Thank you eteinne. That is an interesting thought. We live in Florida and have a heat pump but we do also have a gas fireplace. The pilot light on that is always on and I think even that minimal gas burning does something to the quality of the air in the house. The glass lanterns are over our kitchen island are close to the fireplace so maybe I'll just have to learn to clean more often or tolerate the haze. My sweet SIL told me she thought it was supposed to be that way, sort of an etched glass look, and that I shouldn't worry about it. She always has the nicest things to say but if they keep getting hazier I won't have enough light to work at the island so I know I have to do something. LOL.

I am not a morning person either! Homes can be such a pain. My house pains and woes have been the AC for 6 months. Compressor was making a noise in February, repairman came out after a 5 day wait. He said the freeon was low and topped it off. He didn't bother to find out WHY it was low. The weather gets HOT and the AC stops blowing cool air. Call the repairman and it will be 5 days before he can come out. We called a local repairman and the next morning he came and told us the coils have a leak, added more freeon. When the OTHER repairman came out 5 days later he said everything looks OK. I now understand why some people shoot others LOL!!! We told him we had someone look at it and the coils are damaged. He was not happy about that and was rude. It has been 2 months and we have not heard from him. The AC unit is under warranty and after it is repaired his company is going to get a 3 page document advising them why I will never use them again and they will be reported to BBB. The other 3 pages will go to the company we have our house contract with. What should have cost $60 and been repaired in Feb has cost us $200 and is still not repaired. I'm not pleased with either!! Don't ask about the new TV that was damaged, or my iron burning out and ruining my 2 blocks. Other that that it's a great day LOL!!!!!!!!!! Rosa

Quartz countertops are, for example, very easy to clean and maintain, but everything actually depends on how do you use your kitchen (how often, do you clean right after preparing a meal, etc.). Also, new kitchens are easier and faster to clean than old ones. Hiring a cleaning company once every two weeks is ideal if you regularly clean your kitchen. Once a week is best if you don't like to clean up often. Practicing this routine will make any kitchen as clean as possible.

Glass is not smooth when viewed under a microscope, it's actually full of dimples and pits. That's where lime and other minerals can build up. You can order your shower glass with a super glossy coating that's applied after the glass has been tempered. The coating fills the dimples so lime and other minerals have nowhere to hold on and run off with the water, so your glass will stay clear longer. I your glass is coated, do not use acid based glass cleaner such as Windex etc., repeated use will remove the coating. Personally I'm glad we have the coating. Our MB shower glass is as clear as when we bought it, 8 years ago. DH is in a hurry in the morning, so he usually doesn't use the squeegee, while I do. The coating let's you get away with intermittent use of the squeegee. But don't skip too many times, Lime eventually will build up despite the super glossy surface and once there, it's really hard to remove without an acid-based cleaner, in fact it takes lots and lots of elbow grease. Best to not let that happen, and clean at least every other time. I was given a half a dozen specialty shower glass foam spray cleaners by my installers, Well, in 8 years I've only started using one of the bottles. The last time I used it, all I did was remove dust and finger prints on the outside of the shower glass.