It is true that we spend most of our time, almost 80% of it, in indoor spaces. We’re used to worrying about the air outdoors. We complain about pollution, gas emissions and smog. However, indoor air can be more hazardous than outdoor air. That is due to the levels of humidity that are created in closed spaces, which support growth of bacteria and intensify the existing pollutants. The concentration of pollutants per unit of air can be 10 to 50 times greater indoors than out. Additionally, indoor air is perfectly absorbed and exchanged with fresh air. That leads to breathing higher concentration of pollutants per breath.

Some of the indoor air pollutants whose existence we know of include:

—Tobacco, which is generally known to cause cancer to smokers, what we don’t know is that passive smokers also run a high risk of developing cancer, nose or throat irritations, bronchitis and asthma. Additionally, tobacco smoke, being thick, is not completely absorbed and/or exchanged with fresh air. It becomes smog that sits around the house.

—Volatile organic compounds are regularly used in houses. The name is tricky but the products are simple. Perfumes and hair sprays, various detergents, air fresheners, polishers, fragrance candles… these innocent products can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches and nausea.

—Pesticides and other bug repellents cause respiratory irritation, impaired lung function and may even contribute to asthma and damage to the central nervous system.

—Animal dander, dust mites and pollen from indoor plants can cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks to people with respiratory problems.

—Various bacteria also exist in our indoor air, as well as mold, mildew and fungi, which may cause eye, nose and respiratory irritation, skin rash and other allergic reactions.

—Some of the most dangerous pollutants indoor are radon asbestos, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and organic gases that cause respiratory irritations, nausea fatigue and headaches, contribute to lung cancer, liver and central nervous system damage.

Along with oxygen, we breathe these harmful substitutes every day. Let’s see what we can do to purify our indoor air and protect our health.

—Use air-cleaning houseplants. Houseplants have the ability not only to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen but also to trap and absorb many pollutants through their natural process of photosynthesis. Luckily, plants are very effective at removing gases such as formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, benzene and cigarette smoke. The best air purifying plants are Aloe Vera, Bamboo palms, Dracaena palms, Spider plants, Philodendrons, Pothos and Chrysanthemums.

—Ventilate your space properly. Air-purification devices can reduce the amount of pollutants found in indoor air. Clean the filters regularly. You can use filters with activated carbon, which is very effective as pollutant gases are attracted by and stick to the carbon.

— Open the windows. That will allow the exchange of indoor air with fresh air letting many pollutants to escape. Create an air cross draft to clean the air faster.

—You shouldn’t rely solely only on outdoor air to refresh your space. Outdoor air isn’t completely clean; it contains many pollutants as well. The best way to keep air healthy is to eliminate the source of pollutants as much as possible. Be on the lookout and remove all products that contain petrochemicals.

Scientific research has shown increased evidence that indoor air pollution is one of the biggest environmental risks we face. Public-health experts coordinate to bring solutions, but meanwhile, take precautions, such as the ones listed above, to protect yours and your family’s health.

We have all seen them at one time or another. We have all driven or walked by a house that has been victim to a horrible painting scheme. Whether the owner had the actual result in mind or not, we can all probably agree that the house needs to be repainted. This is where your neighborhood home owner association comes in handy. The HOA can prevent catastrophes like a bad house color from bringing down your property values. So if you are planning to repaint your single level ranch house plan with front porch, you should plan to give the colors some serious thought.

One way to get a great idea for what color you want to paint your own home is to drive around and look at other homes. Not only will you find colors that you do like, you will also find out what colors you don’t like. For instance, if you drive through a neighborhood and find a house that is painted blue with turquoise trim, you might find that those colors are unattractive for a house. You can also check out the houses in your own neighborhood. If you happen to live next to someone who painted their house a baby blue, you might be puzzled as to their choice in color. While some might not like the baby blue color for a house, some might actually like it! I guess it just depends on each person’s personal taste.

Another great way to choose the color for your home is to choose based on the style of your home. If your home is made from spanish house plans, you might want to consider painting your house with some sort of deep red tones. You could choose a rust color for the main house and then paint the trim a shade or two even darker. If you have a more colonial style home with shutters on all the windows, a crisp white would look stunning. To add a little flair, you could also paint your shutters a dark blue or red.

If you have a home built from luxury architecture home plans, you might not even need paint, depending on the particular style of your home. Your home won’t need paint if it is made of bricks. If your luxury home does need a coat of paint, you might consider painting your home with a more mild color. Something that won’t stick out in it’s surroundings. If your home is in a wooded region, you could paint your home a lovely shade of sage green. If you live by the water you could paint your home a refreshing shade of blue.

Aluminum sliding doors are located in various rooms of a building. This could be used as terrace or patio doors leading into the garden. Other places could be on first floor leading into the balcony from a family room upstairs or bedroom. The are different types used, one side fixed and other sliding and or two sliding panels and a fixed one. The room and size of opening determines which type to use. This also determines the glazing to be put.

When ready to fix an aluminum sliding door, whether due to replacement or anew, first measure the opening. Ensure that all railings , rollers, glazing are all in place. Line the opening smooth with plaster and check sides, floor and top. Ensure corners are square, jambs are plumb while top and bottom level. Fix the frame work by screwing into the reveals and jambs. Hacking the bottom part slightly recesses the framework for it to be flush with floor.

After the aluminum sliding door framing is in place, assemble the fixed part. Take the glazing and tie the frame round, it while inserting the rubber lining. Slide this panel and screw it into the frame firmly. Start sliding panel assembly and fix glazing as before, insert the rollers and push into the guiders. Let the panel roll along to the fixed side. screw adjust the wheels by pushing them up or down. Clean debris on guiders and remove dust.

Now that aluminum sliding door is assembled, place correctly each panel. Ensure that the fixed panel is on the outer guider and sliding part in the inside one. This prevents draught during windy days. Add the linings on the grooves provided to stop shaking during windy days or when opening. Add the locking latch and test the mechanism when inside and outside the room. Fix the alarm system if provided on moving panel and frame,then clean the door.

A lot of people know that carpets feel comfortable to lie-down on and provide a nice texture for your feet to walk on. However, you may not be aware of the fact that having a good carpet pad underneath your carpeting makes all the difference in the world in determining whether or not your carpeting feels soft and comfortable or hard as a rock. There are unquestionably some things you should know about your carpet pads in order to ensure that your carpeting provides you with a maximum level of carpet.

First of all, think about carpets that are void of all carpet padding. If you laid down carpeting on a hard floor with no pad between the carpet and the floor, there are a number of unfavorable things that would happen. Most likely, you would quickly notice that your carpeting does not feel comfortable to walk on, let alone lie-down on. There are some carpets designed for little or no padding underneath, but these are not types that are meant for your home. In fact, carpets without padding have are comparable in hardness to hardwood floors; they are both extremely tense.

If you buy a normal living room carpet without the carpet pad to go under it, then it would not take much walking on in order to really wear-out the carpet. Your carpet would wear-down very quickly because it would be rubbing directly on the cement underneath. In order to ensure that your carpet lasts as long as possible, it is recommended that you buy the proper-fitting carpet pad to accompany it.

If you want a carpet that feels comfortable to your friends and family, you will need to get a durable set of carpet pads. The purpose of installing carpet pads along with your carpet is in order to increase the overall durability of your carpet as well as to minimize carpet damage and maximize the comfort-level of people who are walking on the carpet or want to lie down on the carpet. Choosing a good carpet pad is also helpful because it serves as a buffer that allows your furniture to be set on top of your carpet without causing your carpet to damage.

If you are currently looking for a new carpet, you should always make sure that you are able to find good-quality carpet pads to go along with it. You don’t want to ever make a big investment in new carpeting only to find out that you are not able to find any good carpet padding to put down before you install it. Always ask the carpet-company for good quality carpet padding to go along with it. Most people are so focused on how their carpet looks when they buy it that they completely forget about getting good carpet pads. They usually opt for having the standard carpet pads installed with their good looking carpet. If the standard pads are of relatively low quality, the carpeting is surely going to wear out much more quickly than it would have if you had remembered to pick out a better carpet pad.

If you are planning in creating your own house design, you can be guided with various types of software that you can easily find online. Before you begin to scout for the right kinds, you must first make sure that you already have an idea as to what you want to achieve and how you can get that.

Here are some of the things that you must plan ahead before you proceed in getting your own house design done.

1. Allot the kind of budget that you are willing to spend on the venture. You must think about this amount when you go about your design. This way, you will be guided as to how far you can go in terms of design as well as the furnishings that you can put at your house later on.

2. Create a theme for your home, like do you want it to look modern or a bit classy. You can look at the pictures of the homes of famous people where you can get inspiration from with regards to what you want to create for your house.

3. You should also ask for the opinions of everybody living in the house. You may be able to create good ideas by combining all you thoughts about how you want the house to look like.

When you already know what you want to achieve, you can try your hands at computer software that can be found online. This will allow you to transform your ideas into 3D or simple designs that you can give to the architect that will render their services for this project. How do you select the right software? Here are some of the important points that you have to consider.

1. There are kinds of software that you can use for free and these are those that will ask for a minimal fee. As long as the sample output looks good and the process seems simple, you can proceed to whatever you choose between these types.

2. It will be better if you will choose the type that can do more than what you expect like the floor plans, designs for landscape, plus the cost estimates.

3. If you are an advanced user, you can achieve a lot by getting the kind of software that has the CAD tools as well as other advanced features that can create more defined look of how you want this project to be done.

4. If you don’t need much detail and you only want simple floor plans, you may want to check the kind of online drawing tools that can suit your needs and expertise.

If you enjoy spending a peaceful night on your patio with a few good friends or your husband/wife, you probably use some kind of patio lighting to illuminate the area. Usually, these light are hooked up to a power source coming directly from your house. That power that you are using to run the lights may not seem like a lot, but when you add it up over time, it will definitely show up on the power bill. Think of it like this: If you spend on average an hour per night on your patio, that’s an extra 30 hours of power that you will have to pay the electricity company for at the end of the month.

A Great Alternative

Instead of sucking the electricity from your house, use the energy from the sun to power the lights. Solar patio lights absorb the sun’s energy during the day and store it in a rechargeable battery. When the sun sets, the battery will have a full charge and will be ready to light up your patio. A fully charged battery can keep the light powered for around 10 hours straight!

Some of these solar lights come equipped with a sensor that can automatically turn the light on at the first hint of darkness. Others have timers that can be manually set to turn on and off at specific times. You also have the option of finding solar lights that have a motion detector built into them. As soon as they detect motion, they will use the energy stored in their batteries to light up the area. This feature will definitely add to the security of your home.

Solar Lights Do More Than Just Save You Money

Besides the fact that using solar lights to illuminate your patio will cut down on your electricity bill, you would also be doing your part to help planet Earth. Human’s waste far too much energy. We will never be able to get the wasted energy back either! Believe it or not, energy is a scarce resource and if we continue using it so wastefully, our children and grandchildren will have to suffer the consequences.

Recently, there has been a lot of technology developed to cut down on energy waste. Unfortunately, the trend of using these types of products has only caught on to a small number of people. The technology is there, so people need to start using it! You can start by lighting your patio with lights that don’t waste any energy at all!

Choosing the right exterior paint can be complicated because of the wide range of surfaces that your home may have. Possible surfaces include clapboard and aluminum siding, wood shingles, tar shingles, cedar shakes, brick, concrete block, stucco, and old paint. On many older homes, you’ll find a combination of these surfaces. An experienced painter knows there is an exterior paint for every type of surface, and there are certain exterior paints that will work better on certain surfaces.

Exterior painting projects are more difficult than interior projects because peeling, blistering, chalking, and rust, mildew, cracks and chipping are commonly found on the exterior of homes. These issues must be dealt with prior to painting to assure the job is done correctly.

Like interior paints, exterior paints are available in either water-thinned or solvent-thinned formulas and in flat, semi gloss, or gloss. Exterior paints are more expensive and they also contain more resin and more pigment. As with interior paints, latex works best over latex and alkyd works best over alkyd. If you can’t tell or are unsure about what type of paint is on the house, use an alkyd-base paint.

Latex exterior paints are easier to apply, dry quickly, and can help minimize moisture problems because they “breathe.” Cleaning up is a matter of soap and water. These paints do not adhere as well to oil base or alkyd-base paints or to poorly prepared surfaces, however. Alkyds, on the other hand, are extremely durable, but they are more difficult to work with and they dry slowly. Also, solvents must be used with alkyds to clean brushes, rollers, paint trays, and drips.

Here is an example of how a painting professional, Ron Jones, from Sharper Impressions Painting used his knowledge to get the job done right.

A cedar house in a wooded location was covered in an oil-based, semi-transparent stain. Due to age and the wooded location, the stain was faded and mildewed, requiring thorough power washing. “We repeated the power wash a second day for a total of 16 hours,” recalls Hancock. “We needed to prepare the best possible surfaces before we began the exterior painting.” Although an average of 4-5 hours is usually spent power washing a home of this size, the Sharper Impressions team saw that more was needed to get this job done right.

After the aggressive power wash, the home required extensive caulking. “I wasn’t home the day they caulked,” recalls the homeowner, “and I was amazed to see the final result that evening. I was so impressed with the coverage.” Sharper Impressions used cases and cases of white caulking; every gap and joint on the home was seamless and well protected from weathering.

Jones advised an oil based paint with a top coat of Latex-based, low VOC paint for the house. Nearly all products used by Sharper Impressions Painting have little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which release toxins and are harmful to the environment.

Knowing that solid paint products can peel easily on horizontal surfaces, Jones also suggested a special product for the 3,000 square foot deck. The railing received a water-based solid stain, tinted to match the floor color. The doors were painted with the third color in a long-lasting Acrylic Latex Based house paint. Each product was carefully selected to guarantee a high-quality, long-lasting paint job that will look great for 8-10 years.

Knowing the best exterior paint, preparing it properly before painting and focusing on quality will always result in a successful exterior painting project.

Years of color response research have shown that human behavior is affected by color and that we do respond psychologically to color. You probably already know that from your own experience. You’ve probably had strong responses to certain colors in the past and know that surrounding yourself with the right colors is a good thing to do.

Let’s say that you wanted to design a great color scheme for the walls of your home, colors that would project the proper mood for each room. What colors would you choose?

Let’s start in the living room. Light green would be a good choice here. As the dominant color in nature we feel at home in a green room. It has a calming effect and is generally very relaxing. A good accent color in the living room might be a shade of yellow since green and yellow are next to each other on the color wheel. Another good choice in the living room would be light blue. And for an accent, pick a darker blue. The blues can reduce stress and relieve tension and are a good choice in other rooms as well. Is it any wonder that light greens and light blues are popular colors in hospitals, spas, schools, and workplaces?

In the dining room you would do well with red or orange colors. Both colors have a tendency to stimulate the appetite and to promote feelings of excitement. The colors are known to create moods that enhance social interaction, and that’s certainly a good thing in a dining room. However, stay away from blue here as blue tends to suppress appetites.

If you have a sun room, consider using the green colors. The cool and fresh mood of green would be a natural selection for the sun room.

In foyers and hallways yellow is a good choice because it helps show the way. Yellow can grab your attention better than any other color. Yellow is definitely an eye catcher.

The kitchen is another good place for a yellow color. Yellow in the kitchen can create a cheerful, friendly mood. In many homes numerous lively, friendly conversations take place in the kitchen or adjacent breakfast/dinette area, so you might as well enhance that mood with yellow. Another good color choice in the kitchen is orange. As in the dining room the vibrant, exciting mood of orange works well in the kitchen.

The natural and calming effect of green makes it a good choice for a bathroom. The peaceful, tranquil, relaxing mood of the proper shade of green would be just right in the room where you envision a nice warm bath. The clean, restful colors of white and gray are also appropriate here.

There are numerous choices of color for a bedroom. The soothing mood of blue is an excellent choice for adults and children. Relax and fall asleep. On the other hand seniors report that a light yellow color in the bedroom can lift their mood, which also has a relaxing effect. It’s an especially good color to wake up to. Now, if you wish to enhance the romantic mood in the bedroom consider the colors mauve and pink. These colors, along with red tones, help to produce feelings of intimacy and passion. However, to make the bedroom feel restful choose blues, greens, pinks, or peaches. You can see that there are lots of color choices for this room.

For a children’s bedroom or playroom, contrasting colors are likely to create a stimulating and lively mood. Choose, for example, purple with yellow or orange with blue. Look for colors on the opposite sides of the color wheel. Children are going to play and have fun in this room. If the room is used primarily for sleep, though, stick with the tried and true blue colors.

Hopefully, these suggestions stimulate your imagination and give you some good ideas. Choose the colors that inspire you and make you feel welcome each time you come home.

For more information about the topic of mood and color listen to the podcast entitled “Fashion Bytes: Your Personal Palette” at http://WomensStyleNetwork.com/?p=69/.