How the US Government is changing your appliances and late summer rodents

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[00:00:30] Eric Goranson: Then it's catching the lint inside. So it's not actually spending that, uh, and kicking that outside. So one, you don't have the dryer energy that you're spending. Two, you don't have to worry about the lint in the duct. And three, it's going to save you a fair amount of money. So when it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know.

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[00:01:15] Eric Goranson: Well, today I wanted to talk about, in this episode some of the controversy that's been going around with the E P A, and that's the Environmental Protection Agency. And. Them trying to change how we purchase appliances here in the US and they have been making some serious changes and proposed changes that are happening across the board that are going to affect, I think, everything from ranges to water heaters to gas appliances.

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[00:02:04] Eric Goranson: I love heat pump water heaters 'cause they save you a ton of money. But here is where the issues are gonna come up because if I go over to, let's say I jump over to Home Depot for instance, and this is where it starts to add up a little bit, a water heater over there for a really just a basic electric.

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[00:02:49] Eric Goranson: So there is a huge difference for price and where I think I have a problem with them. Legislating it, even though it's gonna pay for itself really quickly. I think people, you know, [00:03:00] Mr. And Mrs. Smith that are in their eighties, that the water heater's dying and they can't afford 1700 to 2,500 bucks, or they can barely afford the four to 500 bucks for the water heater, let alone what has to be done for the install.

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[00:03:42] Eric Goranson: So there's where the issues are and that's one of those things where things get into trouble. When it comes to costs, but it pays for itself quickly. It's that initial investment. All right, so let's get into the reasoning of why we're having issues here. And this is kind of an important one. [00:04:00] Here's the thing.

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[00:04:22] Eric Goranson: So that's why they're trying to force these more energy efficient appliances. 'cause for them it's cheaper than it is to turn around and do it any other way. So that's one of 'em. And there's no question here, they're wanting to remove natural gas from the marketplace. That's not a secret. Uh, that's something that is a goal right now.

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[00:05:13] Eric Goranson: Because here's the thing, if, if gas is out there as an option, right, and you have a gas water heater, a gas furnace, and all of a sudden electricity rates go up 10 times, I'm not saying they will, but we don't know that. Right? Then all of a sudden, electricity, they lose customers because, or they lose a lot of customers.

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[00:05:54] Eric Goranson: And so that's where that can get kind of interesting. So that is something that is, to me, a big concern. [00:06:00] Now here's the other issue that I see with this that I think is a challenge. We're trying to get rid of all the different gas appliances in the house. So the ranges is a big one, and you've heard me talk about it, but I'm gonna cover it here.

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[00:06:48] Eric Goranson: It's a great system. It has been around for decades. I mean, GE was selling these units in the United States in the late nineties because you could actually buy an electric, [00:07:00] uh, induction cooktop back then 'cause it's been in Europe for decades. So it's not new technology, it's just new to the us. And yes, it's more efficient than gas.

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[00:07:32] Eric Goranson: So I can turn a induction range on. I can sit a piece of printer paper down on top of it and put a stock pot on top of it and boil water and have a, and you know, have some crabs. And that's okay because it doesn't. Hurt the paper. So the only thing with the cooktop that makes it easy to clean is the cooktops only getting hot from contact from a hot pan.

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[00:08:14] Eric Goranson: So for somebody else, they might have to turn around and spend three or 400 bucks on an inexpensive pan set to be able to cook with. So you have more for the range. And then of course you have more for the cookware as well. Now that isn't as big a deal as like what you're talking about with the water heaters and stuff, but it's something that adds up.

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[00:08:56] Eric Goranson: Gotcha. And with [00:09:00] their no electricity standards out there for pricing, I could see that being a problem. And so it's something that I think, um, It's a conversation we should all be having. I mean, I love my electric utility here. They do a great job for me. They're easy to work with. I have no problems with 'em.

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[00:09:47] Eric Goranson: I.

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[00:09:55] Eric Goranson: so many people.[00:10:00]

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[00:10:29] Eric Goranson: Uh, before we get to that though, I wanted to say, Hey, if you wanna find out more about us, head over to around the house online.com for the website and then you can find the videos there from my around the House Northwest Television Show. We've got hundreds of videos now up there and, uh, for you to take a look at.

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[00:11:12] Eric Goranson: Now, if I remember correctly, the previous administration had changed and loosened those rules for dishwashers, and now I see around the corner we are going to see the death of the top load washing machine. Those are about ready to go away. So if you are a fan of them, that I would go out and uh, maybe go spend the money on the speed queen or whatever that's gonna last you 20 years.

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[00:12:03] Eric Goranson: Could be a little later that keeps moving. I've predicted this for a couple years that, um, this was coming and I think we're finally getting to that point where they're going to make those go away. So bare warning for all you friends out there, and listeners and colleagues, if you are one of those people, then it's coming around the corner Now, I have always been a fan of them, only because they're easier on my clothes.

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[00:12:50] Eric Goranson: So, uh, it will be there, you just don't see it. Really the new washing machines have, uh, most of the good ones have a steam clean or a clean feature on 'em. [00:13:00] They get some really clean, you don't have to worry about it. Ours tells us when it needs to happen, and I can put it through. I throw some of the tide dishwash, uh, washing machine cleaner in there and run it through the cycle and, uh, fresh and clean as new.

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[00:13:32] Eric Goranson: Um, I think though we're starting to see here, I think on dryers, this is one I think that's gonna come up. We've been starting to see on the market these heat pump dryers and those are kind of interesting, um, because you don't have to vent many of them outside. Because they capture the heat and put it back into it.

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[00:14:13] Eric Goranson: You don't have to worry about the lint and the duct. Three, it's going to save you a fair amount of money. So I have not used one of them yet. It's on my list of things to try out. But, uh, I think that that is gonna be something that is going to be very important moving forward on, on saving some electricity because that dryer is really creating a lot of heat and anything like that, that's creating heat and throwing it outside.

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[00:14:56] Eric Goranson: So we'll see what happens with that. It's something that I'm, uh, [00:15:00] very, um, hopeful about as far as saving people money. Creating something that, uh, was better for the environment anyway. So I don't like all that heat and lint coming outta the house. Uh, so if there's a way to capture that and not have to spend all that air outside the house, it's not a bad thing.

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[00:15:48] Eric Goranson: And so the E P A came out with their, um, regulatory actions for residential wood heaters. Which now falls under the Clean Air Act, and that's [00:16:00] another one of those issues that we have to talk about. And so here's what's happened. So there's lots of different state actions and things like that. Great example here in my state of Oregon, and I'm familiar with this, the, uh, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has authority to operate and enforce, um, solid fuel heating.

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[00:16:46] Eric Goranson: But really that is where the ban hits the road right there now. There are, like Idaho for instance, does a pretty good job of this. They have a, uh, uh, the state of Idaho, they offer [00:17:00] taxpayers, uh, who buy new wood stoves, pellet stoves, or natural gas or propane heating units, a tax deduction to replace old uncertified wood stoves.

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[00:17:47] Eric Goranson: More of these get banned. And I get that we're trying to keep the air clean. Don't get me wrong, I'm just concerned about people that have that mountain cabin, that that is the, you know, the way they heat it. [00:18:00] That uh, plenty of people, um, as emergency heat have wood stoves and fireplaces, that when the power is out, that that's gonna happen.

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[00:19:12] Eric Goranson: Hey guys. Welcome back to The Around The House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Well, we've been talking about the e p a, getting involved in appliances and there's been a lot of misinformation out there and uh, I just wanna make sure that we kind of keep it on track with, uh, what's real and what's not.

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[00:20:04] Eric Goranson: But, uh, other states and cities are already doing that. We're now seeing other states come in and fight this. So, There was an AP news story that I saw a few weeks ago that said 10 states plan to sue the e p A over standards for residential Woodburn stoves. And so this is gonna be interesting. So, um, this was, uh, from July 2nd, uh, AP News story Attorney General from 10 states plan to sue the US Environmental Production Agency saying it's failure to review and ensure emission standards for residential wood bring stoves has allowed the continued sale of appliances that could worsen pollution.

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[00:21:08] Eric Goranson: As well as, uh, the Puget Sound Clear Clean Air Agency. So, um, it's gonna be interesting to see how this plays out with these, uh, northern states getting ready to go down this road. So, of course, e p A did not, uh, comment on any, um, pending litigation and nor will they, but, uh, a lot of these things here, like we talked about, are, are gonna have a longer time to play out because these things don't happen quickly.

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[00:22:01] Eric Goranson: And I was actually out working, getting ready for a segment and I went, oh, cool. Bumblebees are out. And then I saw it land and I went. Oh no, that is not a bumblebee, that is a carpenter bee. And so I started watching, I, you know, put my stuff away and said, okay, where are these things going? And sure enough it was going underneath, um, kind of by the edge of my house in the old wood deck that I'll be replacing one of these years.

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[00:22:51] Eric Goranson: So we're gonna talk a little bit about this stuff and making sure that you've got things taken care of. So Carpenter Bees is one of the ones that can be really, um, create a [00:23:00] bunch of damage and that's something to be. You know, careful with, and I've been dealing with this one, I think I've got it managed.

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[00:23:29] Eric Goranson: Now, and this is where it gets interesting because carpenter ants and how you can tell the big carpenter ants are, those are the big black, you know, like tiny sugar ants are one thing. These are like the big monster ants that are big and they're big fatties. You know what I mean? They've got a big body to them, and that's what those are.

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[00:24:10] Eric Goranson: And so I've been finding as I'm remodeling areas that are soft on the exterior, sure enough there's a old carpenter ant nest that was in there. And so as I've been pulling the siding off the front of the house, I have found multiple areas that need to be repaired from, uh, that damage. And so these are things that you should be really keeping an eye out If you see a carpenter ant at your house, this is one of those things that I strongly recommend that you start taking a look and seeing where it's going and follow it as best you can look and see, because if they are in a wood pile in your backyard or if they're at a neighbor's house, Those things can have a secondary nest, 50 to a hundred feet away pretty quickly.[00:25:00]

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[00:25:17] Eric Goranson: Make sure that you don't have any brush up against the house. Making sure that the trees and everything are well away from stuff and that you've got a few inches between the ground and the first piece of wood on your house. So make sure you got three or four inches in there at least, and that will sure help keep that clean and, uh, make it less likely that the carpenter ants will go into your house and start exploring.

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[00:26:09] Eric Goranson: Now, another one that I wanna make sure that you're doing and, and, you know, pest control is one of those things that a lot of people think that they can do it as a d I Y project, but I tell you what, it's my opinion that if you are an area that has termites and things like that, that can do significant damage, What I'm gonna say is make sure that you're on a maintenance program to make sure people are coming by and looking.

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[00:26:53] Eric Goranson: Remodeling to repair that damage. I can't tell you how many times I've seen homes that literally have [00:27:00] been just ghosted in the maintenance side of things and have had pest damage for 20, 30, 40 years that pretty much are better to be knocked down than they are to be, you know, remodel and put back together.

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[00:27:35] Eric Goranson: And I know right now when things are tight and uh, that can be expensive, but, um, you know, having somebody come out every six months if it's potentially a problem or every year. It could be something that, uh, really saves you a ton. And when we come back here, I want to talk about rodents for a little bit as well because again, this is one of those things that, uh, people tend to miss.

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[00:28:14] Eric Goranson: So if you wanna find out more about us here before we got to break, let me tell you head over to around the House online.com. Make sure you hit us up on Facebook and you can find us over there. Plus our around the House Nation closed group on Facebook, round the house. We'll be right back after these important messages.

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[00:29:07] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to the original Around the House Show. Yeah, this show's been going on for 35 plus years right now, and uh, we've been having a great time doing it. Hopefully we'll have another 35 plus years outta this to go. So we have got a lot of show coming up here, and in this last segment I wanted to continue talking about Rodent Surrender House.

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[00:29:48] Eric Goranson: If you can't get 'em with a couple traps, then um, I will. Give you my best suggestion is bring in the professionals. There are times that you can sit there and spend months trying to [00:30:00] get them under control, and then you bring the pros in and by the time you've bought all the little things, spend a little bit of your time.

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[00:30:27] Eric Goranson: And, uh, some of those family run companies are the ones that really have the best reviews and do that. So again, watch out for that. And, uh, make sure that, uh, another month or two, they're gonna really start working their way inside in many places across the us And that's one thing to take a look at. Now another thing that I want you to watch out for here as well are those hornet and wasps that are outside.

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[00:31:08] Eric Goranson: So if you want to find something that's gonna work good, do your research and find out what works for the bugs that are in your area. Because my trap, if I have an infestation of, you know, hornets and wasps, man, that thing will fill up in days and I'll have it completely under control. And I've used it in other parts of the country and had very mixed results.

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[00:31:51] Eric Goranson: Do a walk around and start looking and see if you've got, um, you know, Hornet swaps. The spider's gonna [00:32:00] start coming out. I'm a little less worried about the spiders and I know people. I hate the spiders in their house, but guess what? Those are also good for taking care of a lot of the other issues that we have out there with some of the other bugs.

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[00:32:39] Eric Goranson: U P S is getting ready to go on strike. And if this happens, you are gonna see what 40% probably of our shipping capacity for parcels in this country shut down. And if you have a box with a faucet coming or something else, that's gonna be an issue. I'll be the [00:33:00] first to say. FedEx has been a pretty horrible shipping experience for me, and I'll say that and sorry, FedEx, but uh, um, I have had so many times that the box gets delivered to the wrong house.

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[00:33:34] Eric Goranson: So think about how those materials are gonna be showing up at your house, and you think about that. This could be even, you know, I've had Amazon packages show up from u p s, and so you're gonna see FedEx get buried and you're gonna see Amazon become a pretty good option for ordering materials. I'll be honest, I, I am not the biggest Amazon fan, but I have bought some building materials there [00:34:00] and it has saved me a significant amount of money.

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[00:34:29] Eric Goranson: I mean, if I walk into my store, I have to find something to track it down and unlock the cage just to get me wire just because so much of it has been getting stolen. But I tell you what, this is kind of where we're at. So pay attention to where. How those materials are coming. I think we're gonna see some big issues here with the u p s strike, and this is something that could get negotiated, or even by the time this airs on the radio, it could be negotiated.

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[00:35:18] Eric Goranson: So let's keep an eye on that and make sure that, uh, the things you're ordering are gonna show up when you need them. And so, uh, like I was saying before, if you have a remodeling project coming up and you are ordering things, make sure that you give yourself another week or two. So that you know that these things are gonna show up on time and that you're gonna stay on track because things will start to come apart pretty quickly.

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[00:36:06] Eric Goranson: That's not the place of this show. But, uh, as a consumer, I just want you to make sure that you are planning ahead for what's to come. If this is gonna be something that happens, that strike is gonna shut down a lot of projects because people are always waiting on parts. The other day I was having a great discussion with a buddy of mine and I thought, you know, I'm gonna bring this up in the show on Saturday, on the weekend, because this is an important topic and some areas are different than others.

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[00:36:59] Eric Goranson: [00:37:00] So being that we're just getting ready to roll into August, I'm gonna recommend for any of you out there that have so much things in stuff, or that lack of storage that you can't haul it at your house. And if you're a hoarder, this is a whole other story or you're dealing with, you know, properly said hoarding disorder.

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[00:37:41] Eric Goranson: Add up, what that cost is between now and when the weather turns, you might be able to build. A great shed that you can eliminate those storage fees. Two, you might be able to eliminate some of that stuff because you know, let's say you're spending two or [00:38:00] 300 bucks a month, that ends up being thousands of dollars and you can either build a shed or get rid of some of it.

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[00:38:33] Eric Goranson: So do some thinking about what you have in your storage unit. Think of what that's costing you right now, and maybe it's a smart idea to turn around and build a shed at your house. You're not paying for. I mean, you'll pay for the shed, but you're not gonna pay to rent it so that your costs are all upfront, but there's no cost beyond that.

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[00:39:15] Eric Goranson: We'll be right back for hour number two. Just as soon as we return. Don't go anywhere.