Home Care Tips and Reccomendations

Change or clean filters once a month. To determine how dirty the filters are, hold them up. If you can easily see light through them, then they’re still clean enough to use.

Get a yearly planned maintenance check on equipment. At a minimum all safeties, controls and filters will be checked.

Inspect the blower for worn, shiny or sagging belts. Worn belts can cause undue stress on the fan motor.

Never run your air conditioner when outside temperature is below 60 F. Coils may frost up, restricting air flow.

Wait at least 5 minutes before restarting your air conditioning unit. This relieves stress on the compressor.

Keep drapes, curtains and furniture away from registers and returns. This will help air flow and make your home more comfortable.

Keep vegetation, grass clippings and leaves away from your outdoor air conditioning unit. This will help maintain its efficiency.

Clean permanent filters once a month with dishwashing detergent, rinse thoroughly and let them dry before replacing. This allows a free airflow, reducing stress on the fan. It also keeps the coils clean leading to lower operating costs.

Water heater maintenance; drain and flush the tank, and check all pressure and safeties once a year.

High water pressure may be shortening your faucets life.

Humidify for comfort; the average heated home has a relative humidity level of 13-16%, the Sahara Desert is 25%. 40-60% is ideal.

Digital thermostats save energy through pin-point accuracy.

Have your steam boiler checked and skimmed once a year. Vents and traps should be checked and replaced as needed.

Conserve energy, keep your windows and storm windows closed for summer and winter.

Open fireplace dampers can rob your home of conditioned air and comfort.

Move lamps and lights at least 5 feet away from thermostats. Their heat can influence the thermostat and your comfort.

For optimum performance, humidifier water panels should be replaced once a year. The typical humidifier will only run when the furnace is on so it’s important to make sure we can get as much humidity into the home as possible.