Going on Vacation? 11 Things You Don’t Want to Forget

Going on Vacation

If you’re anything like our family the summer months, and particularly around the 4th of July, are a time to get out of town for vacation. We love getting up north (up north means pine trees and poor cell service) and spending lots of time on the lake.

You probably have a family tradition or childhood memory of your favorite summer vacation. They sure are a lot of fun and after a long winter or a season of working extra hours we can’t wait to get out of town.

In the hustle and bustle of planning and packing for your vacation how much attention does your home and day-to-day routine get? Do you make sure to take care of things that may not do well on their own while you’re away?

Often, at least in our family, our home can get the short end of the stick when we leave town. Here are a handful of things you should consider and plan for to truly give yourself peace of mind while you’re on vacation. These aren’t just “heating and cooling related” either. Let’s dig in. Read more

WARNING: It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Humidity

humidity

With the exception of having annual maintenance performed on your air conditioner, this is the best advice we can offer you this sumer as you find a balance between turning on your air conditioning and opening windows.

We all have a breaking point with the summer heat when we finally breakdown and turn the air conditioning on. Before that happens you may use solutions like fans, opening the windows, or standing with your face in the freezer.

But once you start using the air conditioning regularly you have to remember this one important tip. This tip is crucial because it will keep your system from running all the time and will result in saving you lots of money. Read more

New Water Heater Regulations

In April 2015 new regulations went into effect on water heaters. While the goal of these new regulations is to make water heaters more energy efficient a by product of this goal has caused water heaters to grow in size.

Now manufacturers are making bigger waters heaters that still hold the same amount of water. The change in dimensions isn’t ridiculously different, about 2-3 inches wider and taller for tanks holding less than 55 gallons, but big enough that replacing older water heaters that are in tight fitting spaces could tricky.

Here’s a brief video from AO Smith explaining these new regulations and how they impact homeowners. Read more

Let’s Talk About Air Conditioner Maintenance

There is a variety of options when it comes to air conditioner maintenance and almost almost every heating and cooling company has it’s own name for it. But what’s included in an annual cleaning (sometimes called preventative maintenance)?

The following are the most important parts of your system that air condition your home and should be inspected and cleaned every year, ideally before you start using it regularly. Read more

No More Excuses! 3 Ways to Avoid Forgetting to Change Your Filter Ever Again

We’ve been talking a lot about air quality since we started this blog and more specifically we’ve mentioned several times the importance of changing your furnace’s filter regularly.

But as we’ve done this a majority of homeowners have said they don’t change their filter regularly. Usually they tell us one of three things;

  • I’m too busy
  • I don’t want to spend the money on a filter
  • I don’t really think it matters if my filter is replaced regularly

We’re going to ignore those of you who think there are not any negative side effects to changing your filter  and focus on those of you with time and money issues (wait, isn’t that most of us).

Here are three quick ways you can help yourself take care of this task. Read more