Keeping your house clean is an essential part of being a homeowner. The cleaning work never really stops; you dust, sweep, vacuum, clean your bathrooms and tidy up whenever there’s an accident. But did you know that cleaning parts of your house you can’t see is just as important as cleaning your kitchen and bathroom? It’s true! Here are several reasons why experts recommend yearly furnace cleaning in St. Louis, MO:
Increase efficiency: Even the best furnaces become less efficient over time. Dust and other debris can coat the blower motor, switches, heat exchanger and the ignition system. When that happens, the furnace will slowly lose its ability to properly heat your home. If you call one of our technicians to service your unit, you’ll rest assured that we can clean out all of the debris to ensure maximum efficiency.
Avoid safety issues: Furnaces can be very dangerous fixtures. A faulty or dirty furnace poses the very real threat of starting a fire or spewing deadly carbon monoxide gas into your home. Old filters and clogged vents can lead to fires. What’s maybe even scarier is that a dirty heat exchanger is in danger of cracking, which can lead to carbon monoxide leaks! Carbon monoxide can lead to serious health issues rather quickly.
Extend the life of your furnace: A clean furnace is the key to a long-lasting unit. Dirt that gets into your furnace’s switches drastically ages critical components of your unit. Electrical switches and controls, the fan and blower motor and the heat exchanger are all necessary for a fully functioning unit. They also need to be kept clean at all times. Only a professional technician can properly clean all of these vital components.
Retain your warranty: Most furnaces come with some kind of warranty. However, some warranties become void if the manufacturer finds out you haven’t been taking proper care of your unit by having it serviced regularly. Yearly preventative maintenance that includes furnace cleaning in St. Louis, MO will help keep your warranty intact throughout your furnace’s lifespan.
In addition to hiring one of our professionals to clean your furnace, there are steps you can take to help keep the unit clean:
Change the filters: You’re responsible for changing your unit’s air filters between annual maintenance and cleaning visits. Furnace filters can be purchased at any home improvement store for a few dollars. Just be sure that you purchase the exact size specified by the manufacturer of your furnace.
Keep the area around your furnace tidy: Dusting and sweeping around your unit can do wonders to improve the functionality of your furnace. Just think: all of that dust in the unit has to come from somewhere—probably from the floor and ceiling. Make sure you take care of that debris before it has a chance to get inside your unit.
Since this is the time of year when you’ll be using your furnace the most, call Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling today to schedule a visit from one of our professionals for furnace cleaning in St. Louis, MO.
With winter approaching, now is the time to get your home winterized and ready for the season. An HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you get your home ready for winter by ensuring your heating system is ready for operation and your cooling system is prepared for its long hibernation. Here are some ways an HVAC service can help get your home ready for winter:
Change filters: Dirty filters are one of the most common problems when a furnace doesn’t work properly. It can make your heating system run inefficiently, and can even cause it to stop working at all. Changing your filters now can get you ready for the winter and will save you from a repair necessitated by clogging.
Drain AC lines: This is a must, as you don’t want to suffer damage to your AC system during winter. Because any water left in your AC lines can freeze, you need to make sure they are properly drained to prevent this. This is as simple as letting them release any stored water, and an HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you perform this task. This is also a good time to turn the water off at your outdoor spigots to ensure they don’t freeze.
Plug drafts: Are there areas of your home that are letting in cold air? If there are, this can increase your energy bill each month, as your heat is literally going out your windows. Inspect your home for areas where air from the outside is coming in, and plug these holes as best you can. You can use a draft stopper to eliminate the cold air from coming in, or have repairs performed to remove the draft completely. An HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you identify common draft areas and give you ideas for preventing cold air from getting in.
Seal ducts: When your air ducts leak, this can prevent proper heating in your home. Looking for cracks and holes in your duct work can save you money on your energy bill by sealing these areas to prevent air from escaping through them. An HVAC service in St Louis, MO can inspect your ducts for signs of leaks and repair any damaged areas to ensure you have good airflow in your heating system all through the winter.
Check your heating system: One of the most important things an HVAC service in St Louis, MO can do for you is give your heating system a checkup. They will be able to perform a maintenance check on your furnace and make sure that it will operate correctly through the winter. They will clean all components and check your thermostat to ensure that it is holding temperature and functioning correctly.
Winterizing your home now will have you prepared for the cold weather season. An HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you get your home ready and ensure your heating system works properly come winter. For HVAC service at your home or business, contact Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. We are seasoned HVAC contractors with technicians who are skilled in all areas of heating and cooling. Let us identify any issues preventing effective winterization and perform any necessary repairs to your heating system before the cold weather starts!
When you have problems with your humidifier or dehumidifier, it can be frustrating. You expect them to operate properly, and when they don’t, it can leave you feeling disappointed and uncomfortable. Luckily, an HVAC service in St Louis, MO may be able to help. They have experience repairing and servicing humidifiers and dehumidifiers, and will be able to help you get yours back to working order. Here are some of the most common failures that occur with these appliances that you can have an HVAC service help you with.
Common humidifier problems
When your humidifier doesn’t operate at all, it’s possible that a very simple fix is required. Oftentimes the power cord on your humidifier has gone bad and needs replacement. This can be determined by seeing whether the power cord works in another outlet. If it doesn’t, your power cord may be the culprit, and an HVAC service in St Louis, MO can replace it for you. This will get your humidifier up and working again with little effort or expense. This can also happen with a dehumidifier.
If your humidifier is leaking, meanwhile, this is a sign that your connections are not properly secured. You should check all connections from your water supply to make sure they are tight and sealed correctly. If you have plastic connections or hoses, these can crack over time, and an HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you replace them. Also, look for any areas where you might have a clog or a kinked hose, as this can also affect the flow of water to your humidifier.
Common dehumidifier problems
In a dehumidifier, when operation stops, it may mean you need to empty the collection tank. Since a dehumidifier pulls moisture out of the air, it needs an area to collect this water, and the tank is where it does so. When the tank gets full, your dehumidifier doesn’t have any more room to store water, so it stops operating. Just empty the tank and your dehumidifier should start running again. If it doesn’t, this may be a sign of a bigger problem, which an HVAC service in St Louis, MO can help you identify and solve.
Another common failure in a dehumidifier is when it has iced up. This can occur in a room that is too cold. If you notice your dehumidifier has iced up, stop running it, as this can burn up the compressor. Allow it to thaw before resuming operation. If it continues to ice up, the room you are using it in may be too cold for operation, and the heat needs to be adjusted to avoid the problem from happening again. The presence of ice can also indicate that the filter is clogged or the fan is not working correctly. Contact your HVAC service in St Louis, MO to have them look to determine the exact nature of any problem with your dehumidifier.
If you are having a problem with your humidifier or dehumidifier, don’t get discouraged—an HVAC service in St Louis, MO is there to help and can examine your equipment to see what the problem is. For repairs to your humidifier or dehumidifier, contact Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. We are experienced in all areas of HVAC repair, installation and maintenance and can get any component of your system up and running in no time.
With winter getting closer, it is time to start winterizing your home so that you are prepared when the cold weather hits. When that cold weather arrives, it is imperative that your heating system is ready to go without delay. Following this guide to furnace cleaning in St. Louis, MO will help you make sure your heating system is ready for the challenge:
Check air filters: After months of hard work every year, the filters in your HVAC system have probably accumulated a substantial amount of dirt and other debris. Checking the condition of your filters not only ensures that warm air will flow undisturbed throughout your home all winter, but also that your family will have clean, quality air to breathe all season.
Check the chimney: Between extensive fireplace use and heavy winters over the years, your chimney might not be in the best shape. That is why it is a good idea to have a professional check your chimney every year to make sure it hasn’t sustained any structural damage, or collected an immense amount of debris or creosote. Creosote accumulates every time you use your fireplace, and if it goes unattended for too long, a chimney fire could potentially break out.
Check burners: Furnace burners should be checked and cleaned at least once a year, because faulty burners could cause your entire heating system to fail. To check your burners, remove the small chamber door on your furnace and make sure there isn’t any dust, dirt or rust covering any of the burners. After you have inspected the state of the actual burners, turn on your furnace to observe their operation. A blue flame indicates that your burners are in suitable condition, while a yellow flame is a good indication that a burner is old and needs to be replaced. If you see that the flame is yellow or that no flame appears at all, you should call a professional to make adjustments or install new burners.
Check air vents and ducts: If air filters aren’t maintained properly, the collection of debris could blow back into the tubing of your HVAC system and cause blockages that could weaken the air flow in your home. To check the condition of the ducts, turn off your HVAC system and unscrew the vent cover to check for any visible blockage. You should also check for any weaknesses that may be perceptible in the actual ductwork at this time. Even if your filters are consistently cleaned, dirt and other small objects might still find their way into the conduit of your heating system.
Consult a professional: While there are some things that you will easily be able to remedy yourself, it is best to have a professional come in and perform comprehensive maintenance and cleaning on your heating system. An experienced technician already knows which problem areas to check, and can troubleshoot any of the more difficult issues that you might run into while preparing your furnace for another winter. Bringing in professional help is the best way to guarantee that your heating system will work safely and efficiently all season.
If you haven’t been able to find the right professional for all of your HVAC needs just yet, call Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling. In addition to your furnace cleaning in St. Louis, MO, we can repair any trouble units in time for the winter, so act now before you’re left in the cold.
A long-standing debate between HVAC companies in St. Louis, MO has been whether tube heaters or unit heaters are best for commercial buildings and warehouses. The reality is that both are suitable options, and their compatibility with your specific needs is what will make one option better than the other. Let’s look a little closer at the functions of each, which will help to determine which one is best for your commercial heating needs.
Tube heaters
Tube heaters are tube-like heating mechanisms that are usually secured on ceilings or support beams, and are utilized predominantly in warehouses near dock doors or other small sections of space that consistently see cooler temperatures due to an influx of outside air. The tube heater doesn’t heat the air, but instead provides a great source of heat for all of the objects in the area, including people, flooring and walls. The biggest knock against tube heaters is that they don’t heat entire spaces as effectively as unit heaters, because they can only heat the area directly below their location.
While this is a valid concern, it is possible to at least partially remedy this issue with the strategic placement and layout of multiple tube heaters. The higher up a tube heater is placed, the more surface area it will be able to heat. You can also opt for a design that includes larger aluminum reflectors, which will increase the distance that the heat is projected. Tube heaters are also the most cost-effective option, especially if you are placing them in an open area from which forced air would be wastefully escaping. If you have a large warehouse with multiple open spaces and dock doors, then tube heaters might be the best option for your commercial heating needs.
Unit heaters
While tube heaters are powerful, unit heaters pack the most punch. With output specifications of up to 400,000 BTUH, forced air unit heaters are ideal when you do not have specific pockets of cool air permeating a space, and are instead looking to create a more uniform comfort level throughout a room. Forced air units usually operate as one entire system, instead of several individual units that need very specific placement for maximum effectiveness. Warm air is blown into an entire room, and this heated air is distributed evenly, creating a consistent and lasting feeling of warmth that allows you to move around the room comfortably.
Because of the high capacity of unit heaters, you will likely need fewer units to heat an entire building. This means that while tube heaters are the most cost-effective option in the long-term, the installation of unit heaters is cheaper, and can be the best choice if your budget is limited initially. Unit heaters are also ideal in situations where there will be lengthy interactions with customers inside of your building. Not to be taken for granted, this comfort could be one of the reasons people decide to come back.
Tube heaters and unit heaters both have their own practicalities that work best in certain situations. Ashley Brothers Heating & Cooling has been one of the top HVAC companies in St. Louis, MO for more than 15 years, and our experienced team is ready to help you figure out which system will work best for your company.
