Archive for the ‘Air Quality’ category

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Imbalanced Blower Motors

August 24th, 2011

Furnaces and air conditioners can make many different noises, but when the source of the noise is your furnace, odds are the blower motor is having a problem. This fan is probably the one part of your HVAC system that is worked the hardest and longest. Whether you are using the air conditioner or the furnace, the blower motor is up and running pushing air throughout the home. The slightest disturbance in the rotation of this blower can devastate the part and require replacement.

Costly Part Replacement

What kind of things can disturb your blower motor? Well, years of caked on particles and small pieces of debris that find their way into the blower compartment are enough to throw the blower off balance. These find their way to the blower through your ducts, and more often then not, the problem is caused by a lack of maintenance to the HVAC system. The slightest imbalance will cause the part of burn out much earlier than it would if it were balanced, and trust us, you don’t want to replace that blower motor more than necessary. » Read more: Imbalanced Blower Motors

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Maintenace

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Condensation Leaks

July 20th, 2011

Summer is characterized by two things: heat and humidity. Both are uncomfortable, but having a humid home is simply unbearable at times. Luckily, air conditioning systems are designed to remove both humidity and heat from the interior of your home. The system will condense the moisture in the air into water to be collected by a draining system. Once the moisture is gone, the air in the home will start to feel cooler. Without this capability, air conditioners would offer much less comfort, but if we do not take special care of this component of our air conditioning systems, we could find ourselves with a couple major problems on our hands.

Your Condensation Drain System

After the water vapor in the air is changed to liquid form, it travels to a condensation drain pan to be collected and then drained through the actual condensation drain located near the air conditioner on the inside of the home. You may also have a drain line or pipe that feeds directly to the drain. If any portion of this system becomes clogged, it will appear as though the air conditioner is leaking. » Read more: Condensation Leaks

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, HVAC Repair, Maintenace

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Cartridge Filters Explained

May 4th, 2011

The big topic nowadays is cartridge filters. Next time you’re at Home Depot, Lowes or what ever home center you use, look at the furnace filters. You may notice they sell filters with dimensions of 25” X 20” by 5” thick or 16” X 25” by 5”thick, this is the style of cartridge filter I have in my house. These filters do come in other sizes from 2” thick to 5” thick. The reason they are so desirable is the surface area they have available for air filtration. After looking at a few different MERV rated filters you will notice, the higher MERV rated filters will have more pleats per inch.  You might also notice the higher the MERV rating is the tighter the weave of the filter material. That is the secret of how they work. MERV ratings determine the size of particles that a filter will be able to capture. The higher the rating, the smaller the particles the filter can collect. » Read more: Cartridge Filters Explained

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Posted in Air Quality, Furnace, Maintenace

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Do You Have Horrible Humidity?

April 6th, 2011

Adding and removing humidity from the air in your home is part of creating a comfortable environment for you and your family. During the winter season, the furnace can quickly dry out the air in your home as it passes through the scorching hot heat exchanger. During the summer season, the blazing sun forces excess amounts of moisture into the air creating a sticky uncomfortable world for us to live in. Luckily, many of our homes are equipped with humidifiers and air conditioners that should be able to adequately control the humidity levels all year round. However, many homeowners still have humidity problems, and the issue can often be traced to either the humidifier or the air conditioner.

Is Your Humidifier Still On?

Whole house humidifiers attach at the furnace and distribute moisture into the air of the entire home. If your problem is too little humidity in the winter months, you should check that your humidifier is up on its maintenance. These systems have a filter that needs to be replaced annually, and failing to do so will prevent the system from operating efficiently. Another thing that many homeowners forget to do is turn off the humidifier during the spring and summer months. » Read more: Do You Have Horrible Humidity?

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Furnace

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Spring Filter Questions

March 7th, 2011

Spring is a new season, and with the new season comes new questions concerning your HVAC system. As you being to bring the air conditioner out of hibernation, you may have some questions regarding the air filtration of the system. Filters are a vital part of your HVAC system all year round , and special care and attention needs to be paid to this component of the system during the spring and summer months as well. Hopefully these responses answer some of your filter questions:

  • Does the air conditioner even need a filter?

Answer: Many homeowners don’t even realize that there is a filter that needs to be changed during the summer months. They assume that because the furnace isn’t making heat, they no longer need to change the filter in it during the off season. However, the filter in the furnace is the same filter the air conditioner uses during the summer months. The blower on the furnace that disperses heat also disperses cooling. Failing to change this filter during the summer months could cause major problems for the air conditioner and your entire HVAC system.

» Read more: Spring Filter Questions

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Furnace, Maintenace

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Start the Spring Off Right!

March 1st, 2011

Spring signifies a new beginning for everything around us. The trees and flowers begin to bud, and we will soon start the yearly ritual of cleaning the home top to bottom. However, spring cleaning isn’t just a time to rid your home of dust bunnies. It is also a chance to improve your home’s carbon footprint! There are several ways that you can do this and some cost more than others. But, there isn’t a better time to start making some of these improvements in your home, and it all starts with the HVAC system.

  • Change the Thermostat: If your home still relies on an old dial thermostat to regulate the temperature in your home, you could be wasting energy. Those old thermostats are incredibly inaccurate when it comes to temperature control, and yours could be off by 3 to 5 degrees in either direction. That means that the home has been overheating all winter and will over cool all summer. » Read more: Start the Spring Off Right!

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Duct Cleaning, Go Green, Money Saving

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Scammers Target Seniors

February 9th, 2011

Duct cleaning services are one of the most popular ways remove harmful contaminants from the air in our homes. Those of us that have allergies, asthma, or other respiratory problems rely on services like these to offer some relief from the symptoms of these illnesses. As a result, scam artists have latched onto this industry, and use it as a way to manipulate hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars out of the hands of unsuspecting customers. Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable people in our society, and they have become the perfect target for illegitimate duct cleaning companies. » Read more: Scammers Target Seniors

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Posted in Air Quality, Consumer Protection, Duct Cleaning, Information, Money Saving

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Potted Protectors: Using Plants to Improve Air Quality

February 7th, 2011

When it comes to improving the air quality in your home, you have several choices. Air purifiers, furnace filters, UV lights, and air cleaners are all popular products that homeowners have been using for years to clean the air in their homes, but there is one option that you may not have considered. This “air cleaner” doesn’t get plugged in and you may even already have a few of them in your home. They are plants! Living plants have the ability to absorb and make use of the harmful contaminants in your air supply, and as a result, they clean the air in your home.

Common Contaminants

Plants absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen during their food making process. During a study performed by NASA, it was found that plants also absorb:

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Go Green, Home Improvements, Information

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The Portable Problem

January 20th, 2011

If you are in the market for an air purification system, you have probably already acknowledged that you have an air quality problem in your home. Whether you have a child with asthma or musty smells in the basement, air purifiers are one of the best ways to take care of your indoor air quality problem.

While searching for a new system, you may have noticed that there are both “whole house” and “portable” air purifiers to choose from. When deciding between the two, as yourself one question. “Do I want to clean the air in my entire home, or just one room?” The answer should be simple, but if you need a little more convincing, here are a few more reasons why you should choose a whole house air purification system over a portable unit:

  • Limited Coverage: Portable air purifiers have only a specific amount of square footage that they are able to cover, and many only have a small fan to help circulate air through the filtering devices within the unit. This can leave plenty of areas in the home unaffected by the benefits of owning an air purifier. » Read more: The Portable Problem

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Information, Maintenace

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4 Ways to Relieve Winter Allergies

January 6th, 2011

Winter allergy relief can be hard to find, but what many people don’t realize is that taking care of the HVAC systems can have several benefits upon the air quality in the home. Improving indoor air quality is a great way to improve your allergy symptoms. Here are four ways that that you can help relieve your indoor winter allergy symptoms:

  1. Duct Cleaning: Having a duct cleaning performed will rid your home of excess dust and debris that may be lingering in the air ducts. Most allergy symptoms are caused by dust, mold, dander, and pollen, and a professional duct cleaning service can safely and effectively remove all of these particles from your air duct system.
  2. Installing an Air Purifier: After you have the duct work cleaned, it is also important to install an air purifier. The air circulating through the duct work was also full of dust, mold, dander, and pollen, and a whole house air purifier will pick up any remaining particles that were floating in the air outside of the duct work. » Read more: 4 Ways to Relieve Winter Allergies

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Posted in Air Purifier, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Maintenace

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