The Sun Bay Paper Page 3 February 4, 2022 - February 10, 2022 Bringing wool sweaters and blazers to the dry cleaner isn't just an expensive way of maintaining and cleaning them, it can also be an unhealthy choice. Conventional dry cleaning uses a cocktail of chemicals, including the carcinogen often simply called "perc" -- perchloroethylene -- which cleans dirt and odor from clothes. But if you're bringing items to the dry cleaner to get out odors, try this instead: Spray a little vodka on your clothes. The vodka will disinfect and kill the odor-causing bacteria to bring back freshness. Just don't replace vodka with rubbing alcohol; it won't do the same thing, since rubbing alcohol has additives in it that make it much less effective. Replacing your worn-out old comforter? Yes, you can recycle it -- and it's easy. Whether it's down feather, polyester or a combination of both, all you have to do is bring your old comforter to a textile recycler, or even easier, Goodwill. Almost any kind of fabric or textile can be recycled. The recyclers tear apart old clothes and items like comforters and turn the materials into things like upholstery filling, cleaning rags, carpet padding, building materials and insulation for cars. Anything that can't be recycled is safely disposed of in a landfill. But the best part? Goodwill makes money for their charitable works by selling your old comforter to textile recyclers. Wrapping a heater jacket or blanket around the tank of a water heater is a simple job and can help you reduce heating loss by as much as 45 percent. There's a simple test to know if your water heater needs insulation: Give it a touch. If it’s warm, it needs insulation. But if you have an electric water heater, you should also consider insulating underneath the tank. According to the Department of Energy, installing something called a “bottom board” will add another 4 to 9 percent to your overall savings in water heating costs. Use Vodka Yes... Recycle it! Wrap that Rascal During blizzard conditions, the National Wildlife Federation says thousands (if not millions) of birds can starve, since it can be difficult to find enough food to survive. The organization suggests putting out a bird feeder filled with high-fat seed mixes, which help them get the necessary calories they need to burn and stay warm. When you fill a bird feeder, stomp the ground around the bottom with your feet so the snow and ice is compacted. This allows any spillage of birdseed to be safely eaten by ground-eating birds, like doves. Feed The Birds With newer automobiles allowing you to plug electronics into outlets and USB ports, our cars are becoming mobile offices for our everyday lives. But when you reach your destination, be sure to unplug your GPS devices, phone cords and whatever else you might have plugged in. Even with the car turned off, many of these items will still pull power from your car's battery. This can wear down the lifespan of the battery and also wear down electronic devices and cable cords. And if you're driving in your own community, where you know the roads without the assistance of a GPS device, just unplug entirely and stash it until you really need it. Unplug Recycling cardboard is one of the most important and easiest ways to reduce landfill waste and save energy and natural resources. Every ton of cardboard recycled conserves more than a full barrel of oil and over 6.6 million BTUs of energy, according to Waste Management. When recycling cardboard boxes, be sure to break them down flat and remove items like plastic wrap, plastic ties, packing peanuts and bubble wrap. If the forecast calls for rain on recycling day and you can't prevent cardboard from getting wet, don't worry. It will still be picked up and recycled. But just be sure cardboard does not have any food waste or grease, that's contaminated like pizza boxes, cannot be recycled Danny Seo Food Contaminated
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA2ODE3