Living Like Ed - (Page 34) DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSULATION The type of insulation you choose makes a big difference. We know more now than we did back in 1988. When I had R-30 insulation put in the attic back then, much of it was fiberglass. Then we had an earthquake here in 1994, which led to cracks and fissures in the walls and floors, and fiberglass started to migrate down into the living spaces. My friends and family had colds and allergies a lot around here. There was sneezing and runny noses. It’s just not good for you to breathe that fiberglass, in part because it contains formaldehyde. It can even trigger asthma attacks. We ultimately decided to take out the fiberglass. We had to hire people in these moon suits to do the removal. In its place we installed recycled cotton—this thick, bulky stuff that’s made from old denim and from the scraps left over when companies manufacture new jeans. Once we’d installed this new insulation, it was not only more energy efficient in here, it was also quieter! And it’s totally nontoxic. Fiberglass insulation is still very common. So is rigid foam board and spray foam, both of which are essentially forms of plastic. But now you know there’s a more energy-efficient and a more earth-friendly option. You can even install this recycled cotton insulation yourself, and you don’t have to wear any special protective gear. It’s that safe. While the insulation itself costs about twice as much as fiberglass, being able to install it yourself eliminates labor costs. . . . living like Ed 34 INSULATING THE WALLS Once you’ve insulated your attic, it’s time to go to the next level: adding insulation to the walls of your home. I discovered there was no insulation inside the walls of this house. Sure, they put in insulation when it was built in 1936. But you know what they used? Crumpled-up newspaper! Yeah. Sixty years later, there were just a few shreds left. You could read the date on a few pieces here and there, but it was pretty far gone. I decided to have good cellulose insulation blown into the walls to make them more energy efficient. Cellulose insulation is another popular choice for attics, too. (You also can use recycled-denim insulation inside your walls, but it must be installed when the walls are open. Denim can’t be blown in after the fact like cellulose.) machine also can use 50 percent less energy than a standard model. There are many cleaning
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