Tag Archive for debris

Kate Miller | October 8, 2012
No comments

What is Burning in My Furnace?

The smell of something burning has to be one of the most ominous and panic-inducing odors you could have circulating through the home. At best this smell is coming from anstock photo courtesy of Simon Howden at freedigitalphotos.net overcooked dinner and at worst the source of the smell is a fire within the home. Either way, locating the source of the burning smell and stopping the burning before it causes damage to the home is imperative.

Every fall, thousands of homeowners start up their natural gas forced air furnaces and within moments notice a burning smell in the home. The cause of this smell isn’t necessarily a problem, but regular burning smells or a burning smell that appears unexpectedly during the season needs to be addressed by a professional. Read more

Category: Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Heating, Helpful Tips, Maintenance, Repair, Safety | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | September 10, 2012
No comments

Storm Debris can Damage Your AC

The summer may be coming to an end, but many of us are still using the air conditioner during these dog days of summer. With the heat here in Chicago we have also had extremely high humidity and powerful storms. The weather seems to be catching up on all the rain we missed out on earlier this season during the drought that spread across the Midwest! The rain is welcome, but the damage these storms can cause is not!

Hurricane Winds in the Windy City

A hurricane as seen from spaceThe hurricane in Louisiana brought high winds up through the Windy City, and those winds tore down trees and branches all across the Chicagoland area. All of this debris creates quite a mess, and if it becomes lodged in the air conditioner, it can cause some costly damage. Read more

Category: Air Conditioning, Cooling, Helpful Tips, Money Saving, Repair | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | July 6, 2012
No comments

Easiest Gutter Cleaning You will Ever Complete!

Cleaning the gutters is no one’s favorite task, but it is one of the most basic jobs when it comes to home maintenance. Scaling a dangerous ladder, sticking your gloved hand in a gutter full of leaf goop, and slopping it into a bucket just doesn’t sound like a fun afternoon. However, this is a job that must be done, and getting it done during the summer makes the task a little less gross. Putting this off could leave your home vulnerable during the weather extremes we have during the summers here in Chicago, so roll up your sleeves and get ready to scrub down your gutters.

Heat Makes Gutter Cleaning Mess Free!

The summer is the best time of year to get a gutter cleaning in because there are many hot, dry days. The dryer the day, the dryer the leaves and debris in your gutters will be. Wouldn’t you rather dig out dry debris than leaves that are soaking wet and musty? Anyone would, and getting to work now could help protect your home. Read more

Category: Home Improvements, Home Services, Safety | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | February 27, 2012
No comments

Get Rid of as Much Dust as Possible!

Most of us lead very busy lives. We barely have time to get to and from work, school, the grocery store, and everywhere else our lives take us, and cleaning may have to take a backseat. We may have the time to tidy up, but tedious tasks like dusting are usually not a priority. We can’t afford to pay someone to do this task for us, so we either deal with the dust or sacrifice something else in order to have time to clean it up. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go weeks in between dusting? You may not be able to eliminate the task all together but you could cut down on this chore by changing the way you clean the air in your home.

The Simplicity of a Whole House Air Cleaner

The easiest and most affordable way to do this is to upgrade your standard furnace filter to a whole house air cleaner. These systems do not add to the energy costs of the home and when their use is maximized, you really can reduce the amount of dust in your home. These units are installed inside the duct work down near the furnace. There it is able to come in contact with all of the air in the home that circulates through the ducts. However, the only time air circulates through the ducts is when the furnace or air conditioner is on because it uses the blower motor to bring air into these units. Read more

Category: Air Conditioning, Air Purification, Air Quality, Heating | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | February 6, 2012
One comment

Filters Filling Up Too Fast

With all of the things that have to be taken care of around the home, we could all use a little help simplifying things if possible. When it comes to maintaining the furnace and air conditioner in your home, changing the filter is a simple task that will help the unit function properly. However, remembering to change that filter can become a bit of a hassle. Put it off for too long and suddenly the furnace no longer works properly.

Upgrading Your Filter

So, you go out of your way and spend more on a fancy filter that should last you 3 to 6 months instead of just one. You check on it after 30 days just to see how everything is working only to find that the filter is filthy and already needs to be replaced. Is there something wrong with that filter or could there be bigger indoor air quality issues at hand? Read more

Category: Air Conditioning, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Furnace, Home Services | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | January 30, 2012
One comment

Did the Clean Up Crew Miss a Spot?

Remodeling projects and repairs leave a big mess in the home especially if the repairs involve drywall. Drywall dust and debris can get all over everything and if your contractors did not take the necessary steps to prevent making a mess, you could have this stuff all over your home and the clean up won’t be easy. You may think that they cleaned everything up but a few cycles of the furnace will prove that they missed a very big spot. The duct work and the furnace are probably filled with debris from your construction project and the only way to get rid of it is to have a professional cleaning performed.

HVAC Clean Up:

  • Duct Cleaning: Every time air circulates through the home it will pick up debris from the job that was done. This along with years of dust and other debris may be lurking in your HVAC reeking havoc on the air quality in your home. A professional duct cleaning will clear out everything that is inside your ducts and collect it safely outside the home for disposal. This will leave you with much cleaner air inside the home.
  • Heating and Cooling Systems: Now that the ducts are clean lets take a look at the furnace and air conditioner. Many homeowners use cheap fiberglass filters that do little to protect the furnace from the particles that flow through the air in the home. All of that construction debris may have found its way into your heating and cooling systems and it needs to be cleared out. A dirty furnace or air conditioner cannot do its job properly or in an efficient matter. You will end up wasting money on excess energy use that could have been prevented with a simple cleaning. Read more
Category: Air Conditioning, Air Purification, Air Quality, Duct Cleaning, Heating, Home Services | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | November 28, 2011
One comment

Snow and Your High Efficiency Furnace

It is the middle of winter. Through the night several inches of snow have fallen and suddenly the furnace won’t kick on. Everything seems to be working properly, but there is something standing in the way between you and your comfort! If you are the owner of a high efficiency furnace, finding yourself in this situation may be common, but luckily, there is a quick fix that may not even require the help of an HVAC serviceman.

New Technology

The technology that makes it possible for your furnace to operate at such high efficiencies is relatively new, and because of this fact, you may not be aware of some of the differences your new system has compared to the unit you had in the home before it. By improving the way that the system is vented, the manufacturers of your high efficiency furnace were able to get more energy out of the natural gas that the furnace would consume. However, this new venting system can become easily obstructed and the obstruction will trigger safety systems to prevent proper function of the system. Read more

Category: Furnace, Go Green and Energy Efficiency, Heating, Safety | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | August 24, 2011
One comment

Imbalanced Blower Motors

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

Category: Air Conditioning, Duct Cleaning, Heating | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | August 17, 2011
One comment

Improving Rain Gutter Performance

Fall is a beautiful season, and it is just around the corner. As summer nears its end, proactive homeowners across this great country are considering the necessary maintenance that will have to be done before winter does arrive. When it comes to fall, leaves, although they may be pretty when they change colors, can create a huge mess in our yards. We can rake the lawn and pick them out of bushes, but there is one spot in the exterior of your home that you must not forget to clean out once the leaves have fallen. It’s your gutters, and clogged gutters can cause major problems for the exterior of your home. Now is the time to protect your gutter from the mess that these next few months are sure to bring and you could prevent these problems for years to come.

Why Do My Gutters Need to be Cleaned?

The purpose of having rain gutters on the home is to carry rain water as far away from the home’s foundation as possible. Without them, water would run off the roof and collect in large amounts at the base of the home. Over time this leads to erosion of the foundation and flooding. Read more

Category: Home Improvements, Home Services | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Kate Miller | March 29, 2011
2 comments

Maintaining Your Gutters

During the fall and winter seasons, the gutters that line the roofing of your home become packed with debris and leaves that will need to be removed. Spring brings rain, lots and lots of rain, and the gutters and downspouts will be working overtime to keep your foundation and roof safe from damage. During the rain, the debris in your gutters will become lodged in the opening that leads to the downspout. This will not allow the large amounts of water to drain properly and could cause damage to your home. Cleaning the gutters on your own involves scaling a latter for hours on end and sticking your hands into the decaying mess that lies along the track of your gutters. The process is dangerous if you are not careful, and quite frankly, it is also pretty gross. However, not cleaning the gutters could cost you more than the hassle of a little spring cleaning.

The Consequences of Not Cleaning Your Gutters:

  • Gutter Damage: The first are of home that suffers when you don’t clean the gutters is of course the gutters! Clogged gutters will not allow water drain and the overabundance of weight will begin to pull the gutters away from the roofing. With time, the gutters could sag low or even completely detach from the roof. This could cost your thousands to repair properly because both the roof and the old gutters will have sustained damage. Read more
Category: Home Improvements, Home Repairs, Home Services | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,