We’ve compiled a list of some of our most widely read blog posts throughout the past year, and we hope this helps you keep your home well maintained no matter the season. When it comes to home maintenance, Experts In Your Home knows we’re all better off when we pay attention and keep a close eye on things.
Here are some of our most widely read blog posts over the last year…
Moreover, even if it's more than 100 degrees outdoors, and your air conditioning system is running continuously to cool down your home, you have every right to expect that the temperature you set on your thermostat is the temperature that the air conditioner will deliver.
Clearly, something is wrong. Pinpointing the reason is, like many issues with air conditioners, a process of elimination. So let's take it from the top and review probable causes that you can rectify and probable causes that only technicians from air conditioning services companies can solve on your behalf.
As we've said many times, that soft, meshy device provides some hard reinforcement to your air conditioner. In this case, if a filter is loaded with dust and dirt, it could be interfering with your air conditioner's ability to cool your home. Now might well be the time to pop in a fresh filter.
If your thermostat is hard-wired, check the fuse or circuit breaker; if it's battery-operated, replace the batteries. If these steps check out, the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors recommends testing the thermostat's integrity by taping a thermometer next to the thermostat and waiting 15 minutes. If the thermometer registers a different reading from that of the thermostat, it might need to re-calibrated.
So, just for fun, try testing your basic knowledge with our true/false and multiple choice quiz, with general questions and those specifically about furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps. Rather than keep you hanging in suspense, we've supplied the answers at the end. Try not to peek and ruin all the fun!
1.) HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning:
A: True
B: False
2.) An HVAC system accounts for approximately what percentage of most Americans' total annual energy bill?
A: 10 to 15 percent
B: 20 to 25 percent
C: 30 to 35 percent
D: 40 to 55 percent
3.) Relative humidity refers to:
A: The amount of moisture in the air
B. The amount of moisture in the air relative to the maximum amount possible before the air becomes saturated
4.) Insufficient moisture in a home can cause:
A: Dry, itchy skin
B: Clogged sinuses
C: Aggravated asthma and allergy symptoms
D: Increased risk of bacterial infection
E: All of the above
But accidents, as they say, happen. In fact, there are nearly 50,000 electrical fires each year in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association. It's safe to say that not one of these fires occurs intentionally. That's why they're called “accidents” and not “intentionals.” And that's also why you must know how to put out an electrical fire if one happens to break out in your home.
Take preemptive action with an appliance by unplugging it immediately and cutting the power at the electrical panel. Then call Experts In Your Home so that we can inspect and repair the situation promptly.
It's happened to most of us at some point: we plug in or turn on a new device--a vacuum cleaner, laptop, lamp or blow dryer—and all the electrical power in the room goes blank.
At this point, you have an overloaded circuit on your hands. Technically, this means that the total electrical load has exceeded 1,800 watts for an 15-amp circuit, which most homes are. (The load limit for a 20-amp circuit is 2,400 watts).
The short-term solution is to simply plug the device into another outlet—preferably a general purpose circuit—and flip the circuit breaker back on. But if a circuit trips repeatedly and/or often, a better, longer-term solution is to add up the electrical load so that you can spread it to an “underloaded” circuit or hire a licensed electrician to run a new circuit.
Handling an overloaded circuit is such an important topic that Experts In Your Home is proud to make it part of our ongoing series of articles on do-it-yourself electrical repairs. You might find it to be the most useful and practical article yet—and not nearly as intimidating as it may sound.
Experts in Your Home has spent enough time around homeowners, weekend warriors and do-it-yourselfers to know: it's often not a home cleaning task, per se, that they wish to avoid.
We're all human, so if the Experts have tapped into your own human psychology with regard to concrete stains, you can now rest assured: Most stains can be removed – or at least mostly removed. As with many other home cleaning tasks, Experts in Your Home recommends starting with a simple method before gradually moving to more aggressive methods to clean and remove stains from concrete sidewalks, patios and driveways.
Concrete looks tough and resilient, and compared with a soft surface like carpet, it is. But just because it does not contain fuzzy fibers does not mean that concrete is impervious to cleaning treatments, either.
So treat concrete with care – just like you would a carpet – and test any chemical cleaning treatment in an inconspicuous place first. Let it dry, see how it looks and if you like what you see, proceed with the rest of the area. Expedite your home cleaning job by cleaning concrete when weather conditions are most conducive to doing so – or when it's warm, dry and sunny so that it can dry quickly and thoroughly.
If you've said it once, you've probably said it a dozen times about your home: “It was like that when we bought it.” Such are the decisions that we inherit from previous owners and especially the builder of our home. While some decisions are irreversible, some quizzical and even unwise decisions can be easily altered, including a poorly placed thermostat that inihibits your heating and air conditioning system from doing its job.
How do you know if you should relocate your thermostat? This is one of those questions that requires a bit of a round-about answer.
First, size up two big clues: Is your internal thermostat so out of sync with the reading on your thermostat that you're constantly jumping up to make an adjustment? Or do you notice your air conditioner or furnace turning on when it really doesn't need to?
From clues, we turn to recommendations from the U.S. Department of Energy. It says that thermostats should be installed “away from heating or cooling vents and other sources of heat or drafts (doorways, windows, skylights, direct sunlight or bright lamps).”
Let's isolate some definite poor choices and explain what conditions render them so:
Why it's a poor spot for a thermostat: Between the stove, oven, indoor grill and any other appliance you fire up on a regular basis, your kitchen – and the area around it – is probably the warmest region in your home. Installing a thermostat anywhere near the kitchen is almost a guarantee that it will read the temperature in your home far warmer than it really is. And this means you probably won't feel comfortable at any time of the year.
We can trace the path of electricity from faraway transformers to the lamp that sits on a family room table. It sometimes seems as though a little bit of magic is involved in the journey, too.
You may know exactly what we mean if your dimmer switch or fluorescent light is buzzing and it's driving you to the brink of distraction. Once you know why your light is buzzing, you can take the proper steps to remedy the problem – and execute a quick electrical repair with a magical touch.
After months of planning, these homeowners are understandably eager for work to begin and view the permit process as an unnecessary delay – and sometimes even a form of governmental intrusion.
We have capably navigated the permit process hundreds of times in many different communities. So let us explain why a building permit is necessary, as well as when you might need one and when you might not. Once you're informed and know what to expect, you're bound to face your home remodeling project with greater confidence.
House painting is one of the most important home maintenance projects you can do. House painting upkeep and caulking helps protect your home from weather damage caused by water and sun. Neglecting obviously peeling exterior paint can lead to high siding replacement costs. The condition of the exterior paint also helps determine a home's value. If the exterior painting of your home reflects a high level of care, a person looking to buy a home will be more confident that other areas of your home have been given the same kind of careful attention.
You've probably noticed how it's usually easy for someone else to say “Don't panic” when it is you who is going through a home emergency. Still, if you notice a puddle near your outdoor air conditioning unit, the steadying advice is actually spot-on.
Yes, there might be a problem with your air conditioner that will require a repair. But try to look at the situation this way: one, at least you noticed the puddle before it grew to the size of a pond and two, our Experts have confronted this scenario hundreds of times before and know exactly how to troubleshoot the problem.
When you think about the very nature of air conditioning, and how it works, discovering water near your outdoor unit is hardly surprising – hence the “don't panic” advice. In fact, it's very much like the puddle of water you might spot on your driveway, underneath your car, after you've run the air conditioner and turned off the engine.
It might help to back up to square one and remember that your central air conditioning system functions by removing heat, and not just pumping cool air, to make your home cooler. The cooling process begins when your outdoor compressor pumps refrigerant through your system to gather moisture and heat from inside your home.
During this exchange, moisture in the air condenses on the coil and drips into the condensate pan underneath it. This water is directed outdoors through a drain line. So if you notice a puddle near your outdoor unit, some probable causes include:
Need help with your home maintenance in the coming year? Contact us for a free quote. We can help you out in just about every area of your home!