If you notice a foul odor coming from your bathroom, it's time to put on your detective hat and find out exactly where the smell is coming from.
Unusual noises. High energy bills. Heat is on, but you’re shivering.
Mold can eat or digest any surface it’s growing on; this can lead to damage to your house or any furnishings in your house. Humidity and dampness in the air of your home can generate an environment that promotes mold growth. According to the EPA, indoor relative humidity (RH), should be kept under 60%, ideally between 30-50%. This will keep your house from being an environment that is friendly to mold because it is not humid enough for their growth. Having functioning, effective humidifier and dehumidifier units in your house will hinder mold growth.
Imagine being asked to pay up to $4,000 to get a new furnace today. This is a catastrophe for most families because the average American can’t cover a $500 emergency. Paying for a new furnace or repairing a current one will likely cost thousands of dollars that you are not able to pay today. With your furnace being one of the most important units in your house, it is important to maintain it and fix it as issues arise to prevent a big payment for an issue to your furnace. One way of maintaining the health of your furnace is by having a maintenance agreement with your furnace provider.
A leaking faucet is a common issue that many people face. The constant drips leaking from a faucet can result in an increased water bill in addition to constant annoyance. There are several reasons why your faucet could be leaking. A few reasons why a faucet could be leaking include damage or malfunction of the faucet valves, the washers or the O-rings. These parts of a faucet are vital in maintaining proper function of the faucet and preventing leakages along the pipeline. Although there are many types of faucets, the repair mechanism for most is generally the following: disassemble the faucet and reassemble the faucet, while stopping any leaks during the process. There are several tools needed to disassemble and reassemble the faucet; they include a basin wrench and a few other common tools like a screwdriver and replacement parts depending on the type of faucet.
It’s okay to replace one piece of a furnace or air conditioning system at a time, as they need
replaced, but that can become costly and inefficient as your indoor and outdoor unit work
together to maximize heating and cooling efficiency.
When the time comes to make this decision, it is important to look at how much capital you have
put into your current system, through repairs and rising energy bills, and see if replacing it for a
newer, more efficient system will be more cost effective in the long run.
There are several repairs that are just as costly as replacing your whole system. One of the
most prominent is a cracked heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is a set of coils or tubes that
actually heats the air your system puts out. The heat exchanger can often crack due to
overheating. If you find yourself in that situation, your best bet is to replace your furnace, as
opposed to repairing it.
EnergyStar, a program launched by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, also
has a list of guidelines for when you are faced with replacing or repairing your system.
●Your heat pump or air conditioner is more than 10 years old.
●Your furnace or boiler is more than 15 years old.
●You find yourself making frequent repairs to your equipment and your energy bills
continue to rise.
●Some rooms in your home are too hot or too cold.
●No one is home for long periods of the day and your system does not have a
programmable thermostat.
●Your home has humidity problems.
●You find excessive dust in your home.
●Your heating or cooling system is loud or makes noises.
The average life expectancy of your furnace and air conditioning system is about 12 to 15 years.
If you find your system needing repairs or even the system replaced despite having done
recommended yearly maintenance, be sure to have a
licensed professional evaluate your
system to get to the root of the problem.
There could be venting complications, your system could have been installed incorrectly or your system could be the wrong size for your space.
The size of your system should be based on the size of your home. If a system is the improper
size for your home, it will fail. A too small system won’t get your house as warm or cool as you
want because it cannot keep up with the space it is working in. A larger system does not equate
better heating or cooling, it will only result in overheating the home and frequently turning on
and off, short cycling, the system.
If you are unsure whether or not to repair or replace your furnace, the most important piece of
the puzzle is having a licensed professional from a reputable company, who can fully back their
warranties, repair or install your new system.
Common furnace repairs that may happen in the first 10 years
Not unlike any other home appliance, there are a few common repairs you may find yourself
needing to make to your furnace within the first 10 years of ownership.
Capacitor
The furnace capacitor is part of the fan motor in your furnace. It helps the fan motor start and
provides a steady flow of electricity to the motors.
If it fails, so will the rest of your system, which will be easily noticeable. Signs of a failing
capacitor are: loud humming noises, problems with your air conditioning running constantly,
blowing cold air and starting, or consistently rising electric bills.
If the furnace capacitor is starting to fail or becoming weak, it can be noticed and easily repaired
during recommended yearly maintenance.
Blowers
Blowers run year round to keep air flowing through your household. Since the blower runs
year-round, they have potential to fail earlier than your entire system or other individual parts of
the system.
A regularly changed and proper air filter can help the furnace blower last a longer and run more
efficiently.
The blower catches all the dust and debris that can pass through your filter, therefore, if the filter
is not being changed regularly, it poses potential for the blower to fail prematurely due to
overheating from coping with an old, dirty filter.
Yearly service can also help a furnace blower last longer, because it is cleaned during
maintenance.
Vacuum Switch
The vacuum switch, also called the pressure switch, is designed to shut your furnace down if it
senses negative pressure being created by the draft inducing motor. This protects your home
from backdrafting, which is exhaust fumes entering your system, then entering your space.
A damaged switch is a common cause for furnace malfunctions. Holes or tears, debris build up
or just old age of the switch can cause it so stop working.
Repairs and replacement of vacuum switches are common. The vacuum switch can start to fail
due to age, which can then result in faulty furnace firing.
If your vacuum switch needs replaced, it is most common to just replace the part itself, not your
entire furnace.
Ignitor
A furnace ignitor is fairly self explanatory, it is what lights a burner and starts the combustion
process to turn fuel into heat.
Newer furnaces typically have an electric hot surface ignitor while electric furnaces typically
have a thin wire that receives an electric signal, gets extremely hot and will create a spark to
start the heating process.
Signs of a failing or broken ignitor are similar to a broken capacitor. Hearing your furnace turn
off and on, only feeling it blow cold or cool air and your furnace not running at all are signs that
your ignitor could be ready to replace.
Replacing your ignitor is another common occurrence around five to seven years of operation. It
can be caught during yearly maintenance and replaced.
These common repairs are no need to panic. With any home appliance, upkeep and repairs are
just part of ownership. With regular maintenance and knowing the signs of these common
repairs, your furnace can continue to function efficiently.
Garages are an underutilized space in the home. Garages create extra room for doing hobbies, playing games, and entertaining.
If you find that one room in your house is cooler than others (and not on purpose) you may have an air duct balancing issue. There are some things you can do on your own to investigate the source of the issue.
First, make sure all your vents are fully open and your furnace filter isn’t dirty.
Second, make sure the windows are completely closed.
Once you’ve eliminated your filter, vents, and windows as the problem, then it’s time to call a professional to look at your HVAC system.
You may have an outdated HVAC and it’s time to replace your unit.