HAVEN PROPERTIES BRINGS CLEANER KITCHENS TO ATLANTA

Haven Properties is the exclusive Atlanta builder partner in Silestone USA’s The Cleaner Kitchen ProgramTM, which aims to keep kitchens cleaner through filtered water, improved ventilation and Silestone countertops with built-in Microban® protection. It’s one more way Haven’s high-performance homes are friendlier to the environment and the people who live in them.

[ClickPress, Tue Aug 22 2006] The number of microbes on a typical kitchen countertop can double every 20 minutes. They spew from our faucets. They thrive in moist air. But Haven Properties is introducing measures to stop the invasion from the time new kitchens are built.
Haven Properties is the exclusive Atlanta builder partner in Silestone USA’s The Cleaner Kitchen ProgramTM, which aims to keep kitchens cleaner through filtered water, improved ventilation and Silestone countertops with built-in Microban® protection. It’s one more way Haven’s high-performance homes are friendlier to the environment and the people who live in them.
“Since we began building, we’ve searched for the best construction methods and materials to make our homes perform better for our buyers,” said Mike Baptist, President of Haven Properties. “Our homes are already EarthCraft and Energy Star certified to be friendlier to the environment and more comfortable and healthier to live in. Now, we’re offering another way for them to exceed our customer’s needs and expectations.”
Kitchens, where raw foods are handled and people tend to gather, are the primary places where bacteria spread in the home. In 2000, Consumer Reports noted that food preparation surfaces and hands “are the only true critical areas for germ control for the house.”
In The Cleaner Kitchen program, Microban®, a bacteria inhibitor, is manufactured into quartz kitchen surfaces by Silestone USA. Bacteria won’t grow as quickly on the countertops – if they grow at all – so food preparation surfaces stay cleaner. Meanwhile, Silestone’s beauty matches that of other solid surface styles, even the popular look of granite.
Silestone’s durability is also proven. The countertops, manufactured in Spain, are 93 percent natural quartz, giving them a high resistance to damage from heat, scratching, chipping or dulling of the polished finish. Silestone has four times the flexural strength of granite and is stain resistant. The countertops come with a 10-year product warranty.
But The Cleaner Kitchen Program moves far beyond flat surfaces. The Program calls for water filtration out of respect for water’s importance to a healthy body and an awareness of the chlorine, harmful metals and chemicals sometimes found in tap water. Haven added Pür water systems to deliver filtered drinking and cooking water at the kitchen sink.
The Cleaner Kitchen Program’s also addresses effective ventilation in an effort to clean up the air in what is often the busiest room in the home. According to the American Lung Association, pollutants in the average kitchen include toxic chemicals from household cleaners, paint, furniture, carbon dioxide, pollen, bacteria, mold and mildew. Haven was already installing cook top vents that take moist air and odors directly outside as a component of the EarthCraft program. That important step also keeps the kitchen environment cleaner by removing pollutants “out of circulation.”
“Our homebuyers are concerned about living in a clean, controlled environment. They’ve told us many times that our homes’ construction helps control allergies as much as energy bills,” said Tori Ewing, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Haven. “The Cleaner Kitchen concept offers another way for Haven homeowners to live healthier and more comfortably.”
Haven homebuyers aren’t alone in their concerns. A 2003 survey by DIY Consumer Research found that 75 percent of respondents were concerned about day-to-day exposure to bacteria and mold. By implementing the Cleaner Kitchen program, Haven Properties addresses those concerns and creates a cleaner place to call home.
Haven Properties, Inc. is recognized as a builder of semi-custom, high-performance homes for Atlanta area buyers. Haven’s status as a Premier Builder for EarthCraft House and the US EPA’s Energy Star® Builder Partner of the Year demonstrates their commitment to building homes that are not only energy efficient and friendly to the environment but also more comfortable and healthier than standard construction. Exemplary construction standards; sound, honest business practices; a commitment to health and environment; and a gratifying home buying experience for every homeowner are the company’s hallmarks. Haven is now building in Cherokee, Cobb, Dawson, Douglas, Forsyth and South Fulton counties with price ranges from the $300,000s to the $700,000s. For more information on Haven Properties, call 770-752-0919 or visit www.havenproperties.com.
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