The Importance of Having a Manufacturer Required Tune-up for Furnaces

It is easy to overlook the need for servicing your furnace regularly until it breaks down on you. You can guarantee this will never happen at a convenient moment, but will always occur at the coldest point of the year, at that moment when winter really begins to kick in. Having your furnace regularly serviced will help alleviate this problem by identifying any parts which are worn or working incorrectly or which are leaking. In addition regularly having a furnace service will help maximize its efficiency and filter changes will help ensure your indoor air quality is the best it can be. All air cleaners and air handlers need regular maintenance, and it can also help to have regular duct cleaning as excess dust and grime in these areas will slow down the flow of air, forcing your furnace to work harder. Regular maintenance will help reduce your heating bills and increase the life span of your furnace or heat pump. Finding a good technician at this stage will help eliminate the time spent searching for an emergency furnace repair service.

Typical Points Covered by Your Furnace Service 

Having your furnace serviced by a licensed technician should ensure certain points are covered. These include carbon monoxide leak detection, checking for any hazardous materials in the chimney, and maintaining air filters and changing them where necessary. In addition the technician will look at the motor and fan to make sure they are operating correctly, and will check to make sure the blower has good capacity. They'll also be looking at any safety controls and the thermostat to make sure they are all working properly. If you have recently had a new furnace then it may be necessary to have manufacturer required maintenance to ensure the warranty is still valid. 

Protecting Health and Safety through Having a Furnace Service

All these points are very important, and help protect your health and safety, especially the detection of any carbon monoxide leaks. Carbon monoxide is completely odorless and tasteless and can kill you before you realize what is happening. Regular furnace services also help reduce the amount of bacteria and dust particles within your home, which could be especially important if you have anyone very young or very old to care for.

Why Is It so Important to Have Duct Cleaning?

Duct cleaning is one of those things that is very easy to overlook, but it's important not to do so as you breathe in whatever comes out of your ducts. When you consider your ducts may contain mold and fungus, leftover construction debris, particles of food and pet hair then it's easy to see why this is so important. Every time your furnace turns itself on, any debris in your ducts will enter the air, reducing indoor air quality. Having them regularly cleaned helps to eliminate any cold spots within your home as it makes it easier for your furnace to maintain a regular temperature level right throughout the property. This is something that isn't necessary to have done every year, as duct cleaning should last for several years depending on your individual circumstances.

Dealing With and Protecting Your Family from the Effects of Radon

Just in case you didn't know, radon is a radioactive gas that can cause cancer. The trouble is its invisible, and you can't taste or smell it. It's estimated to be the cause of thousands of deaths annually as radon gas can cause lung cancer. Radon is thought to be the second most common reason for cases of lung cancer, topped only by smoking. It is created by uranium that is present naturally in the soil, rocks and water, breaking down and getting into the air. It can penetrate buildings by moving up through the ground and into the property where it can become trapped, gradually building up. It can be a problem in new and old homes, and it doesn't matter whether your home is particularly well sealed or whether it's droughty. It doesn't make a difference whether or not you have a basement. It can be found in all sorts of different buildings, but you are probably most at risk in your own home as this is where you're likely to spend the most amount of time, and especially during winter when less fresh air is circulating. The only way to know whether or not your home is contaminated in this way is to be tested. The test is actually very straightforward and quick, and is well worth doing.

Getting Tested for Radon

You can use a short-term test to see if radon is present in your home. Some of these tests only need to remain in place for a couple of days while others will need to be left for a couple of months or even longer. In general it's better to leave something in place for longer as levels can fluctuate considerably between seasons and even day-to-day. While a short-term test would at least tell you whether or not radon gas is present, a longer term test will give you a year round average reading. 

Lowering the Levels of Radon in Your Home

In truth, there is no such thing as a safe level of radon as it will always carry some risk. However carrying out radon mitigation can help lower this risk, and will lower the levels present in your home. One of the most used and effective ways of doing this is to use a venting system that extracts radon from underneath the house and vents it to the outside air. This is quite easy to put in place, and can be made even more effective by sealing up any other openings in your home. These types of systems can be easily installed in homes with crawl spaces. Radon cleaning is quite specialized and requires extensive technical knowledge and skills so it's essential to use a contractor experienced in these problems. Radon cleaning generally costs around the same amount as other home repairs.

The Importance of Lowering Radon Levels in Your Property

After radon cleaning has been carried out it's a good idea to test your home afterwards to make sure the levels that have been reduced. It's well worth carrying out radon cleaning, not only from a health and safety aspects, but also to ensure your property maintains its value. It is becoming increasingly common for property buyers to ask about radon levels before purchasing a home.