Go Green

There are a plethora of ways to go green in your Cary, NC home. For example: did you know that eco-friendly bleaches and detergent cost no more than standard products?

I have listed a few ways below to go green.

Is Your Laundry Green? Detergents, fabric softeners and bleaches can be toxic to your family and to the environment. Some surfactants and fragrances in laundry detergents contain hormone-disrupting chemicals that can't always be removed by wastewater treatment plants and end up harming local wildlife. Chlorine bleach is not only poisonous for humans, but can create dangerous byproducts, such as dioxin, when flushed down the drain. Get your clothes clean without all of the pollution by switching to eco-friendlier cleaners.

Thinking About Building? Build Green You've heard about the green movement. Now it's your turn to join the effort by going green with your next home-building endeavor. Making conservation-conscious decisions can save money and resources. All it takes is some homework and the effort to find the best products and designs that allow you to make the most of the green building initiative that is spreading across the country.  Put the sun to work for you and your home...study the land of the law before you build. To allow the rooms you use most often to catch the best rays, notice how the sunshine travels across your property then orient your house accordingly.

Green Mortgages A green mortgage simply is a type of mortgage that provides you a money-saving discount or a bigger loan than normally permitted as a reward for making energy-efficient improvements or for buying a home that meets particular energy-efficiency standards. So, it's easier for you to qualify for a loan. Green mortgages hinge on the principle that a more energy-efficient home means lower utility bills and, as a result, greater income, qualifying a prospective homeowner to buy a more expensive house. Officially, the mortgages often are called Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) or Energy Improvement Mortgages (EIMs). Example: When Jane and John Doe bought a home, their lender made it possible to add ceiling, floor and furnace duct insulation by adding $2,300 to their loan – bumping it from $142,500 to $144,800. That raised their monthly mortgage by $17, but their utility bills dropped by $45 monthly.

Energy Efficient Appliances The average American family washes almost 300 loads of laundry each year. Families can cut their related energy and water costs just by purchasing a clothes washer that's earned the ENERGY STAR. Clothes washers that have earned the ENERGY STAR have a greater tub capacity which means you can wash fewer loads to clean the same amount of laundry, thereby using less water and less energy. Washers manufactured before 1998 are significantly less efficient than newer models. Together, these inefficient washers cost consumers $2.6 billion each year in energy and water.