Reviews

Is My New Hot Water Heater Saving Me Money?

February 26, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Is my new hot water heater saving me money?

We spend a lot of money to upgrade our systems with the promise that they’ll save us money.

I’ve read this, I’ve been told this, but I’ve never experienced it. I’ve never seen real numbers.

So as part of a collaboration with Rheem, they’ve provided a hot water heater to put to the test. I’m revealing my actual utility costs for Water, Gas and Electricity to see what the numbers have to say.

Here’s my 1st Quarter Hot Water Heater Utility Bill Comparison:

December 2014- February 2015 VS. December 2015- February 2016

December 2014 Water (charged bimonthly): 96.12 Electricity: 115.82 Natural Gas: 88.92 Total: 300.86	December 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 106.60 Electricity: 111.54 Natural Gas: 142.54 Total: 360.68
January 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 0 Electricity: 135.07 Natural Gas: 135.97 Total: 271.04	January 2016 Water (charged bimonthly): 0 Electricity: 115.43 Natural Gas: 114.29 Total: 229.72
February 2015 Water (charged bimonthly): 91.70 Electricity: 111.65 Natural Gas: 183.18 Total: 386.53	February 2016 Water (charged bimonthly): 122.22 Electricity: 132.37 Natural Gas: 141.12 Total: 395.71

So, actually, we’ve spent more money that we did in the same period. Are you shocked?

If you’re simply looking at the numbers, this doesn’t look good. Especially when you look at the fact that the hot water heater was in our garage last year. Our garage is not temperature regulated and we regularly have our washer’s pipes freeze out there in the winter.

But, when I tell you about the way it’s completely changed our lives, you’ll look at those numbers and agree that it’s so worth it.

A year ago I wasn’t taking very many showers in the winter. I have bad arthritis in my knees and we couldn’t get enough hot water to fill even half our tub let alone a long enough shower to loosen my joints. Now, I can hop in the shower and relax. The water is hot and I’m relaxed. And then there’s my son. A year ago he couldn’t play in the bath. We couldn’t get enough hot water to fill it up. And since a chunk of the water was cool, the water cooled down a lot faster. I’ve stopped using hand sanitizer because I can turn on the sink to wash my hands and the water is warm. I even use the faucet for hot water to make tea. The water gets hot enough for me to steep tea!

The previous hot water heater made the winter months so unbearably difficult for me. It probably sounds silly, but I’ve saved time. Time that I would’ve spent curled up in my bed counting the days until spring. I’ve saved sanity because I can let my boy splash around in the bathtub, like little boys ask to do.

I’m using more water than I was in the same time frame than last year. So I fully expected my bills to be higher. If I wasn’t enjoying my hot water so much, I know my bills would have been lower.

It’s going to get real interesting once the weather warms up. I’m betting those numbers are going to show an interesting shift that these ones haven’t shown.

If you’ve missed the first 2 parts of this 12 part series, you can catch up on those here:

Hot Water Heater Moved & Installed

About Econet- And How To Use It

Globein Bathe Artisan Box Unboxing

January 22, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

It’s been a while since I last chatted about Globein, right? After Globein sent me the Celebrate box, I ended up signing up for a subscription out of pocket. GlobeIn is a subscription and shopping platform that connects artisans from around the world in a fair way to consumers like us. I just received my Bathe Artisan box this morning and I wanted to share what I got with you.

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Vintage Rug Care for the Long Term

January 20, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Vintage rugs are pretty much all the rage right now. It’s no denying they’re in the spotlight and few would argue that it’s not rightfully so. The colors are beautiful, the patterns are unlike what we were seeing in previous trends. They let us scale back the other elements of a room to go bold with the floor. And I know I love having a less permanent item to play around with.

But there’s probably something you’re forgetting to do when you pick up one of those vintage rugs. In fact, you’re not alone. So many people are forgetting this. Or maybe rather ignoring it because vintage rugs can already be quite expensive. Either way, vintage rug care is important for it’s longevity (and we want to get our money’s worth, right?)

Don’t fret though. You haven’t ruined your rug just yet. In fact, here are a few basic care tips before we dive into the biggest thing of all:

All rugs are susceptible to daily use damage. Walking on it stretches it out and smashes the fibres. It’s best practice to:

Clean up any spills immediately
Vacuum regularly (on the “hard floor setting” or no bristles preferably)
Deep clean according to the type of rug you have (I recommend going with a professional).
Rotate for even wear and tear

But what you do inbetween all of that is important.

You need a rug pad to protect your rug from losing it’s life. Many of the vintage rugs we see gracing all the latest designer’s spaces are very old rugs. They need a pad that’s going to aid in the longevity of it’s remaining life.

And a rug pad is a great idea in floor care, too since they’ll prevent scratching from the rug and dye transfer.

wpid-2016-01-18-10.26.30-1.jpg.jpeg — Better pics coming next week when the space is complete!

As part of the hallway refresh I’m in the middle of, I bought a vintage rug and Rug Pad Corner provided a coordinating rug pad. In my quest to eliminate as many chemicals and irritants from our home, I’ve found these pads to be the perfect marriage between function and standards. They work. I’ll tell you what, this rug was slipping and bunching up all up and down the hallway from my crazy dog and child. It hasn’t budged one bit since putting it atop the super hold natural rug pad.

With the pads from Rug Pad Corner, I like that I don’t get a funky chemical smell in my home for days after opening the package. I like that they’re made in the USA. I like that they do their job. I like that with all the awesome things about these pads, they’re still really easy on the budget.

I do recommend Rug Pad Corner. While my bottom line is get any rug pad for your vintage rugs, I believe the product you’ll get from them are superior and better for you and your home. You can check out their different pads and try out the “rug pad wiz” to see which pad best suits your needs.

Which Painting Tools Do I Need?

January 5, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

If you asked me this same question a year ago, I would tell you that you want to spend little money. I used and recommended the dollar store for painting supplies. But the more I’ve painted (and I’ve painted entirely too many walls for such a tiny house), the more I’ve started to wonder if there really is a difference between the more expensive stuff and the cheap stuff. I was sure their was some quality differences. But I’m honestly pretty terrible about taking care of paint brushes, which is why I thought it was a better investment just to buy the cheap ones since I’d likely let it dry out anyways. I’m here today to wave my white flag and tell you that I’ve experienced a difference in the quality of paint application, not just in the construction of the brush, but the paint going onto the walls and trim look better.

I found myself curious a while back and bought a Purdy brush on the recommendation of Mandi from Vintage Revivals. She wasn’t the only one I’d read that said that the tools matter, but I trust her (and adore her) so on a whim I picked one up. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the brush. I’ve been getting less streaks in my paint and a more even application. Bristles are not longer strewn throughout my paint job. (the one I bought is the Purdy 2 inch XL angled sash brush)

What Tools Make Painting Better & Easier?

So when Purdy reached out to see if I would be interested in trying out and reviewing some of their products, I happily jumped at the opportunity. I picked out a few products I knew I would be needed, originally for the bathroom remodel (my contractor ended up using his own stuff- more about that story in a second) but I ended up using them in a space I’ll be chatting about next week- the hallway. And I’ve started using them in the dining room (I’m not sure I’ll ever share the before photos, it’s a hot mess).

As you can probably guess, I’m thoroughly impressed. One of many drawbacks of the dollar store roller frames is that they’re not made to hold the weight of a paint soaked roller. So they literally slip off mid painting. They also don’t distribute the pressure equally across the roller so there’s heavier paint application on half the roller’s trail. These problems are amplified now that I’ve experienced a roller frame that does equally distribute pressure and holds the roller in place. It’s easier and it saved me time from cleaning up and readjusting- it’s the little things.

We have a very long hallway with lots of doorways so it’s a genuine pain in the butt getting around it all. I have arthritis in my knees and it’s just plain painful to go up and down a ladder constantly down the space. The power lock professional grade extension pole has been a blessing. I worried at first that this wouldn’t work out so great because I imagined the roller slipping off the frame from far above my head, but because it doesn’t slip off, it made the job relatively pain free. The pole also wasn’t too heavy so it didn’t make me lose my balance.

The white dove roller was also pleasing to use. It held a good amount of paint without getting drippy or too heavy. I didn’t experience any little hairs in the paint either. Which brings me back to my contractor story. My contractor used his own supplies. And there are micro hairs all over the walls. It’s driving me nuts. I figure what I’ll have to do is sand them all flat and repaint the walls with my Purdy tools. It’s pretty irritating, but at least I know of better now.

The final item I used, and I save it for last because it made the perfect finishing touch on the space, is the Nylox glide 2 inch angled brush. Unfortunately the last time I painted a room, it was late at night and I fell asleep with paint on my Purdy brush. They both perform well and I like them both equally. The XL is approved for exterior and oil based paints whereas the Nylox is not, so that is worth noting in shopping Purdy products.

Products Used:

Have you ever used a Purdy product before? What do you paint with? Have you found it matters or is it all basically the same for you? I’m grateful Purdy reached out with this offer because it’s taken a bit of the sting out of my own painting so if you’re looking at paint products, I have to recommend you give them a go.

About Econet- And How To Use It

January 1, 2016 by CORINNA HENDERSON

Hey Guys!

I actually meant to have this post up earlier this week but there was the camera fiasco (the quality of pictures from my DSLR was consistently going downhill and I’d had enough). I now have a new one thankfully so I hope to have more posts up here soon. Today I’m checking into chat about my Rheem Econet as part of the informative series Rheem and I are bringing you.

I have to be honest, it took me an embarrassingly long time to get mine set up. I was so excited to have hot water in the house that I wasn’t concerned with getting the WiFi portion set up. I did finally take a break from hot showers earlier in the month to get it set up though and it’s actually pretty cool!

The set up was simpler than I had anticipated, but I’ll share some screenshots to give you an idea of what I did in case you’re considering getting one for yourself.

The first two are my WiFi networks, the third is the EcoNet.	Select Your Home’s WiFi.
Short pause while it connects to the home WiFi.	It’s connected!

This is where I create a new account.	My MAC address populated automatically but the information sheet reminds you to write the number down to reference here if need be.
Name the unit whatever you want!	In the event of any issues, you can be notified by your unit by your choice of text or email.

Registration information is short and basic.
The screen sits on 0 while the data picks up. Took no longer than a couple hours for me.	Once set up, the home screen holds all connected devices.

So all of that was pretty quick and painless. I was happy to see I didn’t have to divulge too much information while still having control over how I’m contacted in the event of a problem. When my unit was first installed, it was automatically set to Energy Saver. Which is fine by me. It’s the setting I would have chosen but it’s not hard to change between Energy Saver and Performance.

This whole journey was for us to be more eco friendly and to save on our utilities, but if you’re in need of pumping out top notch hot water heater activity the Performance mode should do that. For reference, I figured I’d share what my screen looks like when I go into my unit. I keep my unit at 125 degrees Fahrenheit but now that I have “the power” I’m going to bump that up before my shower because I like to scorch myself 😉

The obvious control you have with this is on demand temperature changes and changing from Energy Saver to Performance mode. But you can also schedule a vacation so the unit works less while you’re away for an extended period of time and you can view your alerts.

I hope you’ve found this all interesting. I love to share what goes on with making our home more comfortable for us and this is more than I ever imagined when we started these renovations. (PS- haven’t forgotten about the bathroom, I’ll be back to chatting about that soon)

GlobeIN December Artisan Subscription

December 16, 2015 by CORINNA HENDERSON

I simply cannot believe Christmas is next week. It’s crept up so fast. With the mild weather we’ve been having, it doesn’t feel like Christmas should be here. But I’m loving the mild weather and I love Christmas. One thing I did for myself this year was sign up for a couple subscription services. If you saw my Gift Guide for the Homebody, I highlighted a brand called GlobeIN and their artisan subscription box.

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