What can you do on your own and what is best to leave to the professionals? Here are 5 tasks to add to your to do list or ask the professionals to assist you with:
1. Check Your System Twice a Year - As soon as you turn off your heat, it’s time to start thinking about air conditioner maintenance. And as soon as you turn off the air conditioner, it’s time to look at the heating. Don’t wait until the last minute! If you do discover a problem that needs professional assistance, you want to have it dealt with before the hot weather strikes so that you aren’t left on a waiting list with the other procrastinators.
2. Don’t Use Your Condensing Unit as a Storage Shelf - The outdoor part of your air conditioner works by drawing air into the system. This requires it to have plenty of space on top and around it. When you check your system, clear away any leaves or other debris that has gotten caught in and around the unit and resist the urge to store lawn furniture and other objects on top of it to prevent damage and keep it clear when you do need to turn it on.
3. Change or Clean Your Filters - A dirty filter will restrict air flow to the unit. This can cause serious damage to the system and will make it inefficient to run. Make sure to replace or clean your filters regularly. How often is regularly? That depends on the type of filter and how often you run the system. Ask your air conditioner maintenance professional for a recommendation.
4. Check the Thermostat - A thermostat will have a heating setting and a cooling setting. Make sure that it is properly set for the time of year. In addition, a professional can let you know if it is keeping the temperature as it should.
5. Turn It on Before You Need It - Turn on the air before you hit a heat wave to check that it’s working properly. If it doesn’t seem to be producing cool air, the system could have a problem like being low on Freon. Low Freon levels are a sign there is a leak in the system. A professional can assist you in finding the leak and sealing it so that new Freon can be added to the system. Remember that an air conditioner is not meant to burn through Freon. If your air conditioner lacks Freon, this is a sign of a problem not the root of a problem.
Whether you attempt to do it yourself or hire a professional to take care of the entire project, make sure that air conditioner maintenance is marked down on the top of your pre-summer to do list.
Your furnace is a heating system that produces carbon monoxide (CO), a silent and harmful gas that can be fatal. You need to be diligent about regular furnace maintenance in order to keep your family safe from the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Your unit needs to remain efficient and safe at all times.
Natural Gas and Propane Furnaces
Forced-air furnace models that run on natural gas or propane produce carbon monoxide due to incomplete combustion. Most of the small amount of deadly gas is carried out of the home through the ventilation system. However, older models are prone to increased carbon monoxide production, and even the modern high efficiency models can pose a threat in your home.
Regular maintenance of your natural gas or propane powered furnace involves changing the furnace filters at least twice a year, and engaging a qualified technician to service your unit annually. The ventilation system will be inspected, as well as the interior mechanisms of your furnace in order to ensure their proper function. If the furnace is not operating properly, or if a vent cracks, or if the combustion mixture is altered, a significant risk exists. CO may leak into your home and cause flu-like symptoms that signal potential carbon monoxide poisoning.
Tips on Furnace Operation
To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from the operation of your furnace, follow these important tips:
DO
1. Schedule annual furnace maintenance visits and tackle any repairs immediately
2. Change your furnace filter regularly
3. Be aware of and alert to the signs of CO poisoning
4. Install carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home
5. Keep the area around your fireplace clean and tidy, allowing significant space
6. Keep your vents unobstructed and clean by removing accumulated snow, ice, leaves, etc. around the opening
DO NOT
1. Store solvents and other combustibles around your furnace
2. Close off or block more than 20 percent of your registers as your furnace will overheat
3. Ignore signs of distress coming from your furnace – remember that carbon monoxide is silent and can be deadly
4. Assume that your home is automatically safe because you have upgraded to a high efficiency furnace
Furnace regulations are changing and the price of getting a new furnace is going way up. Let us help you beat the deadline with a cost-efficient new FURNACE.
BUT HURRY, this offer ends when the new regs go into place May 1, 2013
YOUR REALITY:
- It will take approx. 25 years to break even on the cost to update your unit under the upcoming new regulations
- The new unit may need to be installed for upflow or horizontally, requiring holes to be cut into your house and adding costs to installation (and repair of your home).
- The average life span for a properly installed and well-maintained new furnace is approx. 20 years. You won’t have to worry about these regs for 20 YEARS!
- Regulations change often–the Dept. of Energy is already suggesting additional costly changes in 2020.
DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT, get more information on the upcoming changes in REGULATIONS from the Dept. of Energy at: http://energy.gov/
Or visit: http://www.achrnews.com/articles/print/118250-due-finalized-regional-standards
Download our information PDF here.
Federal Pacific Electric Company (FPE) was one of the most common manufacturers of circuit breaker panels in North America from the 1950s to the 1980s. Millions of their panels were installed in homes across America. The Consumer Product Safety Commissioner (CPSC) and independent researchers are recommending replacement of these panel/breaker boxes for the following reasons: these service panel and breakers are a latent hazard and can fail or trip in response to overcurrent, leading to electric fires.
Read more here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml83/83008.html
These breakers may also fail to shut off internally even when the toggle is switched to “OFF”. Some double pole (240 volt) FPE circuit breakers and single pole (120 volt) FPE stab-lok circuit breakers simply do not work safely. The failure rate exceeds 25%. Please take this issue with the utmost importance.
The safety of you and your family is not worth the risk!
If you are unsure that you have a Federal Pacific Panel or Breaker Box, give us a call. We’ll come and check it out. While the Technician is there, he can also check to make sure that the electrical box and breaker are working properly and safely.
For more information, download this PDF, or call us at 937.885.0911.
A typical network of pipes in your home goes from under and into the home to the road or public sewer lines. With that network construction, several things can cause backups.
The most common one is tree roots that grow into the lines, sometimes causing leaks…almost always causing backups. The reason tree roots are such a problem is that as they grow into the pipes, they can collapse them.
Thankfully, the life span of a cast iron, concrete or clay pipes is 30 years. But, after that, they become vulnerable especially to the pressure of tree roots. Knowing this, you should be able to determine whether or not a sewer pipe needs to be replaced or repaired.
If you need a sewer pipe or repair, here is why you should call The Problem Solvers:
- We use only high quality materials for long-lasting service
- We are a member of Nexstar, a world-class business development organization with whom we have sworn to a code of ethics
- Our employees are background checked
- We won’t send someone to your home whom we wouldn’t have at our own
- Our thorough training allows us to offer you one price to complete your project with no surprises
- Family-owned, locally independent, with a vested interested in the community in which we live
- Our guarantees and business conduct are best in this area
- Financing available
For more information please download this PDF.
The next several days in Dayton Ohio and the surrounding areas would be a good time to finish that interior home project, catch up on a few movies or finish that novel you’ve been working on … anything, really, to avoid the expected heat.
The National Weather Service for Dayton is predicting that from Thursday through early next week the high temperatures may exceed 100 degrees are issuing warnings and precautions due to the heat wave.
Here is some useful ideas on how to beat the heat:
- Stay cool and hydrated, avoiding alcohol and caffeinated beverages.
- Visit swimming pools and other water areas.
- The elderly and young children should limit their exposure to heat. Offer plenty of liquids to drink, keep them in the shade and/or in air conditioning, and take care not to overdress them.
- Check on elderly relatives or neighbors to ensure they are staying cool and have access to air conditioning.
- Get out of the heat and take advantage of air-conditioned facilities. Avoid direct sunlight when possible.
- Wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
- Do not leave anyone inside a hot car, especially young children, and including pets.
- Keep pets cool and hydrated, especially during peak daytime hours.
Did you know that you can reduce your heating and air conditioning bills by 10% or more with a programmable thermostat? Traditional thermostats waste money and energy by heating or cooling your home when you’re not there. A programmable thermostat allows you to save money by automatically adjusting the temperature settings while you’re sleeping or away. The unique advantage of a programmable thermostat is that it can be set to create the “ideal” temperature for many different times of the day or night, or for different days of the week. You can program your comfort around your lifestyle. It’s a little device, but it can save you BIG money!
