greener home products

There are so many products and practices that can lead to a greener home. These products are constantly being updated, improved, and replaced. Here's a short list that should provide you with lots of opportunity to green your home. Please us if you'd like us to research or include particular products.

• Flooring
  • wood flooring. | Learn more
    • Unfortunately we have not been able to find any in Morgantown or surrounding areas. If you go far enough afield you can find it but then face greatly increasing the of your project. Our personal choice was to buy unfinished wood flooring at Lowe's. It wasn't FSC but it didn't include s that would into our home environment. We'll go back and stain and seal it with more health-friendly products later on.
    • Other good, but at times more expensive, wood choices include cork and bamboo flooring. You can find these at most flooring stores in town.
  • natural material area rugs | Learn more
    • among your choices would be sisal, wool, jute, seagrass, and hemp. Any of these can come with a natural, unprocessed latex (rubber) backing. Avoid olefin (polypropylene) and anything that has "faux" in its name. Again these are very difficult to find in our area. We have found natural/manmade combinations in our area at Lowe's and Pier1 Imports.
    • Here's our example. We wanted to buy all natural area rugs for our home but eventually settled on a good alternative. We bought seagrass rugs from Lowe's and jute rugs from Pier1 Imports, both at the Glenmark Center. The compromise? Both were held together by polyester binding and either processed latex or polypropylene (olefin) backing. Still, instead of smelling that generic, and unhealthy, new rug smell, we are enjoying soothing organic scents.
• Interior paint
  • zero or low paints and primers | Learn more
    • these paints have no or low amounts of Volatile Organic Compounds which are added to assist the paint in some way but are nasty for anyone having to inhale it for months or years to come. We have bought zVOC paints at Lowe's and Sherwin-Williams. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find zVOC primers in our area.
• Lighting
  • Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs | Learn more
    • Lighting accounts for close to 20 percent of the average home's electric bill. Changing to CFLs costs little upfront and provides a quick return on investment. CFLs provide a quick and easy solution to help you save energy, especially in high-use light fixtures. CFLs are a great alternative to standard incandescent light bulbs because they use 75% less energy while providing the same amount of light thus using less energy, saving money on energy costs, and helping protect our environment. Using CFLs is one of the simplest ways to start saving!
    • CFLs are easy to find now. Lowe's has a wide selection in various s and styles while Target has dimmable CFLs.
    • to learn more about CFLs and about how to choose and use them to best advantage, visit the Energy Star website.
    • Like mercury thermometers, cfl's contain small amounts of mercury. The difference is that it would take 100 CFLs to equal the amount of mercury in one thermometer and this amount was estimated to have dropped by the end of 2007.
    • If you break one you should open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes. Then, wearing disposable gloves, scoop up the pieces using a stiff piece of paper or cardboard and place everything into a sealable plastic bag. Do not use a vacuum cleaner or broom. Wipe down the area with a wet paper towel or disposable wet wipe and put that in the plastic bag. If you have carpet, use sticky tape like duct tape to clean up the area. Put the gloves in the bag and put that into a second sealable plastic bag. Then place all of this outside into the trash for the next pick up. Wash your hands. To learn more read What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks from the Energy Star website.
• Furniture
  • Eco-furniture | Learn more
    • When shopping for the buyer has to beware. In general look for furniture that is made with sustainable wood, preferably. At least make sure the furniture is not constructed with particleboard laminated to look like wood. Finishes should be of linseed oil or some other type of non-toxic oil. Materials used for batting and covering should be natural like cotton, wool, or silk. It may also use natural latex rubber or fiberfill made from recycled plastic. The dyes and glues should be natural as well. Pay attention to the fabric care label. Look for furniture labeled W or W-S. These fabrics should be cleaned with a water-based cleaning agent such as a mild detergent or non-solvent upholstery shampoo. Avoid care labels marked X or S. These need highly toxic cleaners or drycleaning. Unfortunately, these natural materials and the extra craftsmanship needed to produce these pieces raise the price and are not readily found in our area.
    • So what should you do? One thing is to order online. This can become very expensive. Another is to request eco-furniture from your local retailer. Our solution, for now, is to compromise and do the best that you can. The above description of the "perfect" piece of eco-furniture can be your guide. Now you know to look at the fabric care label, that solid wood construction is preferable to particleboard, and natural fibers cut down on sing.
    • We will continue to search for eco-furniture in our area. If you'd like to be informed of any news we have on this topic, please drop us a line.
• Cleaning Products
  • Seventh Generation and Method | Learn more
    • We've had great success with vegetable-based (as opposed to petroleum-based) Seventh Generation and Method cleaning products. From Seventh Generation, we use Laundry Liquid, All Purpose Cleaner, Glass Cleaner, Automatic Dishwashing Gel, and Dish Liquid. From Method we use Go Naked surface cleaner, Tub + Tile soap scum + stain remover, and Wood for Good wood polish. These can be bought at Target and Kroger.

Please let us know if you have better information than we've provided on our site.