ebear1271 I am in NY...believe it or not, I found two new products, one is Charlies Soap. I just got it 3 days ago..( read about it on the laundry forum) and I have to say..much better than seventh generation. My clothes smell really clean..a natural real clean.. love it! The only thing with the charlies is, I am not too sure how good it is on getting stains out. I also bought their all purpose cleaner, they said to use it full strenght for laundry stains to pre treat..well it didn't work good for me at all..( couldn't get a chocolate spot out of my daughters white shirt from ice cream) but I have read how other people had better results. they have a web site, www.charliesoap.com they have a first time buyers discount and free shipping. a small 3lb bag does 80 loads Now I am waiting for Shaklee products..lol..I read about that also on the laundry forum. (there is a clickable link on that forum) I actually just ordered it, and did not get it yet. I heard that was a great product too... people have raved about it as well. I figured I will give each product an honest try and see which one I like better and thats what I will stick with. The reason I started using the seventh generation is, it is truly natural and that is not easy to find these days, so many products claim to be, but are not and it's the only one I found local. with the seventh generation, I had to add borax or arm and hammer super washing soda. With Charlies, I added nothing and the clothes were much cleaner. From what some have written , they like Shaklee products better. Shaklee also makes a nature bright to put in the wash, I heard this was wonderful, not only for the wash, but for other purposes also and I heard this zaps out any stain. I also ordered their all purpose cleaner basic H.. it's a very concentrated, one 16oz bottle will last forever, and has multiple uses. For example , for a window cleaner, you only need 2 drops per 16oz of water...( you can buy their set of 3 bottles to make your different cleaning mixes)So..needless to say, I can't wait to try their products. Charlies is all unscented, but Shaklee comes unscented and one with a mild soft scent. I ordered the unscented. You should go to both web sites and read them.. when I get mine, I will try it right away... I will let you know what I think in comparison... so hold off the seventh generation.. I promise, there are better products out there, and I am more than happy to have found them! (not that 7th generation is 'bad' , I just feel that there are other truly natural products out there that work much better) stay tuned...Ree

I don't find that the low e coating makes a big difference. on older windows you could tell easily but on newer ones the low e is a light blue or greenish tint. low e is a good savings as it keeps heat out in hot climates and keeps heat in in cold climates. the location of the low e coating determines which window is for which climate. here is a link that shows the nfrc sticker. lots of good info on this little tag. http://www.nfrc.org/label.aspx this org rates most all windows, if you are looking at windows that are not independently rated..shop a little more and get nfrc certified. if the windows have full screens you could do solar screens but these are always dark. solar screens can be 70% or 90% depending on what amount of light you want to block. maybe lower %..these are just common to my area. look for the nfrc sticker on windows. this shows the location for the window (see above) and the visible light that comes thru the window. as a retrofit...I'd look at both low e windows to determine if the slight tint is ok and solar screens. sometimes it is difficult to properly flash replacement windows. best of luck.

Trish, the window shop I met with (who sold a wide range of brands covering all budgets) actually suggested mixing brands to lower the overall cost, BUT you need the right product and layout for it to work well. The way our house is laid out you will never see the sides and front at the same time, so the bedrooms could have a more budget friendly window. I would not mix brands in the same room or open space. Have you tried going back to your window shop and asking for a better price on the Andersen versions? Doesn't hurt to ask.

Hi @ashishkb - This is such a frustrating post to read - I'm so sorry!! Was Marvin able to resoIve it for you? I'm about to order the same windows (with black interior) and am now going to be worried about this! ha This is a bit off-topic but I have been hunting madly for images of the Elevate double-hungs with black interior - yours are so lovely! I just found out that the track that the bottom sash will glide on cannot be black which I was worried about, but I can't even tell in your photo! Would you mind sharing if you find this to be an issue? I think one of the tricks is the white frame on your window - it might keep it from looking too high contrast. I want to update mine to this same look! I would be so appreciative of any thoughts you could share on this issue! And I REALLY hope Marvin resolved this properly for you. Thanks!!