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Tips to Keep Your Home Cool this Summer

The end of summer is almost here, which means that we are in the hottest part of the year. If you find yourself battling higher energy costs as you run your air conditioning, these tips will help you keep your house cooler.

Find a Reasonable Temperature

The first tip is to set a temperature in the house that everyone can handle, and that feels refreshing. You typically want your inner space to be about 20 degrees cooler than it is outside if you can manage it. For places like California and Arizona, that usually puts the interior of the house near 78-80 degrees. You can drop it down to 75 when you’re around, but you’ll save a lot more money if you let the interior temperature rise when no one is around to enjoy the cool breeze.

Install Window Treatments

Installing window treatments isn’t just to make a home look nicer. These curtains or shutters also block sunlight from entering the home. Your AC system will need to power on far less when you stop unnecessary heat from penetrating the space. On that note, it’s also a good idea to seal the exterior windows of your property with weather stripping or sealant.

Final Thoughts

Don’t forget to change your air filter. It won’t improve the temperature, but a properly ventilated filter will make it easier to breathe in your home. The dirt and dust that would normally enter the internals of your HVAC system get blocked by air filtration systems, so your AC unit will last longer too.

Bio: Kuba Jewgieniew encourages the agents of Realty ONE Group to become business-savvy individuals who strive for success.

3 Reasons to Invest in Home Improvement Now

So, are you interested in making investments?

Perhaps, the best place to this could start from your own home despite the dismal situation that the housing market finds itself in.

According to experts, it’s better to fix your home rather than trade it up, and here are a few reasons why:

1) Low Interest Rates

In comparison to the interest rates in 2007, which was at about 8.25 %, one can easily benefit from the rates that are between 3 – 4.5 % these days. So, in short, these rates are great. If you are still skeptical about drawing money for your saving or money fund account, the plummeting interest rates (at about 1 %) will not necessarily do much for you either.

2) Contractors offering lower prices

Compared to the times when you could not get a contractor to return your calls, the slump has pretty much changed all that in a hurry. Contractors will now offer you almost 10 – 20 % discount on their services, and even more in areas such as Florida and California.

3) Home building prices on the decline

Since the crash of the construction industry, the demands for home building materials has crashed to a point of no return it seems. And this translates into a crash in prices for building supplies and materials. For example, the cost of plywood has fallen to 23 percent, drywall by 29 percent and framing lumber by almost 35 percent.

Although, asphalt roofing and insulation has declined in prices substantially, one can easily benefit from the decline of costs in general.

Phone Apps That Can Help You With Home Improvement

Article written by : Valley furniture Havre

Whether you are a professional in the home improvement business or you like fixing and designing stuff around the house, you can now add another tool in your repertoire: a cellphone.

And while you are wondering why this is so, there are several software programs that can help enthusiasts pick paint colors for their home or even find artwork that could be used for decoration at home.

One such example is a phone app (known as Houzz) that has been developed by Mark English, a San Francisco architect, which enables people to visualize their projects and plans. With almost 70,000 pictures of rooms, homes and landscape projects, homeowners can now clearly define what they would like and not like to see in their homes.

Yet another phone app known as the Dream Home gives customers the opportunity to search for thousands of photos that has been arranged according to their style, room and color.

However, there are phone apps that have been designed for other purposes as well such as offering tips on how to entertain and host parties. On the hand, some users can use apps that assist them with shopping as well as culinary advice too. And if that’s not enough, an app released by Good Housekeeping offers advice on a variety of topics in keeping your home spick and span.

The only caveat in all of this is the fact that while some of these apps are offered to users for free, there are which charge the customer anywhere between $1.99 to $4.99.

Reasons to Aerate a Lawn

Article written by : Home Deco Design

With the restrictions of time and energy that creeps into our daily schedule on a daily basis, there comes a time when the effects of this, impacts our immediate environment. Take for example, your lawn, which due to neglect, can look brown and dirty and for all practical purposes, sick.

One way by which you can restore the lawn to its original beauty is by aerating the lawn using spiked shoes or for that matter, a powered aerator.

And while some people might not be convinced that this is really necessary, here are some reasons why one should indeed aerate their lawn:

Reason #1: Nutrition

The simplest reason for this is because the grass on your lawn requires food and water, and in order for the lawn to make the most of it, poking holes in your lawn will ensure that the grass gets enough fertilizer and water. Just ensure that you read the manufacturer’s instructions to buy the right fertilizer.

Reason #2: Oxygen

Much like every other living thing, grass requires air to grow, and once you aerate the lawn, you will see a big difference in how your lawn looks.

Reason #3: Improve Soil quality

In aerating the lawn, you will loosen the soil instead of allowing it to remain hard and compacted. One of the best times for a lawn to be aerated is either after a good rain or when during springtime.

Reason #4: Reduction of weeds

One will see further improvement of the quality of their lawn if they use weed and feed product after aerating the lawn.

Reason #5: Worm activity

Earthworms can be especially beneficial to your lawn.