How To Improve Indoor Air Quality Naturally

February 1, 2020

Your home should be a fortress that keeps you safe from harm. Unfortunately, the air inside it can often become so polluted that your home causes you harm instead of protecting you from it. Typically, poor indoor air quality is caused by the closed and sealed nature of a home, which prevents pollutants from leaving and fresh air from entering. Fortunately, there are several natural solutions to the problem of poor indoor air quality. Here are a few that should help spark some ideas of your own. Plants Plants are often appreciated for their ability to purify the air outdoors. Fortunately, these same air-purifying properties also apply to plants that are indoors. Plants absorb carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and other common indoor pollutants, releasing fresh oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, if you want to purify your home’s air, a thriving garden of indoor plants is a great place to begin. Activated Charcoal Another great way to absorb pollutants and foul odors in your home is to use activated charcoal. Activated charcoal typically comes in cloth pouches of various sizes and is made from the charred remains of bamboo and other plants. Due to the millions of tiny...

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What Can Be Done to Prevent Mold Buildup in My Home?

January 20, 2020

Mold exposure is more common than you may realize. You can find mold in both the inside and outside areas of your home. For those with asthma and allergies, it can cause harmful side effects. Here are several ways to prevent mold from growing throughout your home. Clean and Dry Surfaces to Prevent Mold Some places in your home are breeding grounds for mold, including floors and sinks. When you have a non-porous surface, it is easy to use a disinfectant or other cleaner to prevent mold. For those with soft surfaces, a vapor steam cleaner is another effective way to disinfect the home. As you use this product, you want to make sure that no moisture remains on the surfaces. Mold can start to grow on wet surfaces in only a few hours. Keep Proper Airflow With proper air circulation, you can limit the growth of mold in your home. If you have dark areas or confined spaces, then you should focus on keeping those places ventilated. For those with heating and cooling systems, you need to schedule regular maintenance on the unit. At , our technicians can conduct a complete inspection of your ducts. We can help you...

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What Are the Most Important Rooms to Have an Air Purifier in?

January 10, 2020

The best rooms to put an air purifier in are the ones where you and your family spend the most time. Purifiers are designed to clean the air in the immediate vicinity by removing the contaminants. Those who suffer from allergies are said to benefit from the devices the most since they have sensitivities. Here are the most important rooms to put an air purifier in. Bedroom The most important room to put an air purifier in is the bedroom — yours as well as the bedrooms of your children. This is the room where you spend the most time because this is where you sleep. As you sleep, you are breathing in all the contaminants in the air as well as anything else floating around. An air purifier can clean the room for you so that you can get a healthy sleep. Living Room The living room is a great room to put a purifier in because it is shared by the entire family. This means that everyone’s sensitivities collide there. To keep everyone comfortable, keep the air in this space clean. Nursery If you have a nursery for your newborn, you want to ensure that your baby is...

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Are Annual Furnace Inspections Necessary?

January 1, 2020

Ideally, you will have your home’s furnace inspected at least once a year to ensure that it is in proper working condition. An inspection may make it possible to detect minor issues before they wreak havoc on both the furnace and your finances. Inspect Every Aspect of the Furnace It is unlikely that you have the tools or experience to conduct a thorough and comprehensive furnace inspection. A NATE-certified technician from in O’Fallon will ensure that there are no gas leaks, that the motors are clean, and that there are no physical defects that need to be fixed. Service plans may be available that make it easier to ensure that your furnace gets the attention it needs. Ensure Your Furnace Is Efficient Throughout the Year An annual furnace inspection will enable this component to work more efficiently during the colder winter months. Ultimately, your home will be warmer without necessarily increasing your heating bill. This is because you may be able to keep the thermostat at its current temperature or even lower it a few degrees. Furthermore, you will see even heating throughout your house, which means that you may not need space heaters or other products that use extra...

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What Causes Heating Repairs?

December 20, 2019

As the winter holiday season kicks in full swing, you’re probably going to start spending more time indoors. To get that conducive holiday experience that you so much desire, you may have to resort to heating and warming your house using various solutions, the most common of which is your HVAC equipment. What frustration level can exceed that of turning on your heating equipment only to find out that it is broken? Here are various causes of such problems that may prompt heating repairs. Strange Noises Your heating equipment’s functioning parts can produce some strange noises that you have never heard of before. These noises are normally associated with a developing problem, which, when left unattended, could lead to a major breakdown. Most strange noises come from the equipment’s moving parts, such as the blower or even the drive belts. Insufficient Heating When you turn on the thermostat to adjust the temperature setting, it may fail to capture the accurate heat levels that you desire. This is another common problem in most of our homes today. It is caused by thermostat-related problems, which can be corrected by replacing the thermostat. It can also be caused by a malfunctioning furnace, where...

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How to Save Energy During the Holidays

December 10, 2019

The winter holiday season has already begun. It is commonly associated with a frenzy of holiday-related activities, such as cooking, decorating homes, shopping, and even buying gifts. As you may have already noticed in previous holidays, your energy expenses tend to go up, thereby raising your electricity bills. This holiday season, you can leverage the following tips to save energy. Go for LED Lights Your temptation to use the conventional incandescent lights should be overcome by cheaper, more cost-effective LED lights. These lights consume only 10 percent of the energy that regular incandescent bulbs use. Decorating your Christmas tree with LED lights will, therefore, save you a ton of money. Use Energy Efficient Appliances The market today is awash with various energy-efficient appliances, such as those provided by , which have an ENERGY STAR label. These appliances go a long way to catching on the energy expenses. When purchasing appliances to use for your cooking and other household holiday activities, you may want to focus on checking for the ENERGY STAR label. Go for the Fireplace Heating is probably one of the most energy-consuming areas in your home during the holiday season. Using your HVAC equipment to warm your house...

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How Clean Is Your Indoor Air?

December 1, 2019

Air pollution is a major cause of concern in the world today. Dirty, polluted air is closely associated with a range of infectious diseases, such as the flu. That’s why you cannot afford to live in a home environment where the air quality is compromised. Living in a clean indoor air environment can greatly enhance your home comfort. Here are tips on how to clean and boost the quality of your indoor air. Preventing Smoke Accumulation Any kind of smoke can greatly compromise your air quality. To prevent such cases, it is important to consider basic measures, such as banning indoor smoking. The fireplace should also have a well-functioning chimney to let out any smoke that may otherwise build up in your sitting room. You may also choose to install smoke detectors to warn you whenever smoke accumulates unknowingly in your rooms. Improving Your Ventilation To ensure optimal levels of indoor air quality, your house needs proper air ventilation. The circulation of air between the inside and outside of your house should be enhanced by well-installed ventilation systems. At , we greatly recommend homeowners to consider installing HVAC equipment to ensure that such circulation is achieved. Monitor Indoor Humidity Levels...

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What To Do If My Furnace Keeps Turning Off

November 22, 2019

Various problems can cause your furnace to constantly be turning off and on. This revolving sequence of turning off and on is called short cycling. Do not despair! Fixing this problem can be simple and relatively inexpensive. What You Can Check There are three simple things you can check to see if they are causing your furnace to keep turning off: Filter: Check to see if your air filter is clean. If your air filter is dirty, it will restrict the air flowing into your furnace, causing the heat exchanger to overheat. When the heat exchanger gets too hot, your furnace will turn off. Open the filter door and remove the filter. If it is covered in dust and dirt, go ahead and replace it. Replace your filter every two or three months during heating season. Thermostat: Make sure the thermostat is working properly. If your thermostat is functioning improperly, it will send wrong information to your heating system controls. Observe it while your furnace is operating. Look for anything that is odd. Make sure the batteries are fresh. Vents: Make sure all of your heat vents are open. Open all of the heat vents in your house or business....

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Furnace vs Fireplace: Which One is More Efficient?

November 15, 2019

People in Missouri have all sorts of options when it comes to heating their homes, but the most common debate is probably furnace versus fireplace. Both options offer advantages, and the choice of whether you should go with a gas furnace or a gas fireplace may come down to personal preference and the design and size of your house. Among the factors you should consider are BTU ratings, efficiency and reliability. What Is a British Thermal Unit? Heating power is measured in British Thermal Units, or BTUs. One unit is equivalent to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. BTU ratings give you as the homeowner an idea of how powerful a furnace or fireplace is. It should be noted, however, that the BTU rating of a particular furnace may not be directly comparable to that of a fireplace because of differences in their operation. Judging the Efficiency of a Furnace Versus a Fireplace For furnaces, the manufacturer will usually list the unit’s extraction efficiency in the manual. Extraction efficiency is about how much of the fuel is turned into heat. The problem with a furnace is that some...

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3 Tips for Maintaining Your Furnace This Winter

November 7, 2019

has been a leading provider of heating services in O’Fallon for more than 35 years. Our clients often ask us what our top tips are for preventing furnace problems in winter. While in-person answers are personalized to the customer, here are our top three tips for the average homeowner. 1. Schedule a Tune-Up in Autumn We recommend a tune-up in advance of the cold setting in. In fact, most furnace problems that occur during winter can be avoided through preventative care. It may seem like an unnecessary cost when everything was fine with a furnace the year before, but tune-ups are relatively inexpensive. They include a comprehensive examination as well as whatever maintenance your system may need. 2. Inspect Your Furnace Filter Each Week Air filters have a much bigger effect on the efficiency and wear and tear of a furnace than most people realize. Many people have the notion of changing the filter every three months, but this is just a guideline and often woefully inadequate during winter. Our recommendation is to check the filter each week. If you can see that the filter is dirty, replace it, and if the color is unusual, schedule service. 3. Reduce Your...

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