More and more Canadians are replacing their old thermostats with new programmable ones that will enhance the comfort of their home while saving energy and money. It's also good for the environment. But what should you do with your old thermostat? Tossing it into the trash is not the answer because it may contain mercury. Did you know that it only takes one gram of mercury to contaminate an eight-hectare lake to the point where the fish are inedible for a full year? Now consider that older thermostats can contain between 2.5 and 10 grams of mercury each. If you dispose of your old thermostat with regular household waste, that mercury will end up in landfills or incinerators, at which point it can penetrate into our groundwater and lakes.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that is detrimental to human and ecosystem health, particularly for fetuses and children. Exposure to mercury can lead to developmental delays, slurred speech, memory loss, difficulty walking, blindness, paralysis, heart disease, kidney failure, liver damage, and even death at extreme concentrations.

Thankfully, there is an alternative to tossing your old thermostat out with the trash. Switch the 'Stat is a program for disposing of old thermostats responsibly and ensuring that the mercury is collected and properly managed. Run by the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) on behalf of thermostat manufacturers, Switch the 'Stat connects you with one of more than 1,100 participating contractors who will replace your old thermostat with a new energy-efficient programmable model while safely disposing of the old one and its mercury-containing switches. The program is currently operating throughout Ontario and will be coming to British Columbia in the Spring of 2010 and to the rest of Canada soon after.

To make the switch even easier, many utilities across Canada offer cash rebates for the replacement of older, non-electronic thermostats with new programmable thermostats. Programmable thermostats save you energy and money while enhancing the comfort of your home. They are good for the environment. Switch the 'Stat gives you the extra comfort of knowing that your old mercury thermostat will not end up harming the environment.

Since it began in April 2006, the program has collected more than 35,600 mercury-containing thermostat switches, effectively diverting more than 89 kilograms of mercury from the environment.

More information and a list of participating contractors can be found online at www.switchthestat.ca.

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There are certain things that homeowners love to talk about and sewage back-up isn't one of them.  Yet as spring showers pour, unsuspecting homeowners all over Canada will experience this often-ignored problem. This time of year ushers in an increased number of sewage back-up related insurance claims, making water-related damage one of the most common homeowner claims in Canada.

“The number of sewage back-ups and accompanying floods increases with the frequency of significant rainstorms,” states Wayne Ross, insurance expert at Aviva Canada.  “Being proactive to avoid a back-up can save homeowners not only thousands of dollars but a great deal of stress and aggravation.”

Ross offers four simple tips to help reduce the headaches related to sewage back-up in your home:

• Check your insurance policy: Damages from sewer back-ups are not covered by most standard home insurance policies, but can be added to your home insurance coverage for as little as $20 per year. When you consider the amount of money many families are putting into their finished basements, the added cost is worth the piece of mind.

• Install a backwater valve:  These tools close automatically if the sewer backs-up and can prevent thousands of dollars in damage. The installation costs can be quite reasonable when you consider the aggravation involved in having your basement cleaned and repaired. Some cities (including Toronto) even have subsidy programs for the installation of backwater valves and sump pumps. But make sure you check with your municipality before moving ahead with an installation, as some areas do not allow backwater valves due to the strain they put on the infrastructure.

• Watch what you pour: Dumping fats, oils or grease in the drain can cause blockage in your pipes.

• Garden carefully: If planting trees on your property, find out from the municipality where your sewer lines are and plant away from the area. Tree roots are known to crack pipes.

More information is available from your insurance broker or online at www.avivacanada.com and at 1-866-My Aviva (692-8482).

www.newscanada.com