Cleaning a crystal chandelier isn’t as daunting as it may appear. These precious fixtures require a little more love and care than a desk lamp, but you can restore and maintain your crystal’s shine with common household products and a little know-how.

Everyday Care

If your chandelier is still sparkling clean, simply dust the fixture with a lambswool or feather duster every few weeks. Keep your strokes light, since leaded crystal is softer than glass—even dust can scratch it. Be sure to walk around the fixture as you dust, rather than spinning it towards you. Twisting the fixture can strain the wiring or loosen its support.

Spring Cleaning

Eventually, the fixture will need a more thorough cleaning, especially if it’s in a high-traffic area or kitchen. Mid-size chandeliers are still manageable at this stage, provided you have some clean, lint-free rags, isopropyl alcohol, and a little elbow grease.

Before touching the chandelier, follow rule number one: turn off the power to the room when dealing with a ceiling fixture. At least flip the light switch off and tape it so no one will accidentally turn the light on while you’re working. Set up an alternative light source to aid the cleaning. Once the chandelier bulbs have cooled, cover them with plastic snack bags and secure with a rubber band.

Fill a spray bottle with one part isopropyl alcohol and three parts distilled water. Spray on one section of the chandelier at a time, then wipe off with a white cotton glove or lint-free cloth, making sure you dry the frame as well as the crystal. This solution will clarify the crystal and help remove the haze, but is gentler than ammonia on crystal with a design or edge finish. Even so, gently wipe away after spraying and don’t allow the fixture to drip dry. This will help preserve the frame.

Try cleaning your chandelier every two to six months with the alcohol solution, depending on whether the fixture is in a high-traffic area or not.

Heavy Restoration

If your fixture hasn’t been cleaned in a long time (or just needs extra attention), you can go an extra step before calling a professional. This is where a digital camera comes in handy, as you’ll need to remove individual pendants for a more thorough washing. Take pictures of the connections for reference later, then carefully remove the pendants. You may need a pair of needle-nose pliers to help disengage the pendants from the fixture.

Fill a sink with warm water and some gentle dish soap. Carefully wash each crystal piece and rinse in warm water to avoid any drastic temperature shifts. Set the pendants on a clean cloth to dry. Then simply rehang the pendants and enjoy your sparkling fixture!

The short answer is, yes, you can charge your new electric car overnight and drive out into the world with a full charge in the morning. Both new electric cars, the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, started deliveries in Los Angeles in December 2010. If you’re anxiously awaiting delivery of one of these vehicles, it’s time to consider your charging options.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf can drive about 100 miles before it needs a battery charge. The Chevy Volt can drive about 40 miles, and then it starts burning gasoline. It’s a hybrid. Both come with a complimentary charging cord called a “Level 1 charger.” It plugs into an electrical outlet in your garage or carport and requires only ordinary house current. But a Level 1 charger works slowly and won’t take you from a depleted battery to a full charge overnight. You may still be able to use a Level 1 charger if you have a short commute which would allow you to top off your battery overnight. Here’s more about Level 1 charging.

Drivers who have longish commutes or who don’t charge up every night will want faster charging with a Level 2 charger. A Level 2 charger takes a Nissan Leaf battery from completely empty to completely full in 8 hours; 4 hours for the Volt. So, even if you totally drain your battery, with a Level 2 charger, you’ll be able to fill it by morning. A Level 2 charger is usually purchased along with the car. It’s housed in a container about 18 inches around and hangs on the garage wall, sticking out about a foot. It requires installation of a 240 volt circuit, higher than ordinary house current.

Both Nissan and Chevy will arrange your purchase and installation of a Level 2 charger if you wish. Both car manufacturers have contracted with electrical contractors that they’ve trained and certified. Or you can make your own arrangements with an electrical contractor.

Purchase and installation of a Level 2 charger costs about $2,000. The price can vary quite a bit depending on the distance of the charger from your electrical panel and on whether you need an upgrade of your panel size to accommodate the additional power demands of the charger. Some lucky homeowners, who registered for a California state research project on electric vehicles, will qualify for a discount, or even free purchase and installation. And, here’s some good news: A few days ago, on April 27th, L.A. DWP announced a rebate of $2,000 to homeowners who install a Level 2 charger as part of their research project. A rebate of this size is significant as, in many cases, it can cover the entire cost of the purchase and installation of a charger. Click here for more information on L.A. DWP rebates for EV chargers.

All homeowners who buy an electric car will benefit by their far-sightedness. No more stops for gas. No more worries about gas prices creeping up to $4 or $5 a gallon (or more?!) any time there’s unrest in the Middle East or a natural disaster. They’ll know that they’re contributing to the solution to our dependence on foreign oil — about 60% of that oil is sucked up by our gas tanks. For this reason, President Obama has set the goal of one million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. For us in Los Angeles, every electric vehicle makes our skies bluer — when you’re running on electricity, your car is emitting no pollution or greenhouse gases at all.

For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — If you’re interested coupons for electrical work, for example, $50 off installation of a Whole House Surge Protector in the L.A. area, click here on our coupon page.

However, choosing a ceiling fan can be a sometimes difficult endeavor. Knowing what size fan would fit your room, the ideal style, what type of lighting you’ll need, the features the fan contains and staying within your budget can all be a bit of a challenge. We understand that it can be a challenge, so 1800Lighting is here to help; this is the ultimate buyer’s guide for selecting the perfect ceiling fan for almost any need.

Buying an older house always comes with a certain amount of risk. The history and craftsmanship might be appealing, but even the most attractive aesthetics can hide expensive repair projects.

Frequently, old homes will quickly prove to be in desperate need of carpentry help, re-painting or maybe even an exterminator. Perhaps the most common issue an older property will have is a badly outdated electrical system.

The average American home would've been built in the early 1980s, and many older properties are still being sold. Many of these houses still haven't been rewired to deal with the demands of modern devices and appliances. The evidence will be in sparse electrical outlets, lights dimming when you turn on other appliances or breakers that seem to trip for the smallest electrical loads. If you find yourself taking too many climbs up ladders for blown bulbs or too many trips into the basement to the breaker box, consider overhauling your electrical system

The older your system the bigger the project you'll be looking at. Old houses may lack access to spaces where the wires themselves need to be replaced instead of just rerouted.  Projects like this may have to be done piece-meal over time. Materials alone could cost over $1000.

By Maddie Ogletree

What goes on behind the scenes of March Madness often goes unmentioned. The action is up front, while the lights and cameras are working hard in the background. Some major aspects of the March Madness experience happen without a hitch, and sometimes they’re the hardest to manage. No wonder there was a lighting mishap during the Super Bowl in 2013.

Amidst all the madness this March, take a moment to notice the electrical components powering the stadiums, such as:

The music and sound effects heard during the event can all be attributed to the thousands of cables running throughout stadiums across the country, linking the AV control rooms to the speakers above the court. When stadiums are built, every single cable is intricately installed to enable you to experience the sights and sounds of March Madness the way you’re able. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, host of the Final Four and championship games, reports about 764,000 cables in their audio and video setup alone!

To ensure that the arena doesn’t go dark mid-play, backup generators are a must to make sure everything runs smoothly during the games. It might not be the first concern to pop into your mind, but in an emergency or accidental power failure backup generators are the heroes of the game. Most arenas are prepared for these events and have multiple generators ready to go in the event of a power failure.

How the stadium stays perfectly lit is not often considered, but it’s a necessity for these games that can be tough to power. Recently, NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas updated their lighting to a more sustainable system. The new system draws 337 kilowatts of energy at full power – 60 percent less than their previous system. That’s huge, especially when their stadium now houses more than 65,000 LEDs. Imagine keeping all of those lights functioning properly during the entire South Regional game.

Keeping up with the scores at games is easy with the giant screens present at every modern sports arena. But most people don’t realize the energy that is needed to show those replays on the big screen. While it does take quite a bit of energy, arenas are starting to focus on using sustainable sources of energy. The Moda Center, which will be hosting second and third round games for this year’s March Madness, purchases 100 percent renewable energy programs.