Tag Archives: household tips

8 Gas Appliance Safety Tips You Can’t Afford to Ignore

Household, , ,

Gas appliances are not inherently dangerous. In fact, they’re exceedingly safe, as long as they’re well-maintained and treated with care and respect.

YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE

If you have a gas-fueled furnace, room heater, stove, or water heater in your home, here are eight safety tips you would be wise to follow:

  1. Install carbon monoxide detectors in the immediate vicinity of each appliance.

If you have gas-burning appliances in your home, carbon monoxide poisoning is the biggest risk you face. Every year, thousands of people are sickened by exposure to carbon monoxide, and a few people pay the ultimate price.

Carbon monoxide detectors are highly sensitive, and they’ve saved many lives. They do need to be installed fairly near gas appliances to work correctly, and you should change the batteries twice a year even if the low-battery warning beeper doesn’t sound.

  1. Learn to recognize the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide detectors are great, but carbon monoxide is so dangerous that you shouldn’t count on them exclusively. Even if they do go off during a leak and you manage to flee, someone may be exposed to hazardous levels of carbon monoxide before you can get out of the house.

The telltale indicators of carbon monoxide exposure include these:

  • Dizziness or vertigo
  • Steadily increasing drowsiness
  • Tension headaches
  • Muscle and joint stiffness
  • Blurred vision
  • Disorientation, confusion
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Loss of consciousness

If you or anyone else in your home experiences any of these symptoms, leave the house, open all windows and doors on the way out, turn the gas off at its source, and call the gas company (after you exit the house) to alert them to the danger. If anyone’s illness persists, or if anyone loses consciousness, call 911 and ask them to dispatch an ambulance immediately.

  1. Keep the floor and wall space around your gas appliances free and clear.

Don’t install gas appliances near cabinets or shelves or in a spot with a low ceiling. Don’t push the appliance right up against the wall, and keep the floor space around it clear of all obstacles for a distance of 4-6 feet.

  1. Don’t store combustibles anywhere close to a gas-burning appliance.

If it burns, you should keep it far, far away from your gas furnace, heater, or stove. In fact the best idea is to store your chemical products, oil or kerosene cans, paint, newspapers, magazines, and any other flammable items in an entirely separate location.

  1. Make your gas appliances off-limits to children and pets.

No matter how responsible and careful your kids (or cats and dogs) might be, why take any chances?

  1. Check your gas appliance vents often to make sure they remain clean and open.

Vent maintenance is fairly simple and straightforward. Fortunately, modern gas appliances are often manufactured to shut down if venting is inadequate, but if you inspect the vents yourself and clean them out as needed, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

  1. Look for soot accumulation, a yellow pilot light flame, or any other sign of damage or diminished performance.

Older gas appliances need extra-special attention. It might be a good idea to get rid of your furnace, heater, or stove before it ages too much, but at the very least, you have to watch it carefully for any signs of breakdown or malfunction.

  1. Arrange for regular maintenance visits from an HVAC contractor (and other professionals if needed).

If you have a gas furnace, this is where Johns Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning can really help you out. Call us to make an appointment before heating season begins, and we’ll send a trained technician to your home to inspect your furnace for any sign of damage. Quick tune-ups are free, and if more extensive repairs are needed, you’ll be happy to know we’re one of the most affordable contractors in the area, and our technicians are highly experienced in all types of repair procedures. We can also give you the chance to enroll in our maintenance program, which will ensure regular inspections as well as saving you money on parts and labor.

Keeping your gas appliances in tip-top working order at all times is one of the best ways to ensure their continued safe operation, and no matter what type of gas appliance you own, it’s always good to have the assistance of a professional.

 

 

 

 

10 Tips to Prepare You for the Winter Heating Season

HVAC, , , ,

Autumn is a time of transition. When the temperatures drop, the winds rise, and the leaves change color, it means air conditioning season is over, and the winter heating season is fast approaching.

10 Steps to Prepare Your Home for the Winter Season

In the coming months, your furnace and/or heat pump will be charged with the task of keeping your family warm and comfortable on even the coldest winter days. But there is more to home heating than just setting your thermostat at 70 degrees and letting it run night and day.

To get the most out of your heating system, you need to pamper it, customize it, and support it with smart home maintenance actions. You should get to work on all of this at least a month or two before heating season arrives to make sure your equipment is ready to function as efficiently as possible right from the first moment you need it.

Here are some pre-winter preparation tips that will put your HVAC system in prime working order and get your home ready for the long, cold months to come:

  • Plug or fill all potential sources of air leakage. Use caulk and weatherstripping to fill in and around windows, doors, pipes, electrical outlets, and other areas where small air leaks can lead to big energy loss.
  • Clean everything. When your home is shut up tight for the winter, your indoor air quality can deteriorate, putting your family at risk for respiratory disorders and other types of allergic reactions. To remove potential sources of contamination, clean your house thoroughly from top to bottom a few weeks before the heating season begins.
  • Inspect your insulation and add more if you find gaps. Attics and basements are areas of special interest. Spray-foam insulation is probably your best bet if you decide to add more insulation, since spray-foam will penetrate and fill cracks, crevices, and small openings wherever they might exist.
  • Check and clean all air vents. Over the course of the summer, your intake and output vents may become clogged with dust, dirt, and other forms of particulate matter. This can restrict air flow and reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency.
  • Add a humidifier to your home comfort arsenal. Humidifiers will help improve air quality, and moist air also feels warmer than dry air, which means you’ll be able to set your thermostat a few degrees lower than normal and still feel comfortable.
  • Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans. They should run clockwise (at low speeds) during the winter, drawing cool air upward and forcing warm air downward. The use of ceiling fans in winter can cut heating costs down by 5-10 percent.
  • Change your HVAC air filter. This should be done on a monthly or bimonthly basis during the winter months, depending on the quality of the air filter you purchase. You should avoid the cheap fiberglass models and look for something of better quality—like a pleated or electrostatic filter.
  • Install double-glazed or low e-glass windows. By adding an extra pane of glass or low-emissivity glass coatings, you can cut heat loss through your windows by as much as 40 percent.
  • Have your ductwork inspected and cleaned or repaired if necessary. Find a reliable duct cleaning company with good online reviews (there are scammers out there, so beware!), and make an appointment to have your ducts checked for leakage and/or excessive contamination.
  • Call your HVAC contractor to arrange a full maintenance inspection of your furnace and/or heat pump. A full inspection and tune-up for your furnace and/or heat pump should be a fixture on your autumn “to do” list.  A trained technician can find and repair small problems before they turn into gigantic mechanical failures, while performing basic maintenance procedures that can restore your equipment to tip-top working order.

 

 

Tips for Reducing Humidity Indoors

HVAC, , ,

North Carolina summers are notoriously hot and humid, but when this humidity gets too high indoors, problems can occur. Recommended humidity levels indoors are between 30 and 50 percent, but can often exceed that during the hot summer months, especially during a particularly rainy season.

Tips for reducing humidity indoors

High humidity can cause many problems in your home such as mold, mildew, dust mites, rust, wood swelling and doors sticking, in addition to creating a generally uncomfortable environment. A humid home can also cause health problems, such as allergies with itchy eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, coughing and difficulty breathing, and may worsen asthma.

You can’t do anything to control the hot, humid North Carolina climate, but you can take several steps to reduce an overly humid indoor environment.

Here are some simple tips for reducing humidity in your home:

  • Make sure your home is airtight. Caulk any structural cracks or gaps and use weather stripping around doors and windows.
  • Cut down on those household tasks that produce water vapor. Take shorter showers and use cooler water. Cook using the microwave rather than the stove as much as possible. When boiling water, do not remove the lid.
  • Use energy-efficient ceiling fans to keep indoor air moving and keep the air drier.
  • Install exhaust vents in bathrooms and over the kitchen range.
  • Schedule an annual air conditioner tune-up with your HVAC contractor to perform maintenance that is crucial for the dehumidifying function of your AC.
  • Vent your clothes dryer outside.
  • Get rid of carpet, which holds in moisture.
  • Install a dehumidifier. A whole-house dehumidifier installed in the HVAC system can reduce humidity to a safe and comfortable level. Portable dehumidifiers are also quite effective, but have to be emptied daily.

The Attack of the Tree Roots

Household, , ,

Tree Roots and Your Plumbing

The damage that tree roots can do to your pipes.

Tree roots! If your pipes could run for their lives, they would. As attractive as trees are, their roots create a significant danger to sewer pipes. And since they are buried several feet underground, you might not know you’ve got a problem until it’s too late. Johns Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning has the tools you need to clear your pipes and keep them clear.

What Causes Roots in Sewer Pipes?

Many residential neighborhoods are filled with beautiful, mature trees that add charm and shade to area homes. However, the roots of these mature trees enjoy another aspect of residential neighborhoods: their sewer pipes! Sewer pipes have everything trees want: water, oxygen, and nutrients. So roots naturally gravitate toward sewer lines, where they burrow into cracks or loose joints. The problem is especially severe in older homes with clay pipes, as opposed to the newer PVC.

Once roots find their way into pipes, they can cause extensive damage. They will continue to grow, creating a “net” that traps fats, oils, grease, and grit (FOGG) from your household waste. Eventually, they can create larger cracks in your sewer pipes, causing a total rupture or collapse. Replacing a sewer line is much costlier than removing roots, so it’s crucial to deal with this problem before it becomes much worse!

What Are the Signs of Roots in Sewer Pipes?

The first sign you might have roots in your sewer line is slow drains and toilets, or a gurgling sound when your flush the toilet. Once the roots have built their net in the pipes, you may experience a FOGG backup.

What Can You Do about Roots in Sewer Pipes?

For preventative maintenance, you may consider introducing a chemical root killer into the pipes, usually through the lowest toilet in the house. These corrosive chemicals dissolve tree roots, but they require great care—as they can be harmful to skin and eyes as well as family pets. Also, if there’s any chance that your sewer pipe might be cracked or collapsed, you’ll want to get a professional opinion.

That’s where Johns Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning comes in. Our expert plumbers have been helping Triad homeowners with their plumbing problems since 1974. With a borescope—a drain snake equipped with a camera—we can assess the extent of the damage while we remove any existing tree roots. Don’t wait until it’s too late: Call Johns today!