Spring Cleaning

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS
Does your spring cleaning to-do list include one or two home improvement projects this year? If so, consider updating your home’s floors with a stylish and sustainable option, such as bamboo or cork. Not only will this enhance your home’s beauty and increase its value, it could even alleviate some of your family’s allergy problems. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, an estimated 40 million Americans suffer from indoor/outdoor allergies.

“Bamboo, like any hard surface, is always more hypoallergenic than carpeting,”  explains Rich Olson, owner of Just Around The Corner. “Dust particles and other allergens are impossible to remove completely from the lower parts of carpet and, below that, at the pad level.” And because bamboo is finished with a special urethane coating, it’s remarkably easy to clean.

One of the world’s fastest growing plants, bamboo is a natural front-runner in the field of eco-friendly flooring. “Bamboo plants grow to maturity in slightly more than five years,” says Rich. “If you compare that to the several decades required to grow average hardwoods, bamboo reigns supreme in eco-friendly status.”

And it’s durable, too. “Although it is classified as a grass, bamboo is extremely durable,” he adds. “In fact, stranded bamboo, the latest addition to our bamboo lines, is ranked two to three times harder than ever-popular oak and adds texture to the traditional vertical and horizontal grains that are characteristic of bamboo flooring.” Even better, bamboo flooring is available in a variety of colors that easily match any home’s décor.

According to David Fox, owner of DyeMasters Flooring Co., cork is another option in eco-friendly flooring on the market today, although it has been around for hundreds of years. “Cork is obtained from the bark of a tree every nine to 11 years,” he explains, “so the trees are not actually cut down.” In addition to being durable and easy to clean, cork floors are mold- and mildew-resistant, which will definitely aid in allergy relief. Even more, cork floors repel insects, which every homeowner likes to hear. Like bamboo floors, which DyeMasters also offers, cork floors come in many different colors, so they can be easily incorporated into both traditional and contemporary spaces.

SETTING STANDARDS
The all-too-familiar term “spring cleaning” often entails more than just organizing your spaces — in fact, it frequently calls for scrubbing, cleansing, wiping, dusting and polishing every surface in your home until it shines like new. Unfortunately for many of us, this conjures up unpleasant thoughts of harsh chemical fumes and residue — but all of that is about to change. Green Works®, a line of eco-friendly cleaning products created by the experts at Clorox, can help you achieve a spotless home naturally, with plant- and mineral-based ingredients.

The Natural Products Association (NPA) recently developed the Natural Standard for Home Care Products, and five Green Works® products have already met the core criteria: Green Works® all-purpose cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, bathroom cleaner, glass and surface cleaner, and glass cleaner. To be certified, these products must be at least 95-percent natural (excluding water) and meet the following criteria: manufactured in a certain manner, using biodegradable ingredients with environmentally sustainable packaging whenever possible; use no animal testing during the development process; and use no ingredients from the NPA’s list of prohibited ingredients. All Green Works® products are 95- to 99-percent naturally derived, including filtered water, coconut-based cleaning agents, essential oils, corn-based ethanol and wood-based fibers.

Green Works® products are available at your local grocer or drugstore. For a list of retailers, visit www.greenworkscleaners.com/where-to-buy.  

SEALING YOUR CRAWL SPACE PROPERLY MAKES YOUR HOME MORE ENERGY-EFFICIENT BY REDUCING COSTLY BILLS IN THE SUMMER AND WINTER MONTHS
Sometimes spring cleaning needs to be done below the surface, too. It’s important to remember to take care of all the spaces in your home, even those that no one sees — your crawl space being a prime example. According to Dave Thompson, Marketing Director of Woods Basement Systems, it’s essential that homeowners seal their crawl spaces in a way that will keep exterior air out. While this advice is especially pertinent in spring due to moisture in the air that helps mold thrive, sealing your crawl space properly will also make your home more energy-efficient by reducing costly air conditioning bills in the summer and heating bills in the winter.

When mold spores enter a home’s crawl space, it can make for quite the smelly situation, not to mention an allergy sufferer’s worst nightmare. Under the right temperatures and conditions, the mold will flourish, causing pungent air to circulate throughout the entire house. Mold can also attach to the exposed wood structure of your home, causing what is commonly referred to as “wood rot.”

To solve this problem, Woods Basement Systems uses a double vapor barrier, which covers the exposed earth within a crawl space and air-seals any penetrations to the outside and sub-floor. This prevents the negative effects of a dirt crawl space from rising up into the home. Even vertical foundation walls made of concrete block, brick or stone can be porous, Dave explains, as moisture can be absorbed easily through mortar. A two-step approach that includes air sealing and encapsulating the crawl space can help ensure that your crawl space — and home — remain air-tight and mold-free. 

RESOURCES
Green Works®, www.greenworkscleaners.com
Just Around The Corner, www.jatcwoodfloors.com
DyeMasters Flooring Co., www.dyemasters.com
Woods Basement Systems, www.woodsbasementsystems.com