Rockford Celebrates its Misery

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17!  Take this opportunity to celebrate and view the YouTube video about Rockford.  Home Environment Center salutes our city and the positive things we all appreciate.

We see people in misery every day – whether they have the “Winter Blues”, allergies to their environment, bed bug and dust mite problems, smelly water, houses that have odors (housitosis) and more!  We turn misery into something positive every day and our customers are happy.  Call us at 815 282-9000 or visit our website.

Rockford Celebrates its Misery

St. Patrick’s Day is March 17!  Take this opportunity to celebrate and view the YouTube video about Rockford.  Home Environment Center salutes our city and the positive things we all appreciate.

We see people in misery every day – whether they have the “Winter Blues”, allergies to their environment, bed bug and dust mite problems, smelly water, houses that have odors (housitosis) and more!  We turn misery into something positive every day and our customers are happy.  Call us at 815 282-9000 or visit our website.

In 102 days, the Olympics will arrive. Are you in training for an Olympic size allergy headache?

Blueair air purifier

The Olympics are coming to London in 30 days.  Many athletes and spectators will arrive with Olympic size headaches due to allergens in the air in England.  Mold, dust, and pollen top the list.  You don’t have to be at the Olympics to be affected by allergies, however. 

Recently, Blueair air purifiers have been rated at the top for effectiveness in removing allergens from the air.  Springtime has sprung in northern Illinois followed by a hot and dry summer.  The air is full of pollen, dust, and mold spores.  Allergists will tell you, in addition to using dust mite proof bedding, one of the best things you can do to reduce your exposure to these allergens is to use a HEPA air purifier, especially in your bedroom.  Breathing clean air at night allows you to go into the deepest forms of sleep, enabling your immune system to repair itself.  Your body will be better able to heal itself and ward off infections and illnesses.

Do you know how to reduce your exposure to springtime allergens?

Spring has arrived early in the midwest!

Springtime allergens are causing havoc in the midwest!  People are coming into the Home Environment Center with complaints of runny noses and sinus congestion.  We nearly sold out of our most popular sinus nasal spray, Xlear. If you suffer from seasonal allergies in the spring, try to avoid spending time in places with lots of flowering trees.  Pine trees are a major source of pollen, as well.  When the wind blows, you can see clouds of pollen blowing off most trees and you not only breathe these particles in, but you carry them inside when they land in your hair and in your clothes. Doctors recommend that people with severe seasonal allergies leave clothes outside and shower as soon as possible when they come inside to limit their exposure.  Don’t open your windows but use your air conditioning if temperatures get too warm. Nasal irrigation and sinus nasal sprays like Xlear will soothe sinus passages and will help relieve some of the discomfort you will be having. Air purifiers will clean the air in your home and will filter pollen out of the air so you don’t breathe it in.

Stop in or call the Home Environment Center to learn more about products which will help you deal with springtime allergies.

Bed bugs are traveling all over. Do you know how to spot them? They know how to spot you!

Adult bedbugs

Bedbugs in Rockford, Illinois?  No one believes this.  But, they’re here!!!

It’s important to learn how to identify bedbugs.  A friend of mine found one on the upholstered pew in church recently.  One customer came into the Home Environment Center fearful that she had an infestation of bed bugs!  “What makes you think that?” I asked.  “Because I heard your commercials on the radio and you mentioned that bed bugs create pepper-like specks around the bed and on the bedding.  I noticed that I have bites on my legs!  I am terrified.  I am so glad that you do those commercials, because I wouldn’t have known what was going on otherwise.  I googled it on the internet and I am sure that’s what I am seeing in my bedroom.” 

I checked with my local pest control expert to get some more information to help our customers.  “Did you know that a starvation diet for a bed bug is MORE than 365 days?” he asked.  “They can live without feeding on mammals for over a year.  They find their food source by smelling carbon dioxide and following it.  So, if you move out of your bedroom and onto your living room couch to escape the bed bugs, they will follow you and will then infest that!”

mature bedbug

A mattress and box springs is a major investment.  To protect that investment.  You have to encase everything, including your pillows, with encasings.  Encasings are breatheable fabric covers which resemble a pillowcase with a zipper on one end.  They create a barrier which does not allow dust mites OR bed bugs to penetrate.  Bed bugs live in cracks and crevices in walls, baseboards, headboards, furniture, etc.  They come out when it’s dark and feed on your blood.  They can be razor thin – thinner than a credit card.  It is very important that you treat your home for bed bugs as SOON as you spot the problem.  A pest control expert that is experienced in this problem should be called in immediately.  All mattresses, pillows, and box springs should be covered to keep the bed bugs from infesting them.  If you spot bedbugs early, you can eliminate them before they get firmly established.

When traveling, avoid putting your luggage on the floor of the hotel room.  Keep things on hangers and on luggage racks.  Look for evidence of bedbugs, which can be dark red specks (dried blood) or tiny flecks (bed bug “poop”).  If you see any signs of bedbugs, ask for a different room.  Go online and read everything you can to educate yourself on this topic.  Bedbugs are a terrible nuisance and are extremely hard to get rid of once they have made your home their home.  It is possible to find bedbugs hiding in second hand clothing and furniture, rental cars, and airplanes.  Learn how to spot them and be aware!

February 14, 2012 is really Customer Appreciation Day!

Thank you for 16 years of business!

We usually think of Valentine’s Day as the day we cherish our spouse or significant other.  At the Home Environment Center, we cherish all of our customers and our friends as well!  This is a day that we want to recognize all of those people – our Valentines – who have helped make our business strong as we celebrate our 16th year.

We celebrate clean air and water, non-toxic cleaning products, healthy living and allergy relief products and our good friends.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

What people are saying about the “winter blues”

Chase away the "winter blues"

Living in a northern climate, I am hearing a lot of people complaining about the “winter blues” this time of year.  We feel like sleeping late in the morning, we feel “down”, we crave carbs, and we become couch potatoes.  I rarely hear my friends in Florida complaining about these things. 

Research has shown that underexposure to natural daylight can result in sleeplessness, the winter blues, fatigue, and increased appetite.  Many people are mildly affected by the winter blues and can improve their mood by using light therapy.  At the Home Environment Center, you can purchase a HappyLight by Verilux which can be placed on your desk or near your work surface.  HappyLights by Verilux deliver spectrally balanced and measured light, helping the body recalibrate and normalize function.  Improvements in energy, concentration and mood are common when using light therapy.

No-salt “water softeners”: Is the QUICK way always the BEST way to fix your water problems?

Water Purification

If you have heard celebrities touting the virtues of “no-salt” water softeners, you might think that this is a miraculous solution to the hard water we have in Rockford and northern Illinois.  The truth about these quick solutions is this:  they don’t work in our area!  In theory, they are designed to make the hardness minerals (calcium, magnesium, etc.) stay in suspension so they don’t stick to your pipes, water heater, or appliances.  They DON’T soften the water, so you will have to continue using huge quantities of soap for washing clothes, bathing, etc.

We have such hard water in our area that these “no-salt” devices just cannot accomplish what advanced water softeners can do.  Improved technology allows the Home Environment Center to correctly size water softeners for each home for maximum efficiency with the minimum of salt.  Our water softeners only regenerate on demand, when the softening capacity has been exhausted.  Older models of water softeners used to regenerate every 3 or 4 days, regardless of usage.  Newer technologies allow us to adjust the settings to accommodate all kinds of hardness and iron levels in our water.

Call us at the Home Environment Center at 815-282-9000 if you have problems with your water and would like expert solutions.  We will do a free water quality check in your home at no charge.  And remember, the QUICK solution is probably not the BEST solution to hard water problems.

Black Friday Fever – 98.6 degrees F – DANGER!!!

Black Friday Fever

Are you infected with Black Friday Fever?  It’s a new human disease which began about 1966.  Body temperature stays about normal but the brain begins to crave bargains.  People cannot think rationally.  They begin to run around at 3 in the morning – before the turkey has even been digested in their stomach.  They race to the nearest store in search of the latest electronic bargains, toys, clothes, etc.  Sometimes, they even buy things they don’t even need!  Eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep, blood pressure skyrockets, and blood sugar readings reach abnormal levels.

If you are affected with any of these conditions, please do NOT call your doctor.  Instead, please relax on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving.  Get up and have a nice glass of pure water or coffee made from reverse osmosis water.  Read the paper and enjoy a leisurely morning while most of the residents of your city are beating themselves up trying to find a parking place.  About noon, things will calm down.  The disease has begun to subside and those affected are now napping at home.

Make your way to the Home Environment Center where you will see a wide array of wonderful environmentally friendly products.  There are allergy products like dust mite and bed bug proof bedding, air purifiers, non-toxic cleaning products, full spectrum lighting and Happy Lights to help combat Seasonal Affective Disorder.  You will also find reverse osmosis systems, water softeners, chlorine removing shower heads and water by the gallon.  Enjoy a complimentary glass of chilled purified water and RELAX!!!  It’s 365 days until Black Friday next year and you now know how to avoid catching the dreaded Black Friday Fever!

Rockford residents – don’t forget to add at least 3 or 4 bags of salt every time you fill your brine tank!

Soft water is so important in areas around Rockford, Illinois.  Our water is so hard that without a water softener, we have to use 3 or 4 times the amount of soap for washing clothes, dishes, etc.  Hot water heaters lime up quickly with a big fat layer of ROCK!  Yes, ROCK!  Glasses become filmy and dull and plates and silverware develop water spots.

Water softeners are a necessity here in Rockford, and the Home Environment Center specializes in efficient models which only regenerate on demand.  It’s important to size the softener to the size of the plumbing in the home, the number of bathrooms, and the number of people.  Efficient “on demand” water softeners use 40% less salt than earlier models which were set to regenerate every 3 or 4 days regardless of the amount of water used.  These “on demand” softeners count the number of gallons of water going through the unit and only regenerate when necessary.  If the brine tank runs out of salt, the softener goes through its regeneration cycle but no softening occurs.  So, do remember to keep your brine tank filled with salt!  If you have a power outage, you also need to reset the time on the softener.  Some models have a internal back-up which will store the settings in memory for up to 48 hours.

If you have any questions about water softeners, please comment in the box below this post or call us at 815-282-9000.