For Home Repair: Keep it Simple, Keep it 'Green'

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How big is your footprint on the earth? America is going leaner and greener and so can you. Even if you can't afford to build a state of the art, environmentally correct new home or totally remodel the one you have to be more energy efficient, you can take some steps that will ease the drain on the earth's resources and your pocket book.

If you have a limited budget, address the most obvious energy "thieves" in your home. Energy efficient heating and air conditioning units and appliances are investments that pay off in the long run with lower energy bills. So when they break, replace them with Energy Star-rated models. If you can't afford to swap out those single pane, air-leaking windows for energy efficient units, at least seal them. A low cost and earth friendly practice is to conserve water by repairing leaky fixtures and installing low flow showerheads, faucets and toilets. And start using energy efficient and increasingly affordable lighting.

One thing that we can all do right now is ease the pressure on our landfills by fixing what we have with earth friendly products. The old myth that if it is "green," it's not strong enough to do the job, is no longer true. Improved technology is bringing us high performing green products. We also need to look for green products that couple performance with versatility. We can no longer afford a garage or cabinet full of "specialty" products that are designed to do only one thing.

In fact, the easiest way to make our footprint smaller on the planet is to simplify by choosing versatile green products that can provide a variety of high quality solutions to home upkeep.

Glue is a good example. Most households have at least six types of glues and sealants: Different glues for different materials, glues that seal, glues that are water resistant or UV resistant, glues that require special clamping, glues that are paintable and sandable. The list goes on and our shelves and landfills fill up with spent tubes and packaging from these "specialty" glues, most of them with a high level of toxicity.

Look for products like Amazing EcoGlue® -- a water- based, odor-free adhesive for the home that is able to bond with industrial strength to almost any material indoors and out. Amazing EcoGlue® manages to outperform even the popular urethane glues that foam when applied. Yet it is environmentally safe (less than 1% volatile organic compounds) for the whole family. This is a versatile adhesive with virtually no hazardous air pollutants and no animal derivatives. Even the bottle and packaging are recyclable.

Amazing EcoGlue® is simple to use and requires no mixing or special tools. It dries to a tough film with exceptional water resistance. Use it on most anything with confidence. It performs with industrial strength on almost any material, including wood, stone, ceramic, glass, Styrofoam® and more. The glue works particularly well on projects or repairs involving wood. This is an earth-friendly power adhesive that can keep the whole house in shape without polluting the environment. Learn more at www.ecoglue.com.