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How to make sure your HVAC technician has performed the right job?

Ownership is such a great feeling. What a relief it is to realise that something belongs solely to you. No rent, no extra precautions, no worries or fine etc. Living in an expensive country like Canada and primarily in the Toronto, having the ownership of all home appliances is not easy. It is for this reason that the dealers offer appliances on rent, appliances on monthly installment and on loan. There are not too many people who manage to spend on home comfort heating and cooling appliances easily but if you're among the fortunate ones who do, you probably need to breathe deep for a while and feel super blessed if you own all your home comfort heating and cooling appliances with a one-time payment.

So, taken a deep breath? Now come to the point of importance. Actually, it is not about being able to spend, it is rather about spending where it actually benefits. While you purchase your favourite home comfort heating and cooling appliances, there comes a time when they need repair. Or else, a regular maintenance and tune-up, of course, remains the part of appliance keeping. The question is:
How certain are you that the technician who serviced your appliance performed all the necessary steps?

We can say with certainty that more than half of the Canadians are never sure whether or not the technician they paid for servicing their appliance performed the necessary maintenance steps or not. Let's resolve the problem. Here's a disclosure of what a technician on a maintenance visit is supposed to do. For now, we're highlighting the Furnace Maintenance. Stay tuned to our to our blog as we'll be providing you with more hacks.

7 ''to do's'' a professional technician will certainly do when performing a maintenance check of your home Furnace
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1. Danger-Danger, CO Leaks

With a gas Furnace at home, never forget that your technician on a maintenance visit is supposed to check your Furnace for CO leaks. If he doesn't tell you that you're breathing safe air or doesn't have any idea whether or not there are leaks, bid him a goodbye as soon as possible and call a professional because.....he's just another guy hired or may be a hoax.
 

2. Clogged chimneys

When your chimneys or vents get enough clogged with dust and debris, they begin to throw back the residual gases back into your home in annoyance. So don't overly annoy them. For that, when a professional comes to check your Furnace, see whether or not he gives a quick look (and of course quick cleaning) to the chimneys and vents.

3. Air Filter cleaning/replacement

Replacement of Furnace filters and duct filters is a must. Since you're not doing a maintenance on your own and have paid the technician for a complete maintenance check, let him do his job completely.

4. Checking Thermostats:

Did you know that sometimes the reason of a sudden breakdown of an appliance is not the appliance, in fact, the faulty thermostat? As the thermostat directly affects the operational activities of a heating and cooling appliance, thermostats need to be checked carefully to make sure they're performing the right function.

5. Cleaning Pilots

Coming to the inside of a Furnace, cleaning of the pilots is also a major maintenance check task a professional is supposed to do. Your Furnace pilot might be all okay if you are good at appliance keeping so your HVAC service provider will not have to do the cleaning but make sure he checks the pilot at least.

6. Analysing Motors and Fans

Your motor is important and so is your fan. Very important in fact! Who will blow the heated and treated air if there's no fan? And, on the first hand, how will your Furnace function without a motor? So, be sure, these two components are not left when having a maintenance check of your Furnace from a technician.

7. Cleaning burners and checking pipelines:

No burner, no heat. No heat no comfort. The burner is basically a must check on a maintenance check visit since its inappropriate functioning can turn everything upside down. Also, giving a proper check to the gas pipelines is extremely important and is, therefore, a highlighted 'to do' on the maintenance checklist of a pro.

Final Note
Not sure if you get tired of all those long details or found them useful for yourself. We're glad if you benefitted from the said. Next time when a technician comes for a maintenance visit, you'll know what to expect from him and how to make sure he's doing the right maintenance.

Till next time. Cya!


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Have babies and have a Fireplace? Do this

You have to be extremely cautious if you've little angels around you and have also a  Fireplace set up in your home. You know fire is dangerous, your 1-year-old does not. Since children like to explore new things and want to experience things on their own, a fireplace could be very fascinating for your child. While you cannot keep an eagle's eye on your crawling and walking child all the time, it is essential to take precautions so as to avoid any harm.
We've thought of some practical and powerful ways to baby-proof your gas fireplace


Set up a barrier


All your baby would want it to touch the blazing flames. Although many gas fireplace setups have freestanding screens, they are not safe. Even a toddler's slight push is enough to pull the screen down. And then, the fire is all there. Danger!
The right way to baby proof your fireplace is to install a barrier or moveable gate in front of the fireplace.


Make use of Child-proof fireplace locks


You might be using an enclosed electric fireplace or woodburning stove. In this case, use child-proof locks to make sure your baby doesn't get to the inside of the fireplace to explore it. Keep the fireplace locked when not in use.


Hide fireplace starters & remote controls
If your baby's quest to explore is really serious, he'll find them anyway but for the good of him and yourself, keep the fireplace starters or remote controllers out of the sight of children. As they say, ''out of sight, out of mind'', let's hope your baby will forget to dig out the fireplace secrets by not seeing fireplace related things and activities around.


Soften hearth
If you've a fireplace with a hearth structure around, it could be really dangerous for your child. The tiles on the hearth are usually very hard. Also, the hearth edges are extremely sharp. As the little ones go up and down the hearth, there are chances of serious accidents particularly by coming in an improper contact with the hearth edges. In order to baby-proof it, install foam tiles in the area surrounding the fireplace.


Regular Maintenance
Your Gas Fireplace could be leaking carbon monoxide and your baby's life could come under serious risk with him breathing near the fireplace here gas is being leaked. Play safe and install a carbon monoxide detector near your gas fireplace. Also, don't forget to call a professional HVAC technician (of course certified) for a regular checkup of your home appliances and your Fireplace in particular. Maintenance of gas fireplace from professional drastically reduces the risks of accidents. We'd strongly endorse that with baby's presence at home, do not try to troubleshoot things on your own else you might end up worsening the problems. Ask professionals for assistance.

Bottom Line
In every Winter, hundreds of children are taken to the hospital emergency due to the accident caused by not baby-proofing the fireplace. The accidents may sometimes cause causalities. We've mentioned simple and practical steps to baby-proof the gas fireplace. Let's hope if you've babies, this article was of help for you and you'll follow the mentioned steps to baby-proof your fireplace.
Happy Winters & be safe!


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6 Things to consider before purchasing a new Furnace

Whether you're purchasing a furnace for the first time or wish to replace the older one. There are things you need to consider in order to purchase the right thing for the comfort of your home. Consulting an HVAC service provider is always the best choice, we, however, would also like to help you learn the things to consider while purchasing a Furnace.


Efficiency:

Greater the efficiency, greater the price. A high-efficiency Furnace is nonetheless better than a medium of low-efficiency Furnace, it, however, has high prices and not everyone can afford it. When you're looking for a new Furnace, better not to choose for low-efficiency Furnace merely because of their low price because the relationship goes like; greater the efficiency lesser the energy bills. Purchasing a good quality product though costly saves on energy bills for a long run. So consider the efficiency of the Furnaces when buying one.

Brand:

There's a mistake that most homeowners do. In order to save money, they choose unknown brands or low-quality brands consequently face troubles of repairs and replacement later. It needs to be understood that well-known brands that sell products of high quality at relatively higher prices have made their name only after satisfying thousands and thousands of customers. Instead of taking a risk of purchasing unknown brands, it is better to choose a well-known brand of Furnace.


Size:

Size matters! Different homes have different requirements. Purchasing a large sized Furnace for a small home would only be a waste of money. Similarly, purchasing the small wrong size for a larger home will only require you to add more heating systems to satisfy the heating needs. It is, therefore, important to consult a reliable HVAC service provider before purchasing the new Furnace.


Quiet Operation:

And there are people who absolutely hate appliances that make noise. If you happen to be among such people, another thing important to consider for you is to check how quiet it is while it operates. These days, most Furnaces have a quiet operation, however, there are still some brands that manufacture noisy Furnaces. If you purchase mistakenly one of such brand, oh! you'll have to bear up with the noise for the next 10-15 years so make sure it's a peaceful Furnace.

Warranty:

A faulty appliance if stops functioning only after some time, or turns out to be damaged at the time of installation would cause a big loss. Warranties are there to make sure you face no such loss. That's why, at the time of purchasing a new Furnace, check whether or not the product you're buying offers a warranty.


Service Provider:

So, who are you going to take services from? Choosing a high-quality furnace is not enough. When you choose the Furnace, also make a wise choice to hire professionals to service and install it for you, else all your spent amount will soon be ruined. Taking quality installation services is as important as purchasing quality Furnace since the wrong installation will bring the need to repair.


Mentioned were the points to consider before purchasing a furnace. If you wish to make the right choice, it is important to consider these points so that your appliance functions efficiently for the longest possible time, money is saved and warmth is enjoyed.  

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