Foam roofs are tricky because while a number of people prefer them, a significant percentage of people who find them too troublesome to use. The reviews might be mixed but there is no doubt that there are many misconceptions surrounding them. Foam roofs are highly effective in improving insulation without any expensive enhancements but at the same time, they need to be in a good shape to provide adequate protection to the house. If you are considering a foam roof for your house then you need to have all the facts. Therefore, to help you out, we bring you some common myths about Foam Roofs.

1.They Don’t Need Any Kind of Routine Checkups

Foam roofs are known to last longer than their counterparts and can survive for many years without any roof repair or attention. They might be low maintenance as compared to others but they still need care and routine checkups to maintain their durability. If you want to protect your house from excessive moisture then don’t forget to consult a professional for yearly routine inspection. Also, learn more about the maintenance of foam roofs before investing in the same for added precaution.

2.The Damage Can Be Undone

Foam roofs have a protective coating to make them last longer and also to prevent any degradation. If this coating is not redone on the roof after a decade or so, UV rays will cause the surface some serious irreversible damage. Small holes or pits will form and water will be collected in them. These pits can’t be repaired or covered by another coating. You will have to reinstall a new foam roof if the previous one is damaged. Therefore, to avoid additional work, stick to a proper maintenance schedule and make your foam roofs last longer.

3.You Don’t Need to Clean Foam Roofs

Nobody likes cleaning roofs because let’s face it—scrapping off the accumulated moss from dirty tiles is not a fun task. To escape this problem, many people install foam roofs in the hope that they won’t have to clean it anymore. This however is not necessarily true. The effort required in cleaning foam roofs is certainly lesser than taking care of tiles but you still need to remove any materials that might have gathered on your roof in a natural way. This includes, getting rid of debris, leaves, pine needles, branches etc.

4.They Are Too Fragile

The other common myth about foam roofs is that they are too fragile for walking and therefore cleaning or maintaining them is difficult. When your foam roof is made of good materials and has a stable structure, it is quite sturdy to hold the weight of an average person. If your roof is strong enough to protect you from storms, harsh sunlight and excessive rain, then it can definitely hold your weight effectively.

5.Recoating Can Be Done by Anyone

To save money, many people try recoating their foam roofs on their own but this is not advisable. The foam roof will require cleaning and proper inspection before any kind of coating is re applied. Most people are not aware of this fact and therefore try handling the job on their own and end up damaging the coating. Others are unable to properly re coat the roof and this in turn makes matters worse. You will end up spending more than what you tried to save if you don’t leave recoating to the professionals.

So the above were some myths about foam roof maintenance and we hope they helped you learn a more about foam roofs.

We spend so much on appliances installations at our house. These are some huge investments that not only cost us while we install them but also in the long run. They consume heavy electricity power and this affects our budget too.

So, let us see the different ways we can make our house more energy efficient:

1.Insulate your house properly

Proper Insulation of the house can bring substantial difference in the temperature inside and outside of the house.

If your house is properly insulated then in summers, the heat would not come inside and in winters the heat would not escape out, this means much less power consumption on cooling and heating the space respectively. If you have not done the insulation for this year, call a professional, spend a few bucks and get ready for a weather proof house.

2.Keep the filters and ducts of your equipment clean

Do you know, your air conditioner or the furnace would run much more smother if its ducts and filters are clean. These components get clogged with dust and debris which makes their functioning rougher and hence they consume more power in running.

So, free some time from your schedule to devote to this manual job also. This may not sound that important to you, but it actually makes a difference.

3.Arrange for an annual maintenance session

You need to arrange for a regular maintenance check by a technician who can act proactive and deal with any potential issue which might bother the smooth running of the air conditioner or Furnace. This is because a little prudence will save you from spending chunks on repairs, so call a professional to your home, to check all the fittings and wirings and attend to the issues if any.

This would also spare you of the trouble to spend a day in summer without ac or in winter without the furnace.

4.Make proper use of the windows and curtains

In summer you can open the doors and windows during evening and give the ac a relief for some time, while in winters you can do the same in morning. In fact you can also drape the house properly so you can enjoy the simmering heat without letting the chill in.

5.It is time to go all fluorescent and replace the old incandescent bulbs and lights

This is the minimum you can do to save the energy. The ratio of you get to know is equally tempting- a CFL consumes three times less power as compared to an incandescent bulb.

So, the difference only speaks for its significance. We buy these cheap bulbs but forget the fact that the energy they are consuming is much more than their price. So, it is advisable to make a big investment at once and enjoy its returns for long.

If you see the difference in the energy consumption of both you will realize how much can you save with this little effort.

6.Replace the old equipment with new ones

The best and the most you can do are to replace your old HVAC- furnaces, heating systems or Air conditioners replaced with new. The older these system gets the more their energy consumption is, which means heavy loads on your power bills too. To avoid all that, you can go for bigger investment but save money in the long run.

7.Upgrade your desktop with a Laptop

There is some news for you….. Your desktop computer consumes 80% more electricity as compared to laptops. This you might not be aware of but since now you know of this, how important do you think is to make that change. In fact, the power consumption of desktop increase more after it has crossed 4 years of age.

Well, these are certainly some ways by the means of which we can bring down the expense on these bills and make our house more energy efficient.

                                                                                                                           Photo by SnapwireSnaps, CC0 1.0

When it comes to cleaning up your house, you probably have a pretty normal cleaning routine that you go through. You might start in the kitchen, move onto the living room, and then tidy up the bedrooms. However, that’s probably leaving you with some unattended parts of your house that you haven’t thought about cleaning. Without a proper cleaning of these areas, you are going to be leaving them to just stay dirty and even cause some sicknesses in your family. Keep reading down below to learn more about how you can keep these areas of your house clean that you normally neglect.

1.Your Attic

The first place that we’ve got to talk about is your attic, which you probably haven’t touched in a super long time. Your attic is a place where you probably just keep all of those old holiday decorations and old children’s toys that no one uses anymore. However, if you keep the attic clean, you could look into using it for more things than just storage. There are plenty of ways to transform your attic into a loft where your kids could play in, for example. However, if you leave it in disarray, then there’s no chance of this happening. In addition to your attic, you should head up on the roof to get some roof cleaning done.

2.Your Basement

Next up, we’ve got to have a bit of a chat about your basement. The same logic that goes for your logic is probably true for your basement. You might just use it for storage or for those random things you don’t know where to put. However, you could be easily using your basement as a place for family fun. When you leave your basement in disarray, you are putting it at risk for attracting various kinds of pests.

3.Under the Couches

You probably don’t want to imagine what the underside of your couches look like and that’s why most people don’t want to clean down there. However, the dust that gathers beneath your couch is the perfect storm for any of your family members that are suffering from allergies. Make sure to move around the couches and vacuum/mop down there to get rid of all that dust and nasty stuff down there.

4.Behind and Under Kitchen Appliances

Another neglected place in your house that you don’t clean normally is probably behind your and under any kitchen appliances you have. This is probably the last place that you think about cleaning when you’re sprucing up your kitchen, but if you don’t clean up around here, then this is also going to pose problems for those of your family members with allergies. Plus, when you get rid of the dust and nasty stuff behind/under your appliances, they are going to run more efficiently and last a whole lot longer.

5.The Underside of Your Toilet

Of course, one of the places in your house that you probably spend the most time cleaning is your bathroom. This is the place where tons of diseases can fester if you leave it un-clean for too long. That’s why it’s important for you to clean all areas of your bathroom, even the underside of your toilet. You might think that just cleaning the inside bowl is enough, but the underside can get pretty dusty and hold onto the nasty bacteria that arise from regular bathroom use. Make sure to clean the entire toilet to ensure that everything is clean.

There you have it! These are the top places in your home that you probably neglect whenever you’re cleaning, but that you should definitely clean on a regular basis. This is going to keep your family safe from any dust and nasty bacteria that may be hiding.