Honeywell 2 Gallon Cool Moisture Humidifier

Choosing a humidifier not only increases the comfort level in your house but also prevents damage to walls, wallpaper, and wood floors from excessive dryness. Humidified air has been shown to reduce the level of bacterial, viral, and allergenic contaminants in the air and is therefore recommended for children or the elderly. It is also helpful in the winter to battle the drying effect of indoor heating or to help in healing a dry cough. Choosing one can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for. That’s why we’ve put together this basic guide to teach you everything you need to know about buying a new humidifier.

There are a few different types of models on the market. Here are some of the pros and cons of each of them:

Cool Mist/Ultrasonic Humidifier
Cool mist humidifiers usually work by use of a high-speed rotating disk inside the unit to propel the water into the air. Ultrasonic humidifiers also produce cool mist by way of sound vibrations caused by electricity. Both devises can cause indoor air pollution such as white dust from water minerals that settle in the air and furniture which could be adverse to your health. A cool mist humidifier also lowers the temperature in the room by a few degrees, which may or may not be desirable depending on your climate.

Steam Vaporizer Humidifier
Steam vaporizer humidifiers or warm mist humidifiers create steam from boiled water inside the unit, therefore killing off most microorganisms and bacteria and don’t disperse minerals into the air. The fact that they utilize boiling water makes them dangerous if placed anywhere where children or pets can knock them over. Portable warm mist humidifiers provide a safer alternative by using cooler airflow, but require a lot of electricity to operate.

Evaporative Humidifier
Evaporative humidifiers work by blowing air through a wet filter and are capable of creating the most amount of mist, using up to 13 gallons a day. They are also substantially louder to operate than other types of systems. The filter also prevents minerals from being released into the air. It’s also recommended to purchase a unit with an anti-bacterial filter.

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Popularity: 1%

KitchenAid Sunken Cooktop with Pop Up Vent Hood

Regardless of the type of stove you have–either gas, electric, or induction—you need to have some type of built in kitchen ventilation system. Many areas even require them by law. Kitchen ventilation removes excess moisture, heat, smoke, cooking odors, and chemical byproducts due to fuel combustion from the house so as to make the kitchen environment clean, healthy and comfortable. Furthermore, up to one gallon of grease goes into the air from cooking every single year! Without some form of ventilation system of filter, all that grease eventually condenses and attaches itself to furniture, walls, windows, and curtains! For providing ventilation in the kitchen, chimneys and oven hoods are the most common appliances used. They work to remove cooking fumes by utilizing an extraction fan to either filter the air, or exhaust it outside. We put together a list of some of the basic things you need to know when shopping for a new kitchen ventilation system so that you can breath easy.

There are two basic types of configurations for kitchen ventilation systems, vented or ducted, and non-vented or duct free, as well as a few units with combinations and variations on the theme. Here are some of the pros and cons of each type of kitchen ventilation system:

Vented Oven Hoods
Ducted or vented oven hoods are the most efficient and popular type of ventilation system by which fumes are exhausted outdoors using a duct or channel. The kitchen exhaust fan must have an outlet to the outdoors, using smooth ducting with as few bends as possible. Too long a duct might require a larger fan or insulation to prevent moisture condensation. It is therefore best to place the stove alongside an exterior wall, allowing for direct outlet to the outdoors. Standard ducts are either 6 inches wide in diameter or 3 1/4 x 10 inches for rectangular models although the more powerful the system, the larger the vent, with some ducts as large as 10 inches in diameter. Most units also come with grease filters to catch the oil preventing it from attaching to walls and curtains. It is important to note that it is essential to purchase a properly sized fan for your vented oven hood to avoid the risk of depressurization, in which deadly fumes are sucked back into the house. (Read “Power” below for more information)

Duct Free Oven Hoods
Whereas vented oven hoods transport the kitchen fumes out of the house, non-vented or duct-free systems filter the air using washable and replaceable filters and then return it to the kitchen through vents at head level. Although they pull steam and smoke away from the stovetop, removing odors and fumes by way of a charcoal filter, they don’t prevent heat and moisture caused by steam. Recirculating kitchen exhaust fans are therefore not recommended for anyone who can install a vented system. They are however ideal for kitchens that are built on inside walls of the house. Filters need to be replaced at least once a year but replacements are on the expensive side, so people often neglect to change them regularly enough, greatly diminishing their effectiveness. On the positive side, there’s no concern of depressurization with duct free oven hoods since they don’t attach to the outside.

Convertible Ventilation Systems
Convertible ventilation systems can be used with or without ducts depending on where you have them installed. They basically make it easier for stores, so they only have to carry one model and are beneficial for consumers since they can be converted if you move houses and find it necessary to switch from a ducted system to a non-ducted one or visa-versa.

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Popularity: 26%

KitchenAid Built-In Trash Compactor

Nobody likes sticking their hands down the drain to clean out the leftovers of the previous meal that are stuck there. That’s why it’s smart to purchase an efficient garbage disposal unit, to make cleaning the sink much more comfortable. Furthermore, garbage disposers cut down on the amount of old food left sitting around in the kitchen sink and garbage and prevent your sink from getting clogged up. In fact, because garbage disposals limit the amount of landfill waste, several cities such as Denver and Indianapolis require disposals in new homes preferring to send it to waste water treatment plants. Considering that many towns charge by volume for garbage removal, it’s easy to see why almost 50% of all American’s own garbage disposers. Here is a list of what to keep in mind when shopping for a new garbage disposal.

Types of Garbage Disposals
All garbage disposals in the U.S. are manufactured by only four different companies, although they brand them with several different names. In Sink-Erator makes 80% of them although some consumer ratings prefer Waste King and Kenmore models. There are three basic types of garbage disposals:

• Continuous Feed – Most continuous feed disposers are activated by a switch and the food automatically goes down together with running water however the open filler neck can pose a danger to children. Therefore it is usually required to install the switch as far away from the sink as possible, while still remaining in view.
• Batch Feed – Batch Feed models are more expensive but safer. The food must be loaded before turning on the disposer and can only be activated by pushing down a stopper. Although it is more burdensome to use, it prevents solid food shards such as bones from flying out of the machine during use, and makes sure that there are no fingers or forks in the way.
• Septic System Models – Septic models have special cartridges that release a chemical to help break down food waste. The cartridges must be changed every 3-6 months and are required for homes with septic systems that are near their waste capacity.

Power
Most experts recommend buying a garbage disposer with at least 1/2-horsepower although more is obviously better. Even the least powerful, 1/2-hp motor can handle bones but a more powerful motor will crush them faster, reducing the chance of clogging and prolonging the life of the machine. Nonetheless, according to Consumer Reports, even the stainless-steel grinding chambers of a 1-horsepower unit were dented while grinding beef bones. If you have a small family or don’t produce much food wastes, a less powerful model will do, however most people prefer to have a stronger machine so that they can enjoy the ease of a garbage disposer without having to worry about what they are throwing in.

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Popularity: 7%