Experts say that if you care for your drapes properly, you may never have to dry clean them. The degree and frequency of care depends on environmental pollutants (from open windows, traffic exhaust, smoke, etc.). Regular maintenance is more important and cost effective than dry cleaning. You want to prevent dust build-up on the front and back of draperies. Dust on the backside will attract the sun’s destructive rays like a magnet. This speeds up deterioration of the lining and drapery fabric.

Shake the drapes while hanging to knock off dust or vacuum with an upholstery brush. Don’t use the same upholstery brush you use on furniture as it may have broken bristles that will damage the drapery fabric. Read more

Nowadays, when you take electronic items (e-waste) to the dump, it’s likely you will have to pay a disposal fee. That’s on top of a recycling fee you may have paid at the time of purchase. A computer monitor can easily cost $25 to unload. Another option is to take your e-waste to a recycling center where they accept everything from computer cords, cell phones, stereos and speaker wires to remote controls, TVs and VCRs.

E-waste recyclers act as middlemen who make sure these items are dissembled properly and anything of value is put to use again.  Some parts are valuable. For every 4,000 pounds of e-waste, for example, three ounces of gold are extracted from circuit connections and microchips. Read more

Flea collars aren’t the best way to keep fleas off your cats and dogs. Watch this video to learn why. Read more

In case you missed the Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary celebration last weekend, here’s a great video of the massive fireworks display. Read more

By Carolyn Pimentel, Vice President of Pimentel Paving, Inc.

It’s hard to believe that only 30 years ago, my uncle built houses based on a hand shake—he did the work as desired and got paid when his clients were happy. Unfortunately, those days are over. We live in a time when business ethics and morality are things of the past. We think we protect ourselves by asking for references, looking at past work, getting three or more estimates and checking with the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), but that’s still not enough in many cases.

What if you discovered that the references your contractor provided were actually family members posing as past clients? Read more