News - Page 11 of 21 - Absolute Air

October 6, 2015

6 Things You Should do Before Using Your Fireplace

A fireplace can add charm, elegance, ambiance and of course, warmth to any home. But before you light that first log and relax by its warm glow with family and friends, make sure that both your fireplace and chimney are in safe working order.

Here are some important things you should do before using your fireplace for the first time this or any season:

Hire a chimney sweep. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you have your chimney swept by a qualified professional at least once a year to remove soot and debris that could pose a fire hazard for you and your loved ones.

Make sure the cap on your chimney is secure. Capping the chimney helps prevent rain, snow, birds, squirrels, and debris from entering. If the cap is missing or damaged, have it replaced or repaired.

Thoroughly examine the firebox. Check for cracks, gaps, or signs of wear in the lining of the firebox. If you notice that the lining has deteriorated and the steel body beneath is visible, call a professional to repair it. Otherwise, excessive heat can build up inside your fireplace, causing permanent damage.

Make sure the grate is sized for your fireplace. It should be no more than two-thirds the size of the fireplace opening. A larger grate might tempt you to pile on more wood and build a larger fire, which can overheat your fireplace and cause serious damage.

Inspect the fireplace guard. A mesh metal screen or glass fireplace doors help prevent errant embers from shooting out of the firebox. Check for cracks or other signs of damage and repair or replace it if necessary.

Remember, safety first. Keep a fully charged and ready to use fire extinguisher nearby. Always open the flue before you start a fire and close it when not in use to save energy. And never leave a fire burning when you leave the house or turn in for the night.

As thoughts turn to fall and winter, here’s another timely tip from Absolute Air: contact us today for annual preventative maintenance for your home heating system. It’s the right move for ensuring a season’s worth of improved performance, a reduced likelihood of repairs, lower utility costs and, once again, added safety.

September 16, 2015

What to Expect from Your Heating & Cooling Company

That probably sounds like a funny opener from, well, a heating and cooling company.

But you see, we’re more than that, which leads us to expectation number one: heating and cooling companies should be equally adept at ventilation – the V in HVAC – so that you have proper airflow throughout your home. Without proper airflow, you could have such problems as hot and cold spots which, in turn, causes your heating or cooling system to work harder than it should have to, thus resulting in more repairs and a shorter system lifespan.

And while we’re on the topic of airflow, you should choose a heating and cooling company – or ask the one you already have – about their experience in getting rid of indoor air pollution. Why is that so important? Here are a few very good reasons as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

50% if all respiratory illness is caused or aggravated by polluted indoor air.
Indoor air pollution is rated as the nation’s biggest pollution problem.
The air in new homes can be 10 times more polluted than outside air because they are built so much tighter.

A properly equipped and experience heating and cooling company can rid your home of the contaminants that cause or aggravate allergies, asthma, and other upper respiratory ailments.

In no particular order, here are a few other things you absolutely should expect from the heating and cooling company you depend on for year-round indoor comfort:

Someone who takes the time to learn your home comfort priorities. For example, just how important is cutting your energy costs? Reducing carbon dioxide emissions? Being able to adjust temperature settings while you’re away from home? You have more options today than ever before, and any heating and cooling company worth its salt will make you aware of them.
Someone who emphasizes preventative maintenance to help maximize your investment, improve your indoor air quality, and reduce the likelihood of system repairs.
Someone who respects how busy you are by showing up on time for appointments or at least making you aware of unexpected delays.
Someone who will always take the time to answer your questions, even if it cuts into their own busy day.
Call Absolute Air for heating repair in forney TX

At Absolute Air, we work hard to give you our absolute best each and every day, and to be everything you could possibly expect – and then some – from an HVAC service provider. Try us once, and you’ll see exactly what we mean. And that’s a promise.

September 3, 2015

How to Protect Your Kids from Injury

What does “home” mean to you? For most of us, it’s that one special, nurturing place where we retreat to after a long day, make memories, and celebrate life. Unfortunately, it’s also where millions of children are injured or exposed to toxins on a daily basis.

So in honor of National Childhood Injury Prevention Month (September, 2015), here are 8 ways to make your home the safe haven for your children that it should be.

Prevent scalds by lowering the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and always test the water temperature yourself before putting your child in the tub or shower.

Guard against falls by installing carpeting or runners on stairs. And make sure your stairway has a sturdy handrail on at least one side.

Lock up poisonous items such as bug sprays, household cleaners, and medications.

Secure large pieces of furniture to the wall with anti-tip safety brackets or straps.

Make sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on every level of you home.

Test your home for radon (an odorless, invisible radio-active gas that is believed to be the leading cause of cancer in non-smokers) every two years, or after a renovation.

Make home updates safely. Opt for low VOC-paints, cordless blinds and window coverings, and have your 1978 or older home tested for lead and asbestos before starting any major renovations.

Keep your indoor air as healthy as possible by cleaning or replacing air conditioning and furnace filters regularly, maintaining the humidity level between 30-50% (depending on the season), and not allowing anyone to smoke in your home.

You know what else September is? The perfect month to have preventative maintenance performed on your home heating systems by Absolute Air, your complete resource for home heating, air conditioning, duct cleaning, and more. With annual preventative maintenance, your system will run better, last longer, and operate more energy efficiently – and that means a reduction in your home heating costs. To schedule service, contact Absolute Air today.

August 25, 2015

The Top 5 Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning

When it comes to cleaning your house, the easy way out is to clean only what you can see. Not that there’s anything all that easy about house cleaning, mind you, but when time is short, you at least want the end result to be pleasing to the eye. Especially if company is on its way over.

And while shortcuts can often be very useful, nothing is ever truly clean until it’s entirely clean. But even that can’t be accomplished unless you know where to look, including inside your air ducts. On second thought, never mind – we’ll save you the trouble. Because if your air ducts have not been cleaned for as long as you can remember, trust us, you don’t want to look inside them. The sight can be truly appalling, an unhealthy concoction of some or all of the following:

Dirt
Dust
Pollen
Mold
Mildew
Pet hair
Rodent feces

And then there’s all that other stuff you couldn’t see even if you wanted to, including:

Bacteria
Viruses
Smoking by-products
By-products from cleaning products and other invisible home improvement products, like formaldehyde from new carpeting

Like we said, it’s not a very pretty picture. But it can be with professional duct cleaning services from Absolute Air. And here are 5 good reasons why you should call to schedule today:

Keeps the pollutants inside your ductwork from being blown back into your living spaces by your heating and cooling system fans
Removes numerous known causes and irritants for allergy and asthma sufferers
Helps improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems
Helps lower your energy costs
Helps simplify the rest of your house cleaning chores

How often should you have your ducts cleaned? At least every four years. So if it’s been longer than that, we encourage you to contact Absolute Air today from prompt service and dependable results.

August 6, 2015

How to Prepare for a Home Inspection

blog Whether it’s your first or fifth time, buying a house can be an exciting, overwhelming, and nerve wracking experience. Here’s part of the reason why: just when you find the home of your dreams, all those dreams can go up in smoke with a failed home inspection.

That’s why – buyer or seller – we urge you to follow these simple tips to help bring the buying or selling process to a smooth and successful conclusion.

For Sellers

Help ensure a smooth sale by having a home inspection before you list your home. This allows you not only to make repairs in a timely fashion and set a realistic listing price based on any repairs that you may choose to leave to the buyer’s discretion.

Clean your home as you would before entertaining royalty. All too often, buyers show up at a listed property for a showing or inspection only to find the home a total mess which, in turn, can sour their experience and make them fall a little bit out of love.

Make all areas of your home accessible to the prospective buyers. If you have a detached garage, leave the keys or garage door opener in a pre-determined and pre-communicated location. If the entrance to the attic is in a closet, move your belongings out of the way. And if you have cats or dogs, crate them – or better yet, remove them from your home during the inspection. That way there is no fear of them running out as the inspector goes in and out of the house.

For Buyers

Take the time to be at your home inspection, but try to leave the kids with a sitter or family member. The fewer the distractions for the home inspector, the better.

Understand that every home will have problems, even those newly constructed. Luckily, pretty much all such problems are fixable. The question is whether you want to be the one to fix it.

You can always ask the seller to correct things that you deem to be problematic, but in most cases, they’re not obligated to do so. If they say “no” to any of your requests, then you need to decide how badly you want the home.

Once you get the full report, read every bit of it, not just the summary.

Here’s a tip for you sellers. Never under-estimate the value of low energy bills for today’s home buyers. And since home heating and cooling costs typically account for about 60% of your electricity bill, to say nothing of related home energy costs, your home will definitely be more sale worthy if you have your heating and cooling systems professionally cleaned and inspected prior to the home inspection. For outstanding service with results you can depend on, contact Absolute Air today.

July 22, 2015

How to Minimize Home Maintenance

After a hectic week of work, appointments, extra-curricular activities, and everything else today’s busy families contend with, there’s nothing quite like a weekend with nothing to do but relax. That is, unless you’re a home owner. And then, chances are, your weekends are filled with endless projects and honey-do lists.

That’s why you might be interested in the following building and remodeling materials, each of which is pretty much maintenance free, which gives you more true free time.

Quartz Countertop – In addition to being durable, anti-microbial, and scratch resistant, quartz is also non-porous which means it never needs to be sealed (unlike the ever popular and similarly-priced granite).

Laminate Flooring – Easy to install, modestly priced, and super easy to maintain, laminate flooring comes in countless styles and finishes that can suit any home. It can even mimic the look and feel of exotic hardwoods and pricier natural stone.

Paint – One of the easiest ways to transform a space, today’s paint options are more durable than ever. Look for scrub-able paint for those areas of your home that are prone to finger prints and stains.

Cabinets – Whether you prefer solid wood, laminate, or melamine, choose slab front or shaker style cabinets if you want really want them to be maintenance free. Ornate moldings are pretty, but a hassle to keep clean with all those nooks and crannies

Fiber Cement Siding – Less expensive than wood, fiber cement siding is rot proof, insect proof, and fire proof. Plus it’s dimensionally stable and won’t warp or put stress on paint finishes as the weather changes.

Composite Decking – With color and design options that mimic the color, texture, and grain of real wood, composite decking won’t fade, chip, or splinter like real wood and will stay beautiful for years to come with very little maintenance.

The next best thing to maintenance free is repair free, and we can help provide repair free performance for your home heating and cooling system preventative maintenance. If it’s been a year or more since service was last provided, contact Absolute Air today, and we’ll give you one or two more things to stop worrying about.

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