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Toss used tissue, don't flush it

February 21, 2010 at 2:39AM

Q How should one dispose of toilet paper or a Kleenex that is used to blow your nose? I grew up flushing it down the toilet, but my girlfriend puts it in the garbage. Which is better environmentally?

A Throw facial tissues in the trash. Every flush takes at least 1.6 gallons of water, 7 or more gallons with older toilets. That's an incredible waste of water just to blow your nose.

Space heater claims Q What about those infra-red portable home heaters we see advertised, such as EdenPure and iHeater? They propose 50 percent or more savings on heating bills, yet they are electric, which isn't necessarily an inexpensive way to heat an average home. How can you create all this heat energy, using electricity, yet save 50 percent on heating costs? Is this a hoax, misleading advertising or fact?

A You're smart to question the claims that these heaters will lower heating bills. It's not a false statement, but it can be misleading. It's important to do your homework.

With these electric heaters, your heating bill -- the cost of heating your home with natural gas -- might go down, but your electric bill will go up. Whether you will come out ahead depends, among other things, on how much you use the heater and the price you pay for electricity. However, it's almost always cheaper to heat with natural gas than electricity.

In addition, it's important to note the wording "by up to 50 percent." To reduce the heating bill, they typically recommend that you set your furnace at your desired temperature, then turn it down and use the electric heater to maintain the heat in the room you are in. This isn't anything new. This is how you use electric space heaters -- those costing $60, as well as those costing $400. But remember, it's only for one room. If you want to heat more than one room, you'd need to get another heater, or move the heater from room to room.

Consumer Reports magazine tested and rated space heaters in 2007, and EdenPure was near the bottom of 20 space heaters tested. The top performers were cheaper.

Amish heaters, too Also, take a look at claims made by what is commonly called the Amish heaters. The products are simply electric space heaters in a fireplace-like cabinet. You can buy similar products for less at area stores.

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Made by Ohio-based Heat Surge (www.heatsurge.com), the Heat Surge Fireplace with Amish Mantel (also called the Roll-N-Glow Electric Fireplace) claims to use as much electricity as a coffee pot. Coffee pots can use a significant amount of electricity, but they do so for only a few minutes. It's likely that the fireplace will be on for hours at a time.

Despite the heater's claim that it's breakthrough technology from an "engineering genius on the China coast," there is nothing new about these space heaters that I can see. Like the Heat Surge, other cheaper space heaters offer two settings (750 and 1,500 watts) and produce up to 5,120 BTUs of heat, the maximum allowed from a home outlet. It appears you are paying a lot for the fireplace cabinet.

The bottom line is that you can get a space heater for a lot less money than the EdenPure and Heat Surge. You can reduce your gas bill, too, depending on how you use it. If you like the idea of stored, radiated heat, consider an oil-filled heater. If you want a heater with a nice fireplace cabinet, shop around for the best price.

about the writer

about the writer

KAREN YOUSO, Star Tribune

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