WUMTIYFRE PREnS WEDNESDAY, JAMJABY 16j 1991, PAGE 19 Keepingte air in yur hOusefrsh this Winte Vais article is prouided by locq reaIt ors and, the Ontario Real Est ateAssociation (OR&V[fr the benefit of consumera in th real estate market. ýlà ge,*iKhouse odour and dustbunieshave mucii in common: tiiey both have a tendency ta accumulate and multiply durng tii. long wunter mont s. And if yo're an energy-conscious 'consumer, chances are you've weather- proofied your home eoa well, that Copies cf 'Cali the. Council,' tiie Torontoa.Homne Builders' Association (THBA) videe on residential renovation, are now available for boan ta the. public at tii. Whitby Public Librazy, 405 Dundas St. W. Produced by the, TEBA Renovation and Redevelepment Council, the, video outlines varieus THBA services regarding home -.renovatien, uncluding information on permits, tiie standard reidential renovation contract. and .iiow ta lire a professional renovater. Council chairman Shirley Bates said successfül renevations rarely happen without careful planning. Dit is essential that honmeoners thinking of stale air can no longer escape througii cracks and gapo. Opening. your domo and windows may seem like the. only route ta go, but this lets in a lot cf cold air, quickly cooling down your house. wien you leat want it ta. While itfs a good idea ta regularle (but briefly) air your house during the. wînter, there are several other thingu you cen do 'in conjunction with this practice ta maintain better air quality indoor until spring renovating b. organized and absolutely clear on what the renovation process is all about. This vide. will help homeowners malce informed decisions," sii said. For moe information on renovation or the renovation vide., contact the. THBA's Housing Information Hatline - 390-HOME. The, Toronto Home Builders' Association was established in 1921 and huas more than 900 member companies representing bmdlder/renovatar/devebopers fin- ancial, rofessional, supply/ service andsub-contractors and is the. largest affiliat, of the. Ontario and Canadien Home' Buiders' Associations. It can simplify your life. Whether you're remnodeling a k kitchen or bath, refinishing a hardwood floor or removing wallpaper, renting can simplify yýour lie. >You'll be amnazed at the types of home improvement equipment you can rent... from floor sanders to power saws . . from carpet cleaners to wall- paper steamers . .. everything you need to get the jOb done. Discover how we can save y Ou time and money on ail your horne care equipment nieeds. -Di scover renting and> simplify y-Our. lie. DURHAM EQUIPMENT RENTALS '102Dundas St. East, Whitby, nai LIN 2K2 butI jngoumwIof n nseruice. arrives. Wiien cooking, always make sureyo have good ventilation, oa that stae food odeurs don't have a chance ta build up and linger. Use the. fan, over r stev e ta g ull unwanted smells e37ut cf tii. ouse. You may aIsa want ta cut dewn on ceoking foods which have iieavy and lingering odours. If you don'lt have an exhaust fan, try opening yaur itchen window just a bit, ta help odeurs and moist air escape. Use the. exhaust fan in the. shower as well, ta make sure yau expel any humid moist air before it gets a chance ta seep inta other areas cf the house. Moisture provides an ideal cultur, for certain t ypes of bacteria and fungi ta tiirive in. Moulds, for instance, can be irritating ta people witii allergies. Ites aIse a good idea ta chieck your houseplants regularly for signs of mould or fungi. You may even want te cut, down on tiie. number cf plants ini your home if you're especially concenned. Dehumidifiers and electric air cleanerW/purifiers cen help control moisture and odour, but it's important ta make sure thèese units are kept dlean and operate accrding ta, the -iiaidâctures 'directions. Air purifiersamisa iielp remave dust and pollen, from tii. air. Dust, as mentioned earlier,. is a foe wiiich'Seems -to multiply, during tii.winteirmonthe addmng ta the. overail stalenes o? tiie air ini our homes. If you have a forced air furnace and dust is a, mqjor' problem ini yaur home, you may want ta consideriiaving the. ducts of your furnace professonally cleaned. Chieck the. yellow pages of your piione book ta seSwiiat services are available. You may find this particularly ielpfui if someane in your failysufers from adust allergy. Pet odours cen misa -become muci more apparent during the. winter, sa it's important ta keep your dog or cat 1 dean and dr-iy throughout thie seasan. Most dag owners know how quickly the. smell of wet dg hafr can prmeate a houeif yOur pet-hgs ben frelicking ini the snow and such, make sure you dry its paws and lep therouÇ before letting Yfyou havea'pethat.liloesto roll around On tgi.u, yuà m ýppI1j ýbaldng soda-based carpet control the bilidup of odours.X1 sprinIng of baking soda on rur carpet siiould work just as w. 1. If you havea smoker i your home, txy setting out a disii of vinegar to absorb cigarette odour. This helps control otheir -tnes of streng Ooeurs as well - imcluding those caused by coolting. You can, aisa try placing a cinnamon stik' in apotofbailingwýater for a fw« minutes. This creates a pleasant' eScent , particularly during the. holiday season. New building oentre in Whitby. B3y GEg aci Under new ownership snce last November, the management at McGregor Building Centre on Brock St. N. juet soutii of tiie underpass, has. a strong reputation behind it. Thei.aime people have operated McGregar H1ardware iii Bowmanville for 80 years Ini Whitby, the. 24,000-sq. ft. area allows for a large range of merchandise. 'We!re net just a hardware stQre,fl says manager Deug Clark. He pointseout lumber, floring and tiles, itchen cabinetsý, bathroom fixturesý, paint and practically anything else needed for the home cen b. found there. Hardware isn't everlooked, theugh. McGregor is affliated with tiie Home Hardware chaun and has a complete and extensive stock of hardware items. McGregor has a couple of special services that are quickly gaining recognition. Clark says their "contracter pre-order service" is beconiing popular with local tradespeople. "The contractors can cail us and we'il assemble their erder and have it rea.dy for pick-up the, next merning." Clark adds the. service saves time and, hence, money for centractors because tiiey ne longer have ta, spend heurs picking eut lumber and building materials themselves. For .the doit-yourselfer, McGregor offée expert installation service. Custaùxers cmii either have an item, like a batiiroom fixture, inetalled, or staff will adviee them how ta, handie the job themeelves. Like practically every éther sector cf the.retail .world, the recession is having an effect on the building .s"pe -business. ' handymad n' many folks. 'TI. way tii. economy is right now, people are flixing up aidrather than replacing witli new." Witiitiie cold of wunter keeping most people inside, many get the. repair bug. 'Santa Claus bringa the. pwertools for Christmas, and Jatnuaris wmhen they start witii the hoe improvementa," smys Clark. More good news for conmumers looking ta save a few dollars: the. GST bas actually brougiit down the. cst cf mst building supplies and hardware. ClA explains that prior ta tii.., new year, building materials were subject to a mnuper cent fedeiýd taiwhile the. old manfflufacture«' tax cf 13.5 per oent was includ.d in the. pic. cf hardware. Witith te new seven- par .cent oeP iip cetiioseid. taxes have disappearèd." - I t t t I t -. - 1; El-mir'a Stove Wowlks Steve W*rkS 11 ~,inp 1~o bave qqt~l'p Re-novation .vide available. in libraries