Brighthouse Family and Friends,

I was driving through a country club in Brentwood last week that I shall not name.  It had been raining so hard that day that many streets had been closed off until they had drained properly.  As I drove through the entrance to the beautiful community, I noticed that the sprinkler system was shooting out water full force during a complete downpour.  This country club features 150+ homes, a golf course, fitness center, restaurant…the works.  Imagine the amount of water that is used here daily just for the purpose of keeping the grass green.

Listen, I know that we all love our green yards and nobody is telling you to dig up the grass and fill it with sand for a never-ending beach volleyball tournament.  BUT – it is our responsibility to make sure that we’re managing our water usage by installing the proper tools to do our part.  I’d like to share with you a few basic and affordable ways to make some changes for the better.  From the bathroom to the front yard, each of us can make a significant impact on conserving our most important natural resource.

Sprinkler System Upgrade!  There is absolutely no reason why we should ever see a sprinkler system running through a rainstorm.  A soil moisture sensor is a simple little device that you bury in the ground around your watering landscape that measures the moisture level present in your soil..  Pretty simple, huh?  If the aforementioned country club simply installed a soil moisture sensor into their system, the sprinklers would have never started during the rainstorm.  A typical golf course can take between 100,000 and 1,000,000 gallons of water WEEKLY in the summer to maintain proper vegetation (source).  That means anywhere between approximately 15,000 to 150,000 gallons of water could be wasted in ONE DAY when sprinklers run during a storm.  That equals water usage for the typical family of 4 for an entire year (source)!

It is also crucial that you abide by your local laws for days and times that you are able to water your lawn.  Typically there are different days for commercial and residential customers.  It is your responsibility to know this and monitor that your programmable system is sticking to it.  Watering your yard during the heat of the day is not only against local regulations, but also results in extremely high percentages of evaporation, meaning even more waste.

Shower Time!  Do you ever think about how much clean and wonderful water goes straight down the drain while you wait for your shower to heat up or leave the faucet on while brushing your teeth?  You can buy a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot for a few bucks – place this under your shower head when waiting to warm up, and then use this to fill the dogs bowl or water the garden.  Also be sure to cut off the sink when brushing your teeth.  Better yet – fill a small cup of water before you start brushing.  Use this to dampen your brush and then clean it when finished.

Shower heads can also be a source of wasted water.  You can literally cut your gallons per minute (gpm) in half by simply upgrading to a shower head with 2 gpm or less.  You won’t lose any of that good pressure you love, guaranteed!

Ditch the Dishwasher! Ok, before you freak out, nobody is telling you to part with your beloved dishwasher.  Although it is a significant waste of both water and energy, many people have become very accustomed to this luxury.  I know that I typically end up fully washing my dishes before they go into they dishwasher Anyways and have slowly reduced our usage.  That being said, the difference between an old dishwasher and a new energy star certified dishwasher is significant (Yes – I’m telling you to use this as an excuse to buy a shiny new appliance).

Water usage in these new washers are down almost 65% and the energy usage is considerable less!  These Energy Start models started popping up in the mid-90’s, but manufacturers have continued to increase efficiency just about every year since – so go ahead and get yourself a new toy!

What are you doing at home to save water?  Any tips or tricks you want to share?  Are you teaching your children about water conservation?  Why not have the kids be on “water patrol”, making sure to have the bucket ready when taking a shower, or being sure everyone (including mommy and daddy) are turning the faucet off when brushing their teeth.   Make sustainability fun!  

That is all for this month!  As always, we genuinely appreciate your business and always look forward to seeing you again.  Until next time, Stay Green!

Energy Savings Made Simple

Brighthouse Family and Friends,

It’s that time of year again when 90 degrees feels like a “cool” day.  The heat is unforgiving and it’s just the first few days of summer.  When the temperature shoots up, so does your energy usage.  At Brighthouse Luxury Green Home Cleaning, we know that green cleaning is only a very small part of your overall goal to live a sustainable lifestyle.  During these hot months, there are a few simple things you can do to reduce your energy usage while receiving the added benefit of a lower electric bill.  See how many you can implement this month and watch the savings begin!  Maybe you’ll end up with enough extra cash to book some additional time with your favorite Brighthouse Attendant next month…hint, hint!

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!  Managing your lights is one of the simplest ways to reduce your energy usage.  99% of the typical lightbulb energy use is converted to HEAT and only 1% is used for light.  The very last thing we need in our homes this time of year is heat, and my home tends to have enough natural light come in WITH THE BLINDS CLOSED to operate safely up until 7 or 8 pm this time of year.  Of course, we recommend switching over to LED’s as they require far less energy to operate and have an incredibly long life-span.  Also be sure to use motion-sensors on your homes exterior lighting!

CEILING FANS can be a great way to cool off while reducing energy usage.  But be careful, because having all of your fans on full-time will surely add up fast!  Turning a fan on in the room you’re occupying can typically allow you to turn your AC up 3-5 degrees while still feeling comfortable as the breeze created cools your skin.  Be sure to turn those fans off before you leave the house – they don’t provide any benefit if you’re not there!

Contrary to popular belief, CLOSING AIR VENTS in less-used rooms does not equal energy savings and could cost you big-time in the end.  Energy Vanguard wrote a great article on the pressure issues caused by messing with the intentionally installed flow of your home’s supply and return vents.  Messing with this carefully designed pressure ration can cause your system to over-work resulting in higher energy usages as well as potential damages to your central AC.   Always keep all interior doors open throughout the home and your temperature should level out and mainain quickly.  Of course, a good annual tune-up and inspection of your system is always reccommended as well.

SET YOUR THERMOSTAT up when you’re leaving the house.  Contrary to popular belief, it takes less energy to cool down a hot house after being gone all day than it does to simply maintain a lower temperature through the day.  Setting your thermostat lower will not make your home cool down faster but it will make it run longer!  If you really want to get effecient, install a programmable thermostat that adjusts temperatures automatically throughout the day for maximum savings.  The difference between a thermostat set at 70 degrees and 78 degrees is almost DOUBLE the enegry bill!

CLOSE THOSE BLINDS!  When you leave for the day, be sure to close the blinds, lower the drapes, and pull the curtains.  Letting additional light into your home creates more heat resulting in more running time for the old AC.  During the winter months (please come soon!) be sure to let in as much natural sunlight as possible to have the reverse effect of keeping the house warm.

What are you doing at home to save energy?  Any tips or tricks you want to share?  Are you teaching your children about energy efficiency?  Why not have the kids be on “Light Patrol”, checking for lights left on when leaving the house or during family times when everyone is in the same room.  Make sustainability fun!  

That is all for this month!  Next time, we’ll be digging into proper water usage around the house.  Yes, I’m talking to you who are running your sprinklers at 3:00pm in the heat of the day.  As always, we genuinely appreciate your business and always look forward to seeing you again.  Until next time, Stay Green!

On Monday, March 23, FranklinIS, Southern Exposure Magazine, the Williamson Herald and JLB hosted the 2015 Sizzle Awards Banquet at the Factory in Franklin.  Brighthouse was awared second place in the 2015 reader’s choice poll category for Best Housekeeping Service. THANK YOU to everyone who voted to help make this happen.

Unless you are new to the Brighthouse family, you already know that we are committed to discovering and offering the newest and greenest ways to clean your home and office. After years of experience working with clients in need of an innovative approach to cleaning hardwood, we decided that it was time for us to take the lead in developing a solution.

So, if you want to know why we’re smiling so much this month, it’s because we’ve finally decided to offer this solution to you- our valued client. We’ve found the right technicians to deliver the service (20 years of experience!), and honestly… we know you’re going to love it.

It’s a three-step method called Hardwood Rejuvenation, and we just can’t say enough good things about it. We’ve already started telling some clients about the new service, and many of you have been really surprised to learn that there is an effective and green alternative to traditional hardwood refinishing.

Since we always want to make sure that our clients get what they want out of the hardwood solution they choose, we’ve imagined and described a couple of scenarios below to help you make the right decision.

Which situation sounds more like yours? Do you see yourself as a John or a Christine?

Let us know. Your dull, worn floors will thank you later.

John always tries to take care of his floors, but the newest addition to his family- a labrador retriever puppy named Scout- isn’t always a huge help. Besides adding scratch marks to the already scuffed-up floors, Scout is also having a tough time with the potty-training process. Since John’s safe, green cleaning solutions aren’t always within reach when he discovers Scout’s little “surprises,” a fair amount of build-up from some common household cleaners has started to become apparent. While Scout is certainly making some progress, stains are showing up at an alarming rate. Finally, making matters worse is that even before he brought Scout home, John had been living with dull, uneven-looking floors.

Christine bought her aging home from a large family about five years ago, and she never got around to doing anything about the damaged floors. She’s ready to put the house back on the market, but the floors are in pretty bad shape. Large cracks and separation in the living room are a definite eyesore, and deeply set-in stains in the dining room don’t look much better. Several months ago, a major leak gave Christine a huge headache, and she didn’t catch it in time… a considerable amount of moisture crept into the wood, and some major warping occurred.

For problems like John’s, Hardwood Rejuvenation is definitely going to be the way to go. It’s less expensive and faster. Best of all, nobody (not even Scout!) needs to leave home when we perform the service.

For more major issues like Christine’s, traditional hardwood refinishing may be required. However, since only professionals can accurately assess hardwood damage, you should contact us today, even if you think your situation sounds more like Christine’s. Our services are 100% guaranteed, and we’re always happy to provide expert insight when you have questions about cleaning your home and office.

And oh yeah, tell your floors we said hi… and that we’ll see them soon. (We both know they deserve a little attention.)