1. On the Air - Listen to Us Anytime, Anywhere
2. Ask Tom & Leslie - Disconnecting a Gas Appliance
3. Short Cuts - Water Saving Tips
4. Fun Fact - Be a Meter Reader
5. Dot Common Sense - Support Our Troops
6. On the Wire - Beat the Heat

Kate, disconnecting your gas range for this purpose is a fairly simple job. Basically, a properly installed gas appliance will have a gas shut off valve that needs to be turned from the "on " position which is in-line with the pipe, to the "off" position which is perpendicular to the gas pipe. Once it is turned off, no gas should leak out. If the valve works correctly, you should have no need to cap the pipe for the short time the stove will be disconnected. However, for an extra safety measure, you can do this by picking up a cap at the local hardware store. The size depends on the pipe. Measure it and then by 3 caps, one smaller than what you think you need, one the right size and one larger. This will cover you and you can take the unused ones back. However, before you begin, please consider this advice carefully: since you are unfamiliar with disconnecting a gas appliance, don't tackle it alone. Find someone who has done this before, or hire a plumber. It's not a hard job, but this is not the time to learn!

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It's easy to take water for granted, you just turn the faucet on and it's there. There is water all around us. So how can we run out of water? We'll it's not necessarily that we're running out of water but the fact that less and less water is available to us for our daily needs. Here are a few quick and easy water saving tips:

Kitchen: scrape excess food with a rubber spatula instead of holding plates under running water. Use shortest cycle. Keep water cold in fridge instead of running tap until water runs cold. Install an instant water heater to avoid running water until it runs hot.

Laundry: Run washer only when fully loaded. Adjust the water level for the size of load being washed. Try running a full load with the water selector set to "medium load." If your clothes get just as clean, you've saves a few gallons. Presoak clothes that are heavily soiled and pre-treat stains.

Bathroom: Put a "displacement device" in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water your tank will hold. Take showers instead of baths. When brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your hands or face, turn the water on and off as needed instead of letting it run continuously. Replace or adjust "sticky" toilet handles, and make sure that the flapper-ball seats correctly. Collect water from warming up shower or bath in a bucket and use it to do hand laundry or to water plants.

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FUN FACT

Homeowners should learn to read their water meter. It's the best way to see how much water you're using and detect leaks. First, locate your meter. If you have trouble, call your local water company for help, they might even send someone out to show you if you ask. When reading a water meter, think of you car's odometer. There should be five numbers that count cubic feet. Read the three to the left and ignore the rest. To calculate the water you use, subtract your previous meter reading from your current meter reading. One hundred cubic feet of water is equal to 748 gallons. You might want to take two separate meter readings a week apart to find out how much water you normally use. Then, after taking water-conserving measures, take two more readings to see how much water you're saving. You can also take a reading after making sure there is absolutely no water in use, to detect leaks.

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DOT COMMON SENSE

Find out what Americans just like you are doing to support our troops. America Supports You is a nationwide program launched by the Department of Defense to recognize citizens' support for our military men and women and communicate that support to members of our Armed Forces at home and abroad. All across America, thousands of individual citizens, businesses, and groups - from local schools and establishments to nationally-known corporations and organizations - are hosting events and undertaking projects to support America's Armed Forces, especially in forward-deployed areas of the Global War on Terrorism. America Supports You will spotlight what Americans are doing all across the land, encourage others to join the team, and allow all to tell their stories by giving voice and visibility to their efforts. Check it out online at www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil.

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ON THE WIRE

Everyone needs affordable ways to beat the heat. With a national heat wave setting records and even causing deaths across the country, it's best to stay inside when the mercury reaches dangerous levels. But make sure to give your home a hot weather check up. Here are some tips from the Comfort Institute to make sure your summer electric bills don't blow your cool!

• Don't run your clothes dryer when it's hot out. Your dryer blows air out of your house when it's drying clothes. And for every cubic foot of air it blows out, a cubic foot of hot outside air gets sucked in that your air conditioner has to cool down. Run your dryer late at night or early morning and you'll have lower electric bills. Even better, use a clothesline in the back yard!
• Have your duct system tested for air leaks. Many think that windows and doors are the major cause of a home's energy wasting air leaks. But according to recent research by the Department of Energy (DOE), gaps, joints and disconnections in the typical home's duct system are much more significant. The DOE states that the typical duct system loses 25 percent to 40 percent of the energy put out by the central heat pump or air conditioner. Have a contractor seal them with a brushed-on "mastic." Duct tape, despite its name, will dry out and fail.
• Ask your air conditioning contractor to perform an Infiltrometer "blower door" test. The blower door is a computerized instrument originally invented by the Department of Energy. It pinpoints where your home's worst air leaks are, such as duct leaks, and also measures how leaky the overall house is. While most homes are still far too leaky, some are now quite tight, and need mechanical ventilation to ensure the air inside is fresh. Many contractors offer an Infiltrometer test as part of a "Whole House Comfort Checkup" that also checks insulation levels and overall duct performance.
• Replace your air conditioner or heat pump air filter. Most systems need this done every month to ensure safe and efficient operation. Some such as electronic air cleaners need to be thoroughly washed.
• Have your air conditioner cleaned and tuned. A pre-season tune up is a great investment. It reduces the chances of breakdowns in the middle of summer and more than pays for itself through more energy efficient operation. Make sure the contractor cleans both the indoor and outdoor heat transfer coils, and checks refrigerant gas charge by measuring "superheat" or "subcooling."
• Consider replacing your old air conditioner or heat pump. Just like a car, central cooling equipment doesn't last forever. If your system is over 12 years old, and you are planning to stay in your home more than a few years, many authorities recommend replacing it before it fails permanently. A new system improves comfort, is more dependable and creates less air pollution. New units are up to twice as energy efficient, which saves money on your monthly electric bills.

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