About Me 0128: calabasas

Friday, July 20, 2012

Simple Ways On How To Efficiently Improve Your House

The Iowa appliance rebate program received $2,881,000 in federal funding. It offers rebates now on a host of items that meet Energy Star qualifications. What happens to the still-functioning appliances that are now outmoded?

Iowa Appliance Rebate Details

The U.S. Department of Energy advises that consumers may submit an Iowa appliance rebate application for the replacement of a refrigerator, clothes washer, dishwasher, propane furnace, gas boiler, central air conditioner, and air source heat pump, gas tank-less water heater or a few other appliances.

Consumers wishing to receive a State of Iowa appliance rebate must ensure that they purchase a qualifying replacement appliance and certify that they properly disposed of the item they replaced. There are no checks or balances in place to ensure that this truly takes place as the Iowa energy rebates program accepts a self-certification.

Economic Aspects of Appliance Rebates

Benzinga suggests that the Iowa appliance rebate program is a cash bonanza for appliance dealers. Since the Iowa appliance rebate application specifies that only Iowa retailer purchases qualify, the news appears to be good on the economic front.

On the flipside are the recent lessons learned from the Cash for Clunkers program that led to the sale of approximately 690,000 cars. Edmunds reports that of these vehicle sales, only 125,000 could be traced back directly to the program. The other sales were considered to have been planned already.

What about the Environmental Impact?

While the Cash for Clunkers program required the car dealers to properly dispose of the trade-in vehicles, the Iowa appliance rebate program - and many others like it - leaves this step to consumers. It also raises the question of outmoding an appliance well in advance of its useful life's end.

For example, 2008 floods in Cedar Rapids led to emergency pickups of about 2,568 tons of appliances that might have otherwise ended up in landfills. Will homeowners in these areas now scrap their new appliances in favor of the latest models? With no companies providing emergency appliance recycling in Iowa cities now, will Craigslist see an influx of ads or will landfills find an influx of otherwise working refrigerators?

As long ago as 1999, Grist Magazine posed the question of what to do with aging appliances. Citing the example of coffee makers, the magazine outlined that in 1995, the production of coffee makers required, "21 million pounds of polypropylene, 8 million pounds of glass, 4 million pounds of aluminum, and 600,000 pounds of copper."

Considered the quintessential throw-away small appliance, the amount of waste generated by these coffee makers - during manufacture and after consumer use -- is considerable. With the Iowa appliance rebate program covering a host of appliances, it is somewhat worrisome what will happen to items deemed throw-away.

It also begs the question if the environmental savings are not eclipsed by the damage done during the increase in manufacture of the new appliances in anticipation of nationwide rebate programs.

Sources
U.S. Department of Energy. "Iowa Appliance Rebates" (accessed March 1, 2010)
Iowa Office of Energy Independence. "Information for Consumers" (accessed March 1, 2010)
Benzinga. "Iowa Stores Receive Heavy Volume on Iowa Appliance Rebate Program" (accessed March 1, 2010)
Edmunds. "Cash for Clunkers Results Finally In: Taxpayers Paid $24,000 per Vehicle Sold, Reports Edmunds.com" (accessed March 1, 2010)
Conservation Services Group. "After the Flood: Unprecedented Challenges" (accessed March 1, 2010)
Grist Magazine. "Advice on how to cope with aging appliances" (accessed March 1, 2010)

Monday, July 16, 2012

Working On Home Appliance Repair? Try These Tips For Success

If you want to modernize a dated appliance or to coordinate the colors of your appliances with your kitchen's color scheme, why not paint it? Painting is much less expensive than buying new appliances and the process is relatively easy.

For a successful do-it-yourself appliance update project, your first step is to be sure to choose the right appliance paint. You'll need paint especially formulated for household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, and dishwashers. You can purchase spray-on appliance paint, which is best if you are painting the entire surface, or touch-up appliance paint that can be brushed on to cover scratches and chips.

These appliance paints are not for use on or near surfaces that get hot, such as stove tops. For those surfaces, be sure to purchase a heat-resistant paint.

Also, if you want to resurface the inside of a microwave, you'll need a specialty appliance paint formulated for that purpose. You'll also need specialty paint if you want to recoat your dishwasher racks.

Here are five appliance paints for a variety of do-it-yourself appliance-refurbishment projects.

Whirlpool Appliance Spray Paint. Whirlpool knows appliances. Its brands include Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Magic Chef and others. In addition, it makes appliance models for Sears/Kenmore. Therefore, if you want to repaint your appliances, why not use Whirlpool's acrylic appliance paint. It comes in a 13-ounce spray can and can be purchases at www.appliancepartspros.com/Whirlpool spray paint.

Thurmolox Stove Paint. Thurmolox is a high-quality paint designed for use on surfaces that get hot, such as stoves, barbeques, gas grills, hibachis, wood stoves, stove pipes and andirons. It is fast drying and long lasting. Most importantly, it is heat resistant up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit and resists blistering, peeling and flaking. For porcelain stoves, paint the surface with Thurmolox 290 paint and then cover it with Thurmolox 293 high-gloss paint for a porcelain-like finish. Order Thurmolox paints at www.alvinproducts.com.

Microwave Cavity Paint. To resurface the inside of your microwave oven, you need specialty appliance paint formulated for this purpose. This spray-on paint by QBP comes in a six-ounce canister in snow white (a bright white shade for newer microwaves) and pearly white (an off-white shade). Purchase it at www.appliancepartspros.com.

Appliance Touch-Up Paint. If you only need to touch-up scratches, chips, dents or worn areas on an appliance (other than a stove or other surface that gets hot), you'll need acrylic touch-up appliance paint that can be brushed on. Purchase touch-up paints made by Whirlpool in a variety of colors at www.appliancepartspros.com/Appliance Touch-Up Paint.

Vinyl Touch-Up Paint. While you are updating your appliances with paint, don't forget the inside of your dishwasher. If the racks need some recoating, use vinyl touch-up paint from Whirlpool. You can purchase it at www.appliancepartspros.com/Vinyl Touch Up Paint.

Sources:

www.appliancepartspros.com/Whirlpool spray paint, Whirlpool white spray paint

www.alvinproducts.com, Stove Paint, Wood Stove Paint, Antique Stove Paint - Alvin Products

www.appliancepartspros.com/Microwave Paint, Microwave Cavity Paint

www.appliancepartspros.com/Appliance Touch-Up Paint, Appliance Touch-Up Paint

www.appliancepartspros.com/Vinyl Touch Up Paint, Whirlpool Vinyl Touch-Up Paint

refrigerator, heater, stove repair and maintenance service in boston |
http://www. |
href="http://www.appliancerepairdixhillsnewyork.com" target="_blank">
ameri pro appliance repair, inc. |
target="_blank">
www.houstonncappliancerepair.com |
appliance-repair-long island apliance repair

|
appliance-repair-suffolk county appliance repair suffolk county |
pasadena appliance repair