Your furnace keeps your home warm and cozy in the cold of winter, and here in Portland, OR, it will be called upon to perform every day throughout the chilly season. When problems arise with your heater, you want to get them fixed as soon as possible, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry. But before you pick up the phone, make sure that the issue isn’t just a part of the system’s normal operation, and that you’re dealing with a legitimate issue instead of one that just appears to be one. Non-issues surrounding your furnace come in many forms, but here’s a few examples to give you an idea what we mean.
The Clean Air Act Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Portland’
New Baby? Help Make Your Home Clean and Healthy
Monday, January 25th, 2016If you’re welcoming a new baby into your Portland, OR home, congratulations! You’ve embarked upon one of the most fulfilling, and challenging, chapters in your entire life. Naturally, you want everything to be perfect for your new baby, whether it’s your first child or your eighth. A good HVAC and indoor air quality service can be the best friend you have. Here’s a few ways we can help you make your home clean and healthy.
3 Ways to Lower Dust Levels in Your Home
Monday, January 18th, 2016High dust and pollen content can affect a number of homes in the Portland, OR area, increasing irritation in your sinuses and the risk of colds or flus, as well as making cleaning that much harder. High dust levels are of especial concern to those with newborns in the family, or those with family members suffering from conditions like asthma. There are a number of ways to lower dust levels in your home; we’ve listed three of the most popular below.
Benefits of a Heat Pump
Monday, January 11th, 2016A heat pump is a wrinkle on the traditional notion of air conditioning systems, which circulate refrigerant in a close loop. AC systems first vent hot air outside your home, then lower the temperature of air inside the system before blowing it into your home with a fan. Heat pumps similarly offer a “reversible” variation of that cycle: allowing you to heat the home as well as cool it with just the flick of a switch. Heat pumps are more expensive than traditional air conditioners, but provide a number of benefits that Portland, OR residents would do well to consider. Here’s a few of them laid out for you.
Low Air Flow is a Serious Problem
Monday, January 4th, 2016If you fire up your heater on a cold winter’s day, you expect it to deliver hot air right on schedule. But if you have a forced-air furnace and the air flow is suddenly low, that hot air isn’t going to get there as fast as you might like. That may sound like a minor problem: something worth noting perhaps, but nothing compared to, say, cool air blowing out of your vents instead. In point of fact, however, low air flow often indicates a serious issue, and if you don’t take steps to address it promptly, it can cost you a lot of money. A good HVAC service here in Portland, OR, can help you, but you need to understand the severity of the issue before you can do that.
Now is the Time to Schedule Repair and Maintenance Sessions
Monday, December 28th, 2015The new year is upon us, and residents of Portland, OR will join the rest of the nation in watching the ball drop in Times Square and perhaps making a New Year’s resolution or two. But the new year also makes a great time to schedule maintenance and repair sessions for the various components in your home. It’s less exciting than champagne and a kiss from your significant other, but it takes a lot of the hassle out of keeping your home in peak condition, and in the long run it could save you a great deal of money.
Common Problems with Your Geothermal Heater
Monday, December 21st, 2015“Common” is actually a misnomer when talking about geothermal systems. Part of the attraction of the system is its reliability: using coils full of liquid to pull heat from the unchanging temperatures beneath the ground (or to release heat from your home and cool the air in the summer). Here in Portland, OR, the system matches our environment quite well and with proper maintenance you shouldn’t expect many problems from your geothermal system. Having said that, no system is perfect, and issues with your heater may crop up from time to time. Here are a few of them for you to consider.
3 Thermostat Upgrades to Consider
Monday, December 14th, 2015Thermostats are eminently reliable devices. When properly installed and powered, they can last for decades without any trouble at all. But there’s a downside to such longevity: it leaves you bereft of some of the exciting advances made in the field in the years since yours was installed. If you’ve have your existing thermostat for ten years or more, you may want to consider an upgrade to a more modern model. There’s a quality company here in Portland, OR that can perform installation and repairs for you, but before you contact them, you should think about some of the upgrades available and how they may impact your life.
Common Maintenance Issues to Handle This Winter
Monday, November 30th, 2015The chilly season is here in Portland, OR, and with it comes reduced use of your air conditioner and increased use of your heater. You can do your household a favor by scheduling specific maintenance sessions for different parts of your system. Heating and air conditioning systems need maintenance at least once a year to wipe off the dust, tighten loose bolts and screws, and help them perform at their best. But they’re not the only common maintenance issues to handle this winter. Here’s a quick look at some of the others, which can involve both straight-up maintenance and the installation of new devices to help prevent further problems.
Schedule a Heating Maintenance Session Before the Holidays!
Monday, November 23rd, 2015Thanksgiving arrives this weekend, and with it comes the annual tradition of family, friends, good food and football games. If your Portland, OR home is looking to host a Thanksgiving dinner this year – or perhaps something later in the holiday season, whether it’s a formal get-together or just some friends coming over to watch the game – you might want to schedule a maintenance session for your heating system to ensure that everything is working correctly.
What Is a Maintenance Session?
A maintenance session isn’t quite the same as a repair session. Repair sessions are usually conducted to correct a specific problem that’s bedeviling your heater, such as a lack of air flow or an unexpected rattling noise. Maintenance on the other hand, is designed to look for signs of potential trouble that haven’t happened yet, as well as addressing the countless little issues that keep your system from functioning at its best. They can include (and are not limited to) the following: