Budget-friendly home improvement
There are many ways to improve the efficiency of your home ranging from small, inexpensive changes to major projects. No matter how much you are able to spend, making changes can make your home a healthier and cheaper place to well. Here are some ways to make improvements on a budget of any size.
Improve Indoor Air
One of the problems of having an energy efficient home is that the air does not get circulated as much. If a house leaks a little bit of air, there is a constant flow. But sealing up a house also seals in toxins. A cheap fix is to avoid anything that puts fumes into the air. Check that you have adequate ventilation to the outdoors. And change the filters in your air intake and your furnace regularly. If you are able to make an upgrade, replace carpet with hard floors.
Replace all furniture that is made from fiberboard or plywood to reduce formaldehyde in the air. If you can afford a larger investment, think about getting fresh-air exchangers that replace stale air with fresh air. Or install a whole-house fan that pulls stale air out of the house and takes it outside. If you choose this, though, be sure you open windows so that the air will be replaced with fresh air. (more…)