

To maintain your garage door, annually apply WD-40 to the mooving parts– hinges, rollers and pivot points– to keep the garage door in optimal performance.

It may seem almost like an oxymoron– cleaning a dishwasher? But in all honesty, it’s a necessary evil if you want the dishwasher to run properly and efficiently. On a higher note, the whole process is relatively quick and simple!

To begin with, check the holes on the spinning arm to make sure that they are not clogged with debris. One area that is usually not penetrated by water is at the gasket where the door and the dishwasher meet.  Also, make sure that the finish is not flaking off of the racks of your dishwasher. The will result in rust that may eventually stain the dishwasher. A dishwasher needs to be level to perform at its optimum efficiency. To ensure that your dishwasher is not tilted, open the door and place an air-bubble level on the door. If the dishwasher is off-balance, adjust the dishwasher’s “feet,” or use a wedge on the appropriate side.

To remove hard water stains or deposits, run one cycle with a cup full of white vinegar placed on the top rack (the dishwasher should be empty except for the cup of vinegar.) Don’t use these cleaners on a regular basis, as the acid can begin to erode the rubber and pipes of your dishwasher over time. You can also choose to run a cycle on an empty dishwasher, but open the door when the bottom has filled up with hot water. Add two cups of vinegar, and leave the door propped open for about 30 minutes. You can then sponge down the sides of the dishwasher, and then close the door and let it finish the wash cycle. Don’t have any white vinegar on hand? Use one packet of Kool Aid lemonade mix in the detergent cup! (The citric acid in the mix will also remove deposits and stains.)

The most important place to check is the drain grate at the bottom of your dishwasher. If you do clean this, however, be sure to unplug your dishwasher. Then unscrew the grate from the drain and clean it, according to the manufacuturer’s specifications.

Make sure the sink is clear of hair or debris.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup of baking soda in the drain.
Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar. (This will have a volcano-type effect, but that’s OK.)
Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Wash it down with one quart of very hot water.