Category: Tips for Homeowners

My printer, my photo frame, and several small electronic items have been piling up. More so because I didn’t know what to do with them and knew I couldn’t just put them in the trash can. You all know I love rules!!! I guess after passing the pile in the garage multiple times along with my early spring cleaning bug, I FINALLY got motivated to figure out what the heck I should do with all of these things. It was like navigating thru a maze. And I realized several of you are probably wondering the same thing, so will help you out & save you some time on the research!

If you are in the City of Raleigh you can schedule on certain days a free of charge pick up but there has to be a TV or computer involved and no more than 4 items. (Check out this page for pick up dates, scheduling & instructions.)

This method didn’t work for me so kept persevering on to rid myself of this mounting pile, which led me to these facilities that will recycle your old electronic items. This requires me traveling to these facilities but again it is FREE. Any Wake County resident may make use of these facilities:
SWS Yard Waste Recycling Center
900 N. New Hope Road Mon-Sat
7am-3pm only No TVs over 36″
Raleigh Public Works Administrative Office
400 W. Peace Street Mon-Fri
7am-4pm only No TVs over 36″
North Wake Multi-Material Recycling Facility
9029 Deponie Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 Open Mon-Sat
8am-4pm only Large screen
TVs accepted
South Wake Multi-Material Recycling Facility
6130 Old Smithfield Road, Apex, NC 27502 Open Mon-Sat
7am-4pm Large screen
TVs accepted

If you are feeling especially lazy in Raleigh you can schedule a Special Load Pick Up for a minimum fee of $50.

If you are an Apex resident, you can drop off at Public Works facility located at 105 Upchurch Street between the hours of 7:30am – 4:30pm, Monday through Friday. But they do not take TV’s so head to the South Wake Landfill.

If you are a Cary resident, you can call to schedule a pickup of a computer for FREE, for other items there is a small charge. You can also go to Citizen’s Convenience Center located at 313 N. Dixon Ave. for no charge to drop off. Check out this page for more information.

If you are in Fuquay, the Electronic Recycling Convenience Center located at 820 S. Main Street behind the Fuquay-Varina Community Center and South Park is open for business. Citizens can dispose of televisions, computers, monitors, scanners, printers and other electronic waste for free.

Electronic waste curbside pick-up service is available for a $10 fee. Make the request and pay for the fee at the Finance Office located at 401 Old Honeycutt Road. Finance office hours on Mon.-Fri. 8 am – 5 pm

If you are a Holly Springs, Morrisville, or a Wake Forest resident, best I can find is go to one of the landfill facilities that recycles electronics.

If you specifically want to get rid of old mobile devices/cell phones, Verizon Wireless has a program that helps the environment by providing a safe way to dispose of unwanted electronic devices – and they even accept non-working devices and the parts will be recycled and used to generate funds for non-profit domestic violence advocacy and prevention agencies. Additionally, there is an incentive to receive a gift card with each donation. A great explanation of the program can be found here: http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/device-trade-in/.

Hope that helps you navigate the maze of recycling your electronics! I am off to the Raleigh Public Works and taking back my garage!

Have a great week & as always if I can help you with anything real estate related give me a call!

Carbon Monoxide gas is a colorless, odorless, tasteless & highly toxic. Why am I telling you this? It is the silent killer and could be an issue in your home.

Got your attention now? Well good.

I want to tell a story about a great family I worked with several years ago maybe around 2004 that had two small children. The parents had not been feeling great, the kids weren’t either and had been to the doctors a few times but no one could seem to figure out the reason why they weren’t feeling well. Their symptoms would come and go. The parents were frustrated and kept scratching their heads. During all of this we had listed their home for sale, put it under contract & it was then time for the buyers inspections. During the home inspection the inspector found high readings of carbon monoxide enough where I was called immediately. I of course called the sellers after, they were shocked, but a light bulb also went off as to why their entire family wasn’t feeling 100%, I didn’t learn until this point that they hadn’t been feeling well and they relayed the story above. They had a cracked heat exchanger on their gas furnace whether that was the cause or something else I am not sure. Heating systems make up the largest percentage of deaths from CO poisoning. Even during the recent storm Sandy, carbon monoxide deaths surged because of the use of generators as noted in a USA Today article!

The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may resemble other types of poisonings and infections, including symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fatigue, and a feeling of weakness. Affected families often believe they are victims of food poisoning. Infants may be irritable and feed poorly. Neurological signs include confusion, disorientation, visual disturbance, syncope and seizures. -J R Soc Med (The Royal Society of Medicine)

Many people (I was one of them) operate gas appliances (furnace, stove, gas logs etc.) without the proper equipment in their homes. A quick fix is simply a carbon monoxide detector that you can purchase at your local hardware or box store for ~$25. Here is full page of options on Amazon! In this area, code didn’t start requiring these until around 2011 (a lot depends on when the permit was pulled for construction). These work like a fire alarm, if high levels of CO are detected they emit an ear piercing, wake you up out of a sound sleep alarm! There are hard wired varieties, plug in with battery backups & wall amounted ones. Here is the photo of the style I use, pretty inconspicuous and I don’t even notice it really!
This article is a great Q&A on residential homes & additions from the NC Department of Insurance.

Here is detail on the State statue when it comes to Residential Rental Properties:

N.C. Gen Stat. § 143-138 – North Carolina State Building Code
N.C. Gen Stat. § 42-42 to 42-44 – Landlord and Tenant Articles – Residential Rental Agreements

Authorizes adoption of provisions requiring the installation of either battery-operated or electrical carbon monoxide detectors in every dwelling unit having a fossil-fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage.Requires landlords to provide one operable carbon monoxide detector per rental unit per level. A landlord that installs one carbon monoxide detector per rental unit per level shall be deemed to be in compliance with standards under this subdivision covering the location and number of detectors. The landlord shall replace or repair the carbon monoxide detectors within 15 days of receipt of notification if the landlord is notified of needed replacement or repairs in writing by the tenant. The landlord shall ensure that a carbon monoxide detector is operable and in good repair at the beginning of each tenancy. Unless the landlord and the tenant have a written agreement to the contrary, the landlord shall place new batteries in a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector at the beginning of a tenancy, and the tenant shall replace the batteries as needed during the tenancy. Failure of the tenant to replace the batteries as needed shall not be considered as negligence on the part of the tenant or the landlord. This subdivision applies only to dwelling units having a fossil-fuel burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage. Provides for penalties.