Author: Creative Programs and Systems - page 322

How to lower your home heating bills in Livingston County

Michigan is notorious for its cold winters. In fact, we’ve recently moved into autumn and we’re holding steady at about 45 degrees daily, and creeping toward freezing temperatures on a nightly basis. Needless to say, most Michigan residents have their heat on at night, and many of us are keeping it on all day long — even now. And, it’s only going to get colder as Halloween gives way to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year. What many homeowners do not know, however, is that there is a way for them to save money on their home’s heating costs, starting right now.

Saniglow cleaning services of Brighton offers a service called thermography, or home thermal imaging, which allows you to see your home in a new light, quite literally. Using specialized cameras, Saniglow can show you where heat is leaking from your home and where cold air is coming in, which, using this information you can put a stop to cold air leaks and heat loss, which in turn will help you to heat your home more efficiently and ultimately can save you money on your home heating costs.

Saniglow’s infrared thermal imaging service is non-intrusive; the images are taken from outside your home, and the practice is safe — it will not harm or otherwise affect any person, animal, or object within your home. If you live anywhere in Livingston County or the surrounding areas — Brighton, Howell, Fowlerville, Hamburg, or Pinckney, look over their thermal imaging services, and contact them to receive a hassle-free quote for your home. While Michigan’s cold winters guarantee that you’ll have to heat your home, if you can stop or minimize hot air leaks, and keep the cold air from coming into your home, you’ll know how to minimize heat loss and cold air intrusion so that you can save some money on your home heating costs.

Visit Saniglow’s thermography services page.

Professional Carpet Cleaning – Why you Need It

Carpeting can be problematic, especially in Michigan where the weather can change like the minute hand on an analog wall clock. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner or a home owner — keeping your carpets clean can be a real challenge. While vacuuming may help aesthetically, unless you have a professional-grade, or high-dollar, vacuum cleaner, your vacuuming probably does little more to actually clean your carpets than sweeping it with a broom would do. Visual cleanliness aside, however, carpeting is no more “clean” because it looks good than a wiped-off plate that held raw chicken is “clean” because you don’t see any residue from the bacteria-ridden juice. So, maintaining a clean carpet is about more than just how it looks, and that’s why you really do need professional carpet cleaning services.

Unless you’re super-strict about who walks on your floors and how they do it — sans shoes with clean socks only — for instance, your carpeting will attract a whole host of elements that range from unappealing to outright infectious. However, vacuuming with a conventional vacuum, even if it’s backed up with the occasional steam cleaning or carpet shampoo, simply will not help you to clean your carpets sufficiently. Regardless of how you feel about door-to-door vacuum salespeople or the wares that they push, their demonstrations showcase a valid problem with department-store vacuum cleaners — they push more surface dirt around than they actually pick up, and they certainly do not remove the deeply-embedded elements.

Professional carpet cleaners, on the other hand, have the tools necessary to help you remove the dirt, grit, and allergens from your carpeting. While you can shampoo your carpeting, or steam clean it with a grocery-store steamer rental, if you aren’t cleaning your carpets completely to begin with, all you’re doing is adding water to the dirt, grit, and allergens that reside in your mat or at the bottom of your carpet where conventional vacuums simply cannot reach. As if creating ‘mud’ in your carpeting isn’t bad enough, the grit that stays in your carpeting can shorten the life of your carpeting substantially, especially in high-traffic areas.

While you may not need professional carpet cleaning services every week, it’s not a bad idea to bring some professional cleaners into your home or office every few months to clean your carpeting thoroughly. Not only will a good carpet cleaning extend the life of your carpeting, it will make it cleaner, and thus safer, for you and those who frequent your carpeted floors.

Saniglow is a Brighton, Michigan residential and commercial carpet cleaning company.

How important is virus protection?

The New York Times issued readers of its website on 9/14/2009 to beware of a virus pretending to be an advertisement.  If the New Your Times website isn’t safe, are any?  I doubt it.  Today with viruses being designed to take over your computer without you even knowing; it is imperative to keep up to date on virus protection.  One of our favorites is www.avira.com.  It is a low cost solution that protects everything you need.  Take a minute right now to make sure EVERY computer in your office has anti-virus on it, and is up to date.

CPS is a Livingston based company focusing on website design and computer consulting.

What does a website cost anyway?

Website design work requires a complete team of people to assemble.  From graphic design to general layout to text that is ready for Google and Yahoo to managing SEO effort, social networking, press releases and more.  It is important to find a reputable web design firm, and then find out what it should cost.  Most websites that do not offer ecommerce should run between $1500 and $4000.  Ecommerce sites (depending on web design and layout) should only add another $1500-$3000.  SEO marketing for most small businesses should be under $600 to get started and then progress as your budget does.

I’ve seen too many people pay $15,000 for a site that should have cost $2000. There are a ton of cons out there, so it is very important to do your homework.  Ask for references, web site design samples, and make sure you have a good vibe with the owner.  Any honest business person should be able to tell you what realm your project should cost, what you can expect realistically from search rankings, the benefits of search placement, and EXACTLY how they plan on designing your website.

Be wary of anyone promising you anything on search engines.  Many firms will guarantee 1st page rankings, ask them what their guarantee is.  Will they refund you all of the money for the project? How about some of the money? If not is it really a guarantee or just some hype work they are throwing around.

CPS is a Livingston based company focusing on website design and computer consulting.

Heatkeeper Windows Introduces Premium Vinyl Windows and Doors with Built-In Blinds

Taylor, Michigan – September 2, 2009 – Heatkeeper Windows, a Taylor, Michigan replacement window manufacturer, located online at www.heatkeeper.com, now offers premium replacement windows and sliding doors with blinds between the glass. Heatkeeper’s windows and doors are available to US residents nationwide through their website.

These days, when consumers are concerned with everything from their pocketbooks to the environment, Heatkeeper’s windows and doors appear address some of those concerns for homeowners looking perform related home improvement tasks. According to David Orr, owner of Heatkeeper Windows, “[Up] until recently if you wanted a quality window with blinds between the glass, they were only available in a Pella® wood window at the higher end of the of the price point.” Orr continues, “Now, through recent advances in technology, we are producing premium vinyl windows and sliding doors with blinds between the glass that not only tilt, but go up and down with the touch of a finger.”

Alongside the purported ease-of-use for Heatkeeper’s windows with blinds, the company exclusively utilizes Super Spacer® technology. Which, according to the Heatkeeper.com website, Super Spacer warm edge spacer products offer a higher R-Value, or resistance value, than traditional metal spacers do, which in turn provides better protection from heat transference through insulated windows. When combined with the low-e glass available through Heatkeeper Windows, consumers have a viable option for ‘going green’ through energy conservation, the ability to lower their heating bills through lower heat transfer, and potentially even qualify for a tax credit to further save them money.

On this point Orr adds, “This [Heatkeeper Windows’ website] allows you to order custom sizes, custom colors and all of the high tech window treatments needed to qualify for the current stimulus tax credit. All at a fraction of the cost of the comparable Pella windows.”

About Heatkeeper Windows

Heatkeeper Windows is a Taylor, Michigan replacement window manufacturer specializing in vinyl windows and doorwalls with blinds between the glass. Their blinds and sliding doors come with a choice of 33 colors to match exterior siding and interior trim. For more information on Heatkeeper’s products, visit http://www.heatkeeper.com

Maintain a Cleaner, Safer Home with Doorwalls with Blinds

As a home owner, it’s your responsibility to keep your home safe, and clean, for yourself, your family, and your loved ones. While doorwalls can add a significant amount of value to your home, both real and perceived, traditional, single-pane door walls, if you use traditional blinds with them, present two specific areas of concern: cleanliness and safety for kids and small pets. Here’s how you can maintain a safer, and cleaner, home by choosing doorwalls with blinds over single-pane door walls.

Cleanliness and Combating Allergies

Traditional blinds are dust and dirt magnets. It’s not the dirt from tiny little fingers and paws that cause issue; it’s the dust and all of the particles that collect on the blinds that can really wreak havoc on allergies and sensitivities within the home. While dusting your blinds is recommended if you want to keep your home clean; you are, time and time again, stirring up the particles and dust every time you clean your blinds.

By opting for door walls with blinds instead of traditional doorwalls, you can avoid this problem as the blinds are contained within the glass, not on the outside of the glass.

Safety Concerns of Doorwalls with Traditional Blinds

The biggest safety concerns about blinds, whether they are for replacement windows or doorwalls, is the choking and tripping hazards that the cords present. And, because doorwalls extend from the ceiling to the floor, the blind cords for door walls are longer than for windows, which just makes the case for safety even more important.

Kids, whether they are your own, your friends’ kids, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or kids of the four-legged variety, can easily hurt themselves on the cords for blinds. Additionally, long cords that are not kept up can be a hazard for you, too — getting your foot tangled up in a cord, especially at the wrong moment, can be exceedingly dangerous.

Because door walls with internal blinds do not require the use of cords, you alleviate the risks associated with using traditional blinds, and the costs associated with making your blinds kid-and-pet proof.

There are real benefits to choosing doorwalls with built-in blinds over single-pane doorwalls. They’re cleaner, they’re safer, and they are actually quite attractive.

When you’re looking to add on to your home, or replace your current doorwall, check out what HeatKeeper Windows has to offer. With 33 color choices, energy-efficient glass, better safety, and an overall great look for your home, it’s worth the look to see how HeatKeeper.com can help you with your home improvement needs.

Benefits of Windows with Blinds Inside

If you are shopping for replacement windows, consider designer Pella replacement windows with blinds in between them. There are many benefits of having windows with blinds built in them. If you have children, you probably know that their little hands can grab and bend things faster than you can be on top of it. Conventional mini blinds are ruined too easily. Once they are bent, they don’t sit right anymore, and that can be quite an eyesore. If your children don’t ruin your blinds, there is a pretty good chance that your pet might.

Another benefit of having windows with blinds between the glass is that you will have one less thing to dust in your home. Dust, pet dander, and dirt cannot penetrate between the glass of these designer replacement windows. You can have peace of mind that they will always look fresh, clean, and new as the day they were first put in.

You can be happy to know that there are no cords. These replacement windows with blinds are completely safe because they have nothing out in the open hanging from them that could hurt a small child or pet, unlike conventional mini blinds that have dangerous and unsightly cords that hang from them. These blinds between the windows are slim and never bulky. They can come in a hard plastic, wood, or cloth material. You can decide which material works for your personal design style and needs.

By having windows that contain blinds between them, it will create a more insulated type of window. That will lead to energy savings throughout your home. Heating and cooling costs will come down dramatically. Anyone that is eco-friendly can appreciate the energy savings that will result from changing out their regular windows and replacing them with these types of replacement windows in their homes.

If anyone in your home has allergies or health problems, having these replacement windows with blinds between the glass will help cut down on the total percentage of allergens in the environment of your home. There won’t be anything soft hanging from your windows that can attract dust, dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens. This is very beneficial for those who suffer from severe allergies, have compromised immune systems, or asthma.

An obvious reason for getting replacement windows with blinds is the stylish factor. They look great in any setting. Different vendors provide different features, but many of these windows with internal blinds allow you to color match your home, inside and out, perfectly. By purchasing designer replacement windows, you no longer have to pay high-end prices to get a high-class look in your home. These specialized windows create a unique and modern look for your home, which is sure to be the talk of the town, or at least your circle of friends or family.

So, if you’re looking into purchasing new windows for your home, check out the options for replacement windows with internal blinds. Over the last couple of years, due to the number of Pella replacements available, blinds between the glass windows have become a luxury item that just about any homeowner can afford.

If you are in the market for replacement windows, check out Heatkeeper.com’s windows and doorwalls with blinds. You can choose from 33 colors, and their high-quality windows are manufactured in the USA. Visit www.heatkeeper.com for more information.

Insulated Windows and Home Energy Savings

As winter approaches, many people are looking for ways to save a little money on energy costs. The cost of gasoline might go down, but in cold climates a lot of those savings are spent on keeping the house warm enough to be livable. There are always the simple ways to keep costs down, such as dressing in warmer clothing or staying physically active, but the advantages of superior technology are allowing customers a greater number of options, many of which can be built right into the structure of their homes. Homeowners are replacing old seals around doorways, purchasing thicker and more insulated carpets, and installing more energy efficient heating units.

One increasingly popular trend in home energy savings is the use of energy efficient insulated windows. There is a significant advantage with this type of energy savings — it offers a passive, or ongoing, savings rather than saving money simply one time. Instead of having to check the thermostat and debate whether to turn it off for a few hours to save some money, homeowners can simply install these insulated windows and enjoy the benefits for no additional effort. Additionally, these windows aren’t a compromise in savings over appearance; most providers have a variety of styles available to choose from. There are even options for those who prefer windows with blinds, as many new models of insulated window include internal blinds for the homeowner to adjust.

Some of the best savings come from a combination of technologies. For example, Low-E windows serve to retain the heat in a house both by reflecting it inward instead of allowing it to escape outside, and by collecting passive heat from sunlight. However, even Low-E windows will not retain all of this heat if installed with, say, a plain metal spacing unit. Metals are generally conductors, and they will allow heat to seep out around the window, reducing the potential savings. The key is to combine the insulated window with a nonmetal spacer that doesn’t allow for such seepage, such as Super Spacer units.

With these combined technologies, heat is retained in multiple ways, maximizing the effect of both technologies, and returning the initial investment faster than either technology would alone. Additionally, the energy efficiency will not stop with the cold weather. Proper home insulation is as beneficial to home cooling as it is to home heating, which will provide energy insulation savings year round, year after year.

HeatKeeper.com offers affordable Pella replacement windows that feature windows with blinds and Low-E technology to help save energy costs. For more information, visit www.heatkeeper.com.

Traditional Windows or Windows with Blinds?

If you’re in the market for some new replacement windows, you have more than a few choices. However, in these days when wallets are tightening and ‘going green’ is the reoccurring theme, you’re probably considering insulated windows with Low-E glass; not only can you receive a tax credit for these windows, but they’ll help lower your monthly heating bills, and they’ll help minimize your impact on our world’s limited natural resources. When you’re weighing out your choices for a new set of replacement windows, consider the benefits of buying windows with blinds between the glass.

Blinds between the glass windows do not have to be expensive, though they certainly look like they belong in a high-end hotel or a modern, upscale home. In fact, when you consider the long-term money saving benefits of purchasing insulated windows, if you opt for windows with internal blinds, the price compared to traditional replacement windows is oftentimes negligible. Moreover, when you are replacing multiple windows in your home, many manufacturers or vendors will install the windows for free or at a discounted rate.

Now, the benefits of buying windows with blinds inside is not limited to a ‘high class’ look that you can add to your home, though that is certainly one of the many perks.

For instance, if you have small kids or pets, you know the kind of havoc that they can wreak on traditional blinds, whether they are vertical or horizontal. They can’t seem to keep their little fingers or paws off from the blinds; that leads to cracks, outright breakage, and plenty of time spent on washing and re-washing the blinds, plus constantly struggling to keep the blinds, and their dangerous cords, out of the reach of your little ones. If you have windows with blinds built-in, you do not have to worry about any of these problems. The blinds are encased within the window, and there aren’t any cords sticking out where you or your little ones could trip or get hurt on.

Additionally, windows with blinds between the glass do not allow the blinds to get dirty. If you’ve used traditional blinds for any amount of time, you know that they are dust and dirt magnets. They collect everything that is floating in the air at your home, and then some. Sure, a bit of light dusting every other day or so isn’t so bad, but it’s not just about the dust collection, it’s about the dust and allergens floating through the air every time you clean off your blinds. If anybody in your family has allergies or asthma, you know the importance of keeping your air as clean as possible. Windows with internal blinds can actually help you to minimize the amount of particles floating around because your blinds will not collect dust, and you won’t be ‘dusting’ them, to stir up all of the particles.

There are many reasons why you should choose energy efficient windows as replacements for your current windows. Likewise, there are many reasons why you should consider windows with blinds inside them over traditional double-pane windows. Not only are windows with blinds easier to maintain, they add a touch of finesse to your home, your two-or-four-legged kids cannot mess with them, and they leave you breathing a little bit easier. It certainly is worth a look to see if windows with internal blinds will be a fitting replacement for your current windows.

HeatKeeper Windows is a Pella replacement window provider and specializes in windows with blinds between the glass.

Green Windows with Blinds – Save Money in Style

With the current excitement about “going green” to protect the environment and improve lives, many people are wondering what steps they can take to make their homes more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. A great step would be to consider green windows with blinds between the glass.

Windows have come a long way from old-fashioned, single pane glass. Once the norm, these energy nightmares would let in excessive amounts of heat in the summer and let out equal amounts of purchased heat in the winter. People would resort to unattractive solutions in an attempt to insulate their windows against the weather, such as hanging blankets or lining windows with aluminum foil. Double pane glass is considered the norm now, and these windows are much better insulated. Innovations like low-e glass have significantly lowered heating and cooling bills for many people. A low-e coating, which stands for low-emissivity, reflects rather than absorbing heat, resulting in much less heat transference through the glass.

Windows take another energy leap forward, though, when they’re green windows with blinds between the glass. With these windows, a set of blinds in your choice of colors come permanently hung within the window itself, between the panes of glass. There are many benefits to considering these windows for your home.

Green windows with blinds between the glass will allow you to save significant money on your heating and cooling bills. This is a double pane window with low-e coating, plus the additional insulating benefit of the blinds between the glass. Summer heat won’t get into your home, and Jack Frost will be kept out in the winter. You’ll be amazed by how well these windows insulate.

The blinds between the glass are very stylish, too. It creates a streamlined look for your home, without flopping blinds hanging on the windows. Imagine how much easier it will be to clean. When you have green windows with blinds between the glass, you’ll never have to dust your blinds again – they won’t collect any. You’ll have a much easier time cleaning your windows, too, without blinds in the way. Think how fresh the sunshine will look when it’s not highlighting the dust on your blinds or dirt on your windows.

You’ll be able to choose how much or little of that sunlight you want to see, too. Just as with traditional blinds, you can tilt blinds between the glass to any angle you want from a control on the outside of the glass. In some models, you can also raise or lower the blinds.

Another benefit of green windows with blinds between the glass is that your blinds will always look brand new. Not only don’t they collect dust, they can’t be bent or scratched or pulled out of shape by pets or children. Your blinds between the glass will look perfect for years to come.

If you want to save money on bills, make your life easier, and make your home cleaner and more inviting, you should consider green windows with blinds between the glass. You’ll be glad you did.

HeatKeeper.com offers affordable green replacement windows that feature windows with blinds and Low-E technology to help save energy costs. For more information, visit www.heatkeeper.com.