Friday, March 21, 2008

dish doodie

it’s more a matter of habit than anything. we clear the table, rinse the dishes and plop them into the dishwasher. isn’t that akin to hosing ourselves down before we get into the shower? fact is, unless your dishwasher is ancient, rinsing dishes, glasses and utensils is unnecessary, not to mention wasteful. simply scrape off any particles with a wet sponge and load away!

next best: If you must rinse your dishes (either because you had a particularly messy meal or you run your washer infrequently), you can fill the sink with water once and give your dishes a quick dip, rather than running the faucet.

also, you know that sprayer do-hickey that tends to sit idly by while you rinse your dishes with water from the faucet? give it go! Like a showerhead, kitchen sprayers break the water stream into tiny droplets. according to the EPA, spray taps use 50 percent to 90 percent less water to rinse than when using the faucet.

the other thing to consider is that the hours following dinner tend to be high-demand, energy-usage times. you can cut energy costs by running the dishwasher later in the evening, perhaps before you turn in for the night. also, half-full dish loads are a huge waste of water and energy, as your dishwasher uses the same amount no matter how much is in it. so be sure to load it up before you hit “start” and don’t forget to put the dry setting to “energy-saver.” every penny counts!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

chill out

believe it or not, the summer months are edging nearer, and, if you’re lucky enough to have an air conditioner (i, unfortunately, am not), you need to remember that -- just like your furnace -- it needs some yearly tlc.

be sure check out your unit’s air filters once a month and clean or replace filters, as necessary. keeping your filters clean can cut energy consumption 5 to 15 percent. also, make sure that the drain channels and coils on outdoor units are not clogged.

to keep cooling costs down, run the forced-air system's fan -- not the air conditioner -- to maintain a comfortable temperature. simply flip the thermostat to "fan only" to recycle air throughout the house.

also, while i can only guess (pout) how tempting it must be to crank the a/c when it’s 90-plus degrees outside, keep the thermostat at 78 degrees when you home. when no one will be there, set the thermostat at 85 degrees. that way, you reduce the need for air conditioning and save energy, as well as have extra cash on hand for your labor day barbecue.

last, if you have ceiling fans or other fans, turn them on. the blowing air can make you feel 5 degrees cooler, without running the air conditioner. not to mention, that fans use a lot less electricity than air conditioners! btw... check out today's daily danny (by the extremely FAB danny seo) on this very topic!