Really quick episode this week about something I recently learned about that can make our lives easier, make our homes safer and help us to save on our electricity bills: Smart outlets or smart plugs.
They allow you to remotely control and automate the electricity going to that smart outlet or plug. Smart outlets and plugs work pretty much the same way, but smart outlets are built-in and electricians can easily add them to newly built houses. Smart plugs might be a better option for existing homes.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
If like me, you’re a fan of HGTV’s Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines, I bet you remember the Barndominium episode. They restored an old barn into a beautiful family home. Although barndominiums have been around for decades, that episode of Fixer Upper and the popularity of modern farmhouse and rustic chic decor have made many homeowners decide to build a barndominium for themselves.
They are an alternative to traditional stick-built new homes for homeowners who love a barn aesthetic and who want to live in an unconventional house. And although this style house is not for everyone, there are a few homebuilding practices and features of barndominiums that most of us can incorporate into our homes and homebuilding experience, no matter what style we choose.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
Last week we talked extensively about water softeners and conditioners. Water softeners and conditioners help to alleviate many hard water problems, including limescale build-up in your plumbing. But water softeners and conditioners are ineffective in removing chemicals and contaminants that can cause less-healthy, bad tasting and foul-smelling water. For those issues, you’ll need a water filtration system.
Although city and county water systems typically do a good job of removing harmful quantities of contaminants from tap water, they leave behind small amounts of substances that most of us would rather not drink. Some tap water contains the residue of treated sewage, industrial waste, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, toxic metals like arsenic and mercury, plus fluoride, disinfectants, and storm runoff.
Other contaminants that might be found in tap water, or especially in well water, include illness-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, as well as Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs).
In this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll get into the different types of water filtration systems and what sort of certifications we should be looking for before you buy one.
Show notes at BYHYU.com
If your area has hard water, you’ll usually notice. There will probably be whitish, yellowish or grayish deposits on shower heads and faucets and around drains, and sometimes even in toilet bowls. These deposits are called limescale, scale or scaling, and are usually deposits of calcium and/or magnesium. This scaling is a tell-tale sign of hard water.
It’s said that about 85% of all households in the US have some degree of hard water. Some of the hardest water in the country is found in the midwest. Take look at the show notes at BYHYU.com to see a map showing the level of water hardness in different areas of the country.
In this week’s mini-lesson, we’ll discuss what hard water is, what problems it can cause, and what solutions we can add to our new homes to decrease those hard water problems.
Show notes at BYHYU.com