Air Cleaning Tips that Help Your Indoor Air Quality all Winter Long

As winter drags on in Omaha, this time of year can be tough on your indoor air quality. The house has been closed off to the elements for months, but it’s not yet warm enough outside to open up the windows. Dust, mold, and other allergens build up as a result, making it harder to breathe and worsening the symptoms of respiratory ailments.

Luckily, you don’t need to wait for spring to arrive to do something about your indoor air quality in Omaha. Follow these tips to purify your air through the last weeks of winter.

Change the Air Filter on Your Furnace Regularly

Air filters on furnaces trap dust and other contaminants from the air. When they fill up, these pollutants can spread all over your home. To keep your air fresh, it’s important to change the air filter on your furnace at least once every three months. For maximum performance, install a new one every four weeks. You may also want to consider investing in High Efficiency Particulate Air filters, otherwise known as HEPA filters. These cost a bit more, but trap particulate matter down to the microscopic level.

Install a Humidifier

Few consider the role of humidity in indoor air quality, yet controlling indoor moisture levels is one of the surest ways to enhance the air you breathe. Omaha’s Indoor air can be drier than a desert during the winter months, so it’s important to invest in a humidifier. Installing a humidity gauge can help you to adjust your new humidifier to an optimal level. For maximum comfort, try to keep your indoor humidity between 30 to 50 percent during the winter.

Watch Out for Mold

In Omaha mold and mildew are some of the biggest drivers of poor indoor air quality. In homes where humidity levels are too high, the buildup of mold can become an issue. To control mold, make sure to keep your humidity levels under control, and watch out for any water leaks through your attic or into your basement. If mold has built up to unhealthy levels, you may want to hire a mold remediation specialist to clean up the mess and keep it from coming back.

Consider Air Filters and Purifiers

While removing the source of pollution is the best way to improve the indoor air quality of your Omaha home, a number of air filtration and purification products can be an effective complement. Air purifiers equipped with UV lights can be mounted inside the ductwork of your home. As air passes through, the light kills off any traces of bacteria, mold, and mildew. To clear additional particulate matter like dust and pollen from the air, you can add a high-efficiency air cleaner to your home’s central air system. The most sophisticated models can capture more than 99 percent of airborne dust, dirt, pollen, and other materials.

To learn more about products that improve filtration and air cleaning inside your Omaha home, visit our indoor air cleaning and air filtration page. To schedule an at-home indoor air quality inspection with a qualified professional, visit us online.

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficient HVAC Systems in Columbus OH

If you live in a place like Columbus, OH that experiences all four seasons, heating and cooling your Columbus home may account for a significant portion of your annual energy bills. Although most homeowners would be happy to see a monthly decrease in their utility spending, many hesitate to replace their HVAC system because they think that the appliances or the installation will be too expensive. But since Congress recently reinstated the 25C federal tax credit, more people can now afford to install energy-efficient equipment.

25C Tax Credit Basics
This credit allows homeowners to deduct 10% of the cost of replacing their HVAC system, up to a total of $500. Though it originally expired on December 31, 2011, the new legislation retroactively extended the qualifying period from January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2013. So, whether you’ve replaced your system in the past year or plan to this year, you may be eligible. However, the 25C tax credit does not apply to every single furnace, air conditioner, and boiler available on the market. In order to qualify for the deduction, homeowners must purchase appliances with certain minimum energy-efficiency ratings.

Qualifying Air Conditioners
Each new air conditioner receives a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER), which tells you how much of the electrical energy the unit uses is converted into cooling output. Since 2006, all new units must have a minimum SEER of 13, but in order to qualify for the 25C tax credit, your unit must meet stricter standards. The air conditioners in package systems must have a SEER no less than 14, while units that are part of split systems must have a SEER no less than 16.

Qualifying Heating Systems
Because heating systems use a variety of different fuels, their efficiency is expressed as a number called the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). The AFUE tells you what percentage of the fuel the unit burned was actually converted to heat. Oil-fired and electric furnaces must have a minimum AFUE of 78%. In order to qualify for 25C tax credits, systems must meet a more stringent standard: They must have a minimum
AFUE of 95%.

Qualifying Heat Pumps
Heat pumps, which simply move thermal energy from one area to another, can both warm up and cool down your home. Heat pumps thus receive two efficiency ratings: SEER for their summer efficiency and Heating Season Performance Factor (HSPF) for their winter efficiency. Package heat pumps that qualify for the tax credit must have a minimum SEER of 14 and HSPF of 8, while split systems must have a minimum SEER of 15 and HSPF of 8.5.

To get see if you qualify to get this tax credit you should have your accountant help you fill out the necessary paperwork, and you should consult a qualified HVAC expert in Columbus who can help you find qualifying systems within your budget. Visit our website to learn more about the
energy efficient heating and cooling systems we offer in Columbus, OH and the surrounding communities.

In the United States year-old child is no cure for HIV

In the U.S. state of Mississippi recorded cumulative treatment of HIV infection. Year-old girl was lucky. Doctors explain the treatment that the girl took a few powerful drugs at birth.
Doctors from Mississippi (USA) announced the miracle happened. From human immunodeficiency virus completely cured year-old child, who was born with the disease.

According to Wall Street Journal, a cure for HIV girl, whose age - two and a half years. Doctors believe that it happened after the aggressive drug treatment, which began immediately after the birth. Doctors performed highly active antiretroviral therapy, which is the simultaneous reception of three or four drugs.

Doctors risk their license, as such therapy is usually not carried out since the first days of life of patients with HIV. The fact that a precise diagnosis is possible only after four to six weeks after birth. But this time, the doctors decided to take a chance. The World Health Organization declared that now can be changed the whole system of registration and treatment of hundreds of thousands of children born with unfortunate virus. If the effectiveness of the new treatment system will be confirmed, it can get a great spread. The Wall Street Journal reminds us that this is not the first time to cure HIV infection. In 2007, a man managed to heal, he transplanted bone marrow. The operation took place in Berlin.

As for the year-old girl, something about her healing became known after a recent analysis. Their study showed that the baby's body is no more traces of HIV. Scientists say that this is incredible. Baby took a course of aggressive therapy. She then it stopped, then patients usually die within two to three weeks. But she instead fully recovered. However, this is an isolated case, so do not claim that they found a new treatment for AIDS.

The smallest in the world teacher

Because of a rare hormonal disease 22-year-old Singh Azad (Azad Singh) of Haryana state in northern India has stopped growing at 5 years of age.

 His parents were poor, so they could not buy growth hormones for her son. Azad is now growing about 1 meter.



Because of small stature, he was subjected to abuse by their peers, who have promised to sell him to the circus. Even at the age of 18 he was accepted for the child. However, the constant bullying steel Azad incentive to change their lives for the better.



At 22, he was able to become a teacher of computer science at a local school for girls. To write on the board, he gets up on the desk. Schoolgirl called him «Chotu», which means "Little Sir."

Azad Singh now earns 10,000 rupees a month (a little less than 6000 rubles). Now he has a job, and people began to treat him with respect.


Azad Singh gets up on the table to make it easier to write on the board.

Azad and his 19-year-old sister, Lakshmi, who also suffers from a hormonal disorder, but to a much lesser extent. Her height allows her brother to ride a scooter.

Science teacher Azad Singh sits next to the computers in the classrooms.

Azad Singh and his 52-year-old mother Parvati.

Shock! Bank offered to sell the child to the debtor on the bodies!

To repay the debt in the amount of 150 thousand rubles, a client of the bank offered to sell organs or their child.

In Chelyabinsk, a local resident Irene turned into one of the branches of the bank "Russian Standard" to take out a loan in the amount of 40 thousand rubles. 

She needed money for drugs, doctors suspected she had cancer of the brain. For a while Irina regularly pays fees on the loan, as long as her condition has not worsened, and she lost her job. After that, Irina asked the bank to change the schedule of payments in order to pay less. But after a while her bank debt increased from 40 to 150 rubles.
After that, the woman began to call with threats. She urged to return the money. However, some calls did not stop. After some time, Irene began to receive letters in which she recommended to sell their bodies, attached to the letter of their value in the "black market." In addition, in a letter to the child she was offered to sell her family, writing that he is really valuable and "tripe on the market for it will give in dollars."

In a letter written by hand, the number of the credit agreement, Irina and her bank account. However, representatives of the "Russian Standard" deny being so aggressive pressure on the debtor. They explained that such methods are often collectors, which the banks 'sell' customers were not able to repay the loan.

Irina turned for help to the police first, and then the prosecutor's office, but she was not a criminal case, saying that there is no threat in the letters. Irina went on, but of the 12 structures in which she applied, including the Ombudsman and the presidential envoy in the Chelyabinsk region, has agreed to help her only local CPS.

The official response of the bank "Russian Standard":

"The information in the article Lifenews, is not true and is a provocation against the Russian Standard Bank. The article gives an absolutely false data on the amount of debt, working methods with clients, distorted or absent any hard facts: for example, intentionally distorted the fact that the Bank restructured loans to customers as early as 2012, with the official letter from the bank customer and telephone conversations with clients and replace handwritten forgeries. "

Russian Standard Bank

"Glory to Russia!": Depardieu officially register in Mordovia

Famous French actor Gerard Depardieu has completed the move to Russia. As a law-abiding citizen, he designed the residence in the capital of Mordovia Saransk. The place of residence was the building in the center of Saransk, at number one on the street Democratic. The actor lived in the apartment relatives Director Gosfilmofond Borodacheva Russia Nikolai, his longtime friend.

About the design registration Minister Valery Maresyev print Mordovia. According to officials, getting a passport with a stamp on the place of
residence, the actor said: "Glory to Russia, thank Mordovia. It is a region that does not have oil and gas, but the rich people who bring ideas to life. "

Gerard Depardieu also said that the decision to settle in Mordovia - not spontaneous, and deeply thoughtful. In this country he plans to build a house and open a restaurant.

To protest against Putin in Moscow, no one came

Announced in social networks to protest Kaluga Square in Moscow, "A national march in defense of the fatherland" had failed: it appeared only the police and journalists. March was supposed to start in 14 hours. As participants in the page "VKontakte" registered 4,500.

Objectives of the event in the social network "VKontakte" zachilis demands resignation of Vladimir Putin and the dissolution of the Duma. "February 23, 2013 - Defenders of the Fatherland. Representatives of all
opposition forces in Russia are going to protect our country from the power of the traitors and corrupt "- called the organizers.

After the media reported that the march did not come any party, there were reports that the purpose of the event was to "leave the police without a holiday and no days off."