24 hour furnace repair

What Furnace Issues Should Homeowners Consider a Furnace Emergency?

Introduction

Hey there, homeowners! Just like any significant appliance in your home, your furnace needs attention, especially when things go awry. But how do you know when a furnace problem is just a hiccup or a full-blown emergency? Let’s dive into understanding what furnace issues are serious enough to be considered emergencies.

Understanding Furnace Emergencies The Urgency Factor

A furnace emergency is like a red flag in a car dashboard; it demands immediate attention. These emergencies can not only disrupt your comfort but also pose significant safety risks.

1. Carbon Monoxide Leaks: The Invisible Threat Detecting the Danger

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly. If your CO detector goes off or you suspect a leak, it’s akin to discovering a gas leak in your car – urgent and dangerous.

Immediate Action Required

Ensure you have functioning CO detectors near your furnace. If they alert, evacuate immediately and call for professional help.

2. Gas Leaks:… read full article

How to Increase Furnace Efficiency?

Keeping your furnace running is essential for both your comfort and your budget. Making sure you have the right size of furnace for your home and properly maintaining it will help you maximize energy efficiency, minimize energy consumption, and save money in the long run.

Let’s take a look at some tips on how to improve your furnace efficiency. 

Regular Maintenance 

The number one way to keep your furnace efficient is by scheduling regular maintenance appointments with a certified HVAC technician. A tune-up should be done at least once a year before cold weather sets in to ensure that all components are working properly and that there are no leaks or blockages in the system.

During this appointment, the technician will also check for any other issues that could cause problems. Regular maintenance can help extend the life of your furnace, as well as reduce repair costs if something goes go wrong. 

Clean Air Filters 

It’s also important to replace … read full article

Water Softener Pros and Cons

Water softener pros and cons

Regardless of whether you’re looking to improve the performance of your appliances or save money, there are some pros and cons to consider. These devices are most effective for hot water use but are not necessary for cold water. Hard water is made up of essential minerals, making it inefficient for use in cold water. In addition, salt-free systems add salt to the waste stream. Here are some of the pros and cons of both types of systems.

Salt-based systems are cheaper

There are some disadvantages to salt-based water softener systems. These systems waste water while they regenerate. Some salt-based systems waste as much as 50 gallons of water per cycle. In addition to this, salt-based softeners can raise your water and sewer bills. Although the cost of salt-based water softener systems is lower, they require regular salt replenishment, which can be costly.

The first downside of salt-based water softeners is that they use a lot of salt. They cost … read full article

furnace duct cleaning pros and cons

Furnace Duct Cleaning – Pros and Cons

Many people ask themselves if furnace duct cleaning is necessary. Here are the pros and cons of cleaning your ducts. Among these are the costs, health benefits, and energy savings. Keep reading for more information. In addition, we’ve outlined the benefits of duct cleaning for your home. So, are the pros and cons worth the price? The answer is a resounding yes.

Cost of duct cleaning

The cost of furnace duct cleaning depends on the size of your home and the number of vents. For instance, a simple house with one furnace and a limited number of vents should cost around $200 to $400. Additional ducts and furnaces can push the total price to several thousand dollars. In addition, some companies charge a minimum amount to clean furnaces, but if you’ve added more than one, the cost could rise dramatically.

The cost of cleaning your ducts depends on the number of vents in your home. Generally, duct cleaning costs between … read full article

Efficient Ways to Cool Your Space

Summer is right around the corner, and the temperatures inside your house will soon be rising. Unfortunately, the mere thought of searching for a HVAC company to install an air conditioning unit is enough to have you sweating from head to toe. How do you figure out which AC to buy, and what effect will it impose on your energy bill? What if you live in an apartment that does not allow window units? Worry no more: We have done all the research for your benefit.

The secret to comfort and savings is installing an AC unit that is a good fit for your space. An air conditioner without sufficient power will not do a good job in cooling your home. It could even heighten your power bill while offering poor service. On the other hand, an overly powerful AC system will work too fast and will likely shut off before clearing out most of the humidity thus leaving your … read full article

5 Useful Tips to Finding the Best Furnace Replacement Parts

Furnace Maintenance Hamilton Ontario

Just like any other home appliance or equipment you have in your home, at some point you will need to replace some of its parts. That in itself is good news considering how expensive an entire heating system can be. When replacing furnace parts, it is important to go for a quality furnace replacement to make sure that it is the perfect match that you need for your furnace to run smoothly and efficiently.

What you need to know is that furnace parts are pretty complicated. You just can’t choose a replacement part that looks the same. There are other factors to consider such as the make, the manufacturer, compatibility, size, and all the technical stuff that go with it. To help you make some informed decisions about furnace replacement, read the following tips to finding the perfect fit for your furnace.

Filter – Your First Line of Defense

I simply can’t stress enough the importance of having a clean … read full article

How to Troubleshoot a Furnace

The furnace in your home is an appliance that has a track record of going an extremely long time in between repairs with regular maintenance. As a matter of fact, some people never need anything done to their furnaces during its useful life other than routine maintenance. With that being said, they are a mechanical device and not everyone is so lucky to never need a repair. They are a complicated device that requires a lot of knowledge in order to repair but there are a few problems that you may be able to handle yourself. These are a few ways you can know how to troubleshoot a furnace yourself.

Problem: Low air flow coming out of the vent openings and a wining sound when the system runs.

Troubleshooting tip: This is either a very serious problem with the system or an extremely easy one to correct. Start with the easy one first. Open up the large air intake vent … read full article

How to Save on Gas Furnace Parts

residential furnace repair oshawa ontarioGas furnace parts may be mostly expensive, but there is a way to save money, that won’t compromise the effectiveness of your home furnace.

Many of us know that most gas furnace parts are expensive, and we are always looking for a quality bargain whenever shopping for one. Any person who attempted to fix a home heating system by himself understands pretty well how hard it can be if you don’t have the right gas furnace parts with you. Parts are crucial in achieving an efficient and safe system. However, you only want to spend what’s right for a good quality gas furnace part.

If you know how to look and where to look, you can always find a way to save money. But before making any preparations, make sure you are familiar with your gas furnace at home. The more details you know about your home heating system, the easier it will be for you to look for reasonable … read full article

Taking care of your HVAC Systems All-Important Condenser Unit

If you have lived in your home for more than a few years you are probably familiar with just about every inch of your property inside and out. That means if you heat and cool your home with a convenient HVAC system you realize by now that you have a large component of it in your basement that controls the heat and another large part of it outside that helps cool your home. Many people know that it’s good to get a tune up every once in a while on the inside furnace but fail to do any type of routine maintenance on the outside air conditioning condenser unit. Here are some things you should do to keep your condenser unit running well.

Before starting you are going to need a few things to get the work done. You will either own these things already, have to purchase them or have to borrow them from a neighbor. They are all … read full article

How to Open a Clogged Sink drain

Many people love to cook, so much so that they often times don’t pay attention to what ends up going down the drain in the kitchen. Grease dumped out of frying pans, vegetable trimmings going into the plumbing and discarded food scraps seem to constantly try to work their way through the sink strainer. If they get through then you will end up with a clogged sink drain. So what is the best way to remedy that situation? You can try the following steps to unclog the drain.

1. Extremely Hot Water (Not Boiling)

Very hot water may just do the trick if the problem is grease clogging the line (A very slow draining time is indicative of a grease buildup in the pipes. Make sure the water is not boiling because it may cause the seals between the fittings or the drain to weaken or fail. It may take a few minutes for the water to work its way … read full article

Chillers and How to Choose the Best HVAC Contractor

Chillers create cool water used in the generation of air conditioning in buildings.  However, without proper cleaning, they can cause problems.  Due to spillages and soil blockages, they can hurt your efforts in cooling a building.

The chiller may require either mechanical cleaning or synthetic cleaning relying upon the force of the stopping up. Mechanical cleaning disposes of mud, slime, green growth and other free materials from the smooth-bore tubes. Mechanical cleaning incorporates brushing the tubes, evacuation of the water-box covers, and flushing the chiller utilizing clean water.

For the tubes that are inside upgraded, it is prescribed to look for proficient counsel with respect to the proposals for mechanical cleaning. Substance cleaning, then again, expels scale from the chiller. For compound cleaning, contact an expert who will suggest the right substance answer for the activity. After the substance cleaning, the chiller ought to have an intensive mechanical cleaning.

Chillers generate chilled water which is used to provide air conditioning … read full article

Can You Beat The Heat?

HVAC technicians installing central air conditioner

It is an annual dilemma how humans can beat the heat seeing how the temperatures seem to go up higher and higher as the years go by. The public comes up with all sorts of tips and tricks to overcome the heat and survive the next couple of months when the sun is shining in all its glory. It’s the time of the year when homes are buzzing from the sound of air conditioners working 24/7 to keep everyone the household cool and comfy all day long.

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to have an extensive cooling system installed in their homes. Not to mention that electric bills will skyrocket during summertime and people would rather spend their money on food rather than pay for costly cooling fees. Yet it is a cycle we all can’t avoid as the seasons change every single year.

With a rising population of the indoor generation, it is even more crucial to have indoor … read full article

Broken Heater – How Would You Know?

Technician troubleshooting furnace

Do you have a broken heater?  Some issues are obvious and noticeable while some are subtle and require thorough examination to determine the issue. If you know what you are looking for, it simply means that you will have an easier way of identifying potential and developing problems as early as possible before they become too much handle.

Just as white blood cells are the first line of defense in our body, regular HVAC maintenance is also the first thing we need to do if we want to defend our HVAC systems from having system failures and malfunctions. However, aside from just maintaining your equipment, it is also important to keep an eye on signals that may indicate that there is indeed something wrong with your unit. Gradual increases in our utility bills are easily overlooked if the increase is relatively small, especially if it is a few cents.

These increases, however, can accumulate into bigger problems in the future … read full article

Radiant Furnaces and Boilers

Invisible electromagnetic infrared waves provide us with the warmth that we really need. Compared to other heating methods, for instance, electric pumps, are excellent for heating up any space.

Anything close, especially those that are in the direct pathways of the infrared beams can immediately feel its warmth. Once it warms up, heat is emanated from different objects that are close. Hence, it uses up less energy and is exceptionally productive too.

Many American homeowners use either heaters or boilers to warm up their homes. Heaters make warm air which is then conveyed inside the inside of the house through the use of pipes. Then again, boilers utilize water as the medium to warm up the home utilizing steam or high temp water. For steam boilers, they are scattered into funnels which are then taken to steam radiators.

Forced air furnaces can be powered by natural gas, fuel oil, liquid propane (L.P. gas), or electricity.

Natural gas is the most … read full article

7 Signs of Residential Furnace Problems

Technician troubleshooting a furnace

Has your heating system ever stopped in the middle of the night? Not a nice experience!!  You can avoid these types of experiences with regular maintenance of your furnace.  If you maintain your furnace on a regular basis, you can tell right away if it experiences any of these residential furnace problems that cost lots of money in the long run. Now, the question is how can you tell if your home furnace is having any of these problematic issues? Look for these seven warning signs indicating residential furnace problems that need to be addressed right away.

Old Age – on the average, the lifespan of a regular residential furnace is around 15 years. If your furnace is almost this old or even past the 15-year mark, it is probably time for a much-needed upgrade. By replacing your furnace with an energy saving model, you can boost the energy efficiency of your home heating system aside from avoiding predictable repairs.… read full article

Take Safety Seriously: Make Sure Your Smoke Detectors Are Operational

When you live in Canada, you must have an adequate heating system in order to get through the winter. Different homes have different resources; for example, some people use a furnace while others have a heat pump. As experts suggested, it is important to keep in mind however, that there are risks associated with using indoor heating, particularly if the device in question is not taken care of properly. Obviously, your family comes first. That is why you should have working smoke detectors in your home. Your home must include multiple smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide detector.

Heating and Air Conditioning Risks

Home fires are preventable. However, once a fire begins, it spreads quickly. Smoke fills the living space, making it difficult to breathe and often preventing escape. Smoke detectors alert you to the danger you are facing, while there is still time for you to vacate the premises and to help your family members get to safety as … read full article

The Reason You Should Take Photos of Your Plumbing Installation

Even basic plumbing work can be tricky. Before you break out your tools, the first thing you need to know before making a major plumbing repair or installation is to look at the layout of the pipes behind the walls. It’s difficult to figure out the location of your plumbing without ripping out your walls. Since you know, at some point, you will need to repair or install plumbing, there is one step you can do when your home is being built or renovated which can help you in the future. Take digital photos of your plumbing installation.

The Practical Side of Photographing Plumbing

When people take photos of their home, it’s usually a picture of the home’s exterior, landscaping, or interior decorating. Most people would not consider taking pictures of the inside of the walls; there’s not much inside the walls that people would find beautiful. However, these photos serve a very useful purpose and should be considered more … read full article

How Do You Flush The Toilet When The Water Is Off?

Indoor plumbing is an essential component of the health and wellbeing of every Canadian household. The bathroom toilet plumbing system will work perfectly most of the time for the average Canadian family. It will perform the essential function with a simple pull of a handle. But when the water supply is cut off, the indoor plumbing will not do its job properly. This creates an unpleasant issue in your household. Here are some plumbing tips on how to flush your toilet when the water isn’t working.

Toilet Troubles

A toilet that won’t flush is not serious as a plumbing emergency such as a flood. But it can create quite an unpleasant situation for the person who used the toilet not knowing that the water was cut off. But even if there is no water supply to your home, there are still ways of getting rid of the content in the toilet. Whether the water is turned off due to a … read full article