How to Shine a Little Light on a Dark Night

Spring storms aren’t always predictable. You don’t exactly know when you’ll lose power and not be able to cook, keep your refrigerator working, stay comfortable or find your way in the dark. That’s why a lot of homeowners create a backup plan. They make the fairly small investment in a home generator to save themselves a lot of trouble later on.

Have you wondered about getting a generator for your home? If so, how do you decide which one is right for you? And how do you safely operate a generator? These are big questions, and we can help you get started on the answers.

If you’d like to learn more about selecting and operating home generators, take a look at our free report: More Power Outages to Come?

What's the Deal with All These Allergies?

Breathing is the most natural, normal thing in the world. Yet, for some people, it’s not as easy as it looks. Allergies kick in, and suddenly a pretty spring day becomes a nuisance for all the pollen it’s producing.

Unfortunately, staying indoors doesn’t always provide relief. And that’s because of all the germs that got trapped inside in winter, the dirt and pet dander the furry ones bring in, the cooking smoke that billows up at dinner time, not to mention the household products that come out during your rash of spring cleaning.

It’s enough to make you sneeze and snort your way through the day. Still, there’s a way we can help. No, we’re not physicians, but we do know a thing or two about indoor air… and we’d be glad to share that info with you. Take a look.

Is Your Home Trying to Tell You Something?

Sometimes you can hear little noises that tell you your home has a concern to address. You know, something like the drip, drip, drip of a faucet that says "fix me." Or the sound of wind that's coming through a crack that should be patched.

Spring is a good time to walk through your home just to "look and listen" to the maintenance issues that cropped up over the winter months. That way you’ll know what needs tending to.

Along those same lines, be sure to add your home comfort system to your maintenance list. Routine maintenance is one of the most practical ways you can preserve the life of your system and preserve your pocketbook at the same time. Maintained systems run more efficiently, which saves you money.

What else should your maintenance tour include? For ideas, take a look at our free report, "Give Your Home a Spring Checkup," available on our Facebook Page for a limited time!

Reasons to Watch What You're Breathing

In this type of work, we see a lot of relieved faces. In weather like this, it’s usually when the heat comes back on after a simple repair. There’s just something about the feel of that warm air on a cold night that lets a homeowner relax and get comfortable again.

But sometimes the relief is about something that has been prevented. That can happen during one of our routine maintenance visits. If we show a homeowner a problem that’s been developing that could lead to a carbon monoxide leak, and then we present a simple solution for making that problem go away, we’re both relieved!

Carbon monoxide is a serious source of indoor air pollution – one that requires immediate attention. And though the danger may not be as high with other pollutants that can get in your home, you can still experience discomfort.

If you’d like to learn more about what could be hidden in your home’s air, we’ve got a free report that can tell you “Reasons to Watch What You’re Breathing.” This report is available on our Facebook Page for a limited time, so check it out soon!

Oh, and you can find out about one of our recommended solutions for indoor air pollution in this helpful video.

To Replace or Not to Replace

With temperatures in low digits like they are now, our heaters and furnaces begin to seem like one of the best inventions ever. Truly, the development of home comfort systems was more than just a good idea. They’re actually life-savers during the harshest weather days.

We always tell friends that maintaining your system year after year does two important things: it helps lengthen the life of the system itself, and it helps improve its energy-efficiency. After all, the quality of your system is directly related to the quantity of energy dollars you spend. And, for wintertime especially, system maintenance alerts you to lurking dangers, such as the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty equipment.

Even so, no matter how well you maintain your equipment, at some point, replacement time comes. If you think that’s true for your home, we’ve got some important things we want you to know.

We’ve compiled a free report with good guidance on how and when to make a sound decision about your home comfort system: “To Replace or Not to Replace.”

In the meantime, stay warm. And call us if you need us!

Does Cold Weather Cause Colds?

I used to think so. (Hey, the name fits!) But even though fall and winter are the “prime time” for colds, researchers say that sniffles and air temperature aren’t necessarily related.

The seasonal occurrence may be due to spending more time indoors. And when indoor groups spend a lot of time together - such as in classrooms - the odds increase that germs will be spread.

Relative humidity may also be a factor. In colder months, humidity is low, and that gives cold-causing viruses a better chance for survival. Also, in cold weather, nasal passages’ lining become drier and more vulnerable to viral infection.

To prevent colds:

• Wash your hands. Hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to avoid colds, especially after making hand contact with others.
• Don’t touch your nose and eyes. Sneeze or cough into a facial tissue and throw it away. Be aware that others with colds put you at risk. Avoid close, prolonged exposure.
• Check into a humidifier. These keep the moisture in your home at the ideal level for your comfort and can reduce your chances of getting a cold. (Plus, they can keep your furniture from swelling or cracking and doors from sticking!) Call us and we will give you more info on these health and comfort marvels! They really work.
• Cold germs can live up to 3 hours on objects and skin. Cleaning surfaces with a virus-killing disinfectant also helps prevent spread of infection.

To learn more about preventing colds this season, read this report on our Facebook Page, available for a limited time!

Don't Invite an Invisible Killer to Your Home

You can’t see it, touch it, smell it or taste it, but it kills hundreds each year. Poisoning by carbon monoxide is a real risk of modern life. A professional inspection of fuel-burning appliances – including furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, clothes dryers and space heaters – could prove to be a lifesaver. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that the yearly, professional inspection include:

• Checking chimneys, flues and vents for leakage and blockage by creosote and debris.
• Checking all vents to furnaces, water heaters, boilers and other fuel-burning appliances to make sure they are not loose or disconnected.
• Inspecting vent pipes on heating systems.
• Inspecting appliances for adequate ventilation. A supply of fresh air is important to help carry pollutants up the chimney, stovepipe or flue, and is necessary for the complete combustion of any fuel.
• Making sure ventilation air openings aren’t blocked.

You can read more here to see how to protect your family from this dangerous, potentially lethal gas.