Misconceptions about Houses - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep. 8)

Hi, I'm Elliot and this is Mental Floss on YouTube, and today I'm going to talk to you about some misconceptions about your house

Misconception number one, ceiling fans only spin in one direction. Most ceiling fans are reversible. Generally, people only put their fans on to counterclockwise because that's the direction that makes a room feel cooler. But if you set your fan to go clockwise, it can actually warm up a room in the wintertime

Warm air rises and stays near the ceiling so a fan rotating clockwise can circulate that warm air through the room

Misconception number two, if you set your thermostat really low, it'll cool down faster

This isn't the case in every house, but most cool down at a steady rate, regardless of how low you set the temperature

Misconception number three, a dish that goes through dishwasher is completely disinfected

Over time, a dishwasher itself can actually build up food and grease and soap remains and other really gross things

This affects how clean it's able to make dishes. Luckily, there are a few simple ways to clean a dishwasher, like with baking

soda and vinegar. Misconception number four if you have a bathroom window there no need for a fan A window might do but you probably not going to be opening it up as much as you should especially during wintertime because it be freezing So an exhaust fan is pretty necessary Without one moisture gets trapped in the walls which puts your house at risk for mold and mildew

Those might sound like minor risks, but they can lead to drywall and wood damage

Plus, mold is a health risk. It's not worth it. Get a fan. Misconception number five

Fireplaces cause you to lose heat. This is true, but it doesn't have to be true because it's a fixable problem

For one, you can just get a fake fireplace, but things that might help with your real fireplace, installing a glass fireplace door, closing the damper when you're not using the

fireplace, and insulating the chimney. And if you never use your fireplace, you can just hire

someone to plug and seal it for you. Don't worry about Santa. He'll find his way in. He's the

cleverest of home intruders. Misconception number six, the more insulation in your attic

the better. Actually, once there's a certain amount of inches of attic insulation, it can't

help anymore. This exact number of inches depends on your personal situation, though. Basically

insulation is measured by R values. The R value tells you how resistant the insulation is

to heat flow. Every location requires a different R-value of insulation. Adding more insulation

than is necessary doesn actually help Luckily the US Department of Energy has a website where you can plug in your zip code and it tell you how much insulation they recommend You can find that link in the video description Misconception number seven Turning lights on and off takes up so much energy that you save money by keeping them on all the time

So this might be true, but it depends on two things. How much your electricity costs and what kind of light bulb you're using

The idea that lights should always be kept on to save energy probably came from the fact that the operating life of a light bulb can change as it gets turned on and off a bunch of times

Here's some general rules from the U.S. Department of Energy. If you're using compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs, you should leave it on if you'll only be gone for less than 15 minutes

Otherwise, you should turn the light off. On the other hand, you should always turn off your halogen or incandescent bulbs when you don't need them

Misconception number eight, electronics that are turned off aren't using up energy

If your electronics are still plugged in, then they're still using up energy thanks to something called standby power

According to our old friend, the US Department of Energy, standby power is responsible for 5 to 10% of residential electricity use

use. That's about $100 a year that could be cut out of your electricity bill if you really wanted it to be

The worst offender is your cable box So either unplug your electronics or invest in some power strips that you can turn on and off Misconception number nine The way to test your smoke detector is by pressing the test button You think but all that button does is let you know that the sound is working It doesn tell you whether that alarm can actually detect smoke

The best way to check that is to blow out a match directly under the smoke detector

It's also helpful to ask someone to stand at the point of your home furthest away from

the detector to see if they can hear the alarm. Misconception number 10, basements get wet from below, not above

There might be a problem with the house's foundation, but there are other parts of the house's possible causes of damp basements. It could be something much simpler, like maybe, I don't know

a leaking water pipe or high indoor humidity. A plumber can easily fix a pipe, toilet, or shower

leak. Indoor humidity can be reduced with things like ventilation fans, sealed air leaks

and dehumidifiers. Look into those options before declaring that your foundation is awful

okay? How do you think that makes your foundation feel? Probably like dirt. Get it? Thank you for watching misconceptions on mental flaws on YouTube

made with the help of these wonderful people. If you have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions

that you would like to see, please leave it in the comments, and I will see you next week. Bye