Common Warning Signs That Something Is Wrong in Your HVAC System

Your home’s HVAC system is what keeps your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is easy to ignore until something goes wrong. There are common warning signs that something could be wrong with the HVAC system. If you notice these signs, it is best to have an HVAC repair company look at them before it fails.

HVAC Repair

HVAC stands for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system in your home. It includes the furnace, air conditioning unit, and the ductwork. There are quite a few moving parts that keep this system running to keep your home comfortable.

Having an HVAC repair company perform annual maintenance can keep the system running properly. But sometimes unexpected problems can occur. There are various warning signs that you might hear, see or smell, that can alert you that something is wrong with your HVAC system.

Unusual Smells

If you notice a slight burning smell when you turn on the furnace for the first time of the season, it could be the smell of accumulated dust burning off, and it’s usually not a reason to worry. However, if you notice a burning smell at any other time, you should call an HVAC company right away.

Smelling something like rotten eggs or a sulfur smell can indicate a gas leak from your furnace or another area of the house. If you ever smell this, you should leave the home immediately and call the fire department. Do not call from inside the house or turn on light switches, because that could trigger a gas explosion.

Other unusual smells include chemical, moldy, or musty scents. These can all indicate a problem with either the heating or air conditioning system.

Water or Condensation

One function of the HVAC system is to balance the humidity in the house. If you see puddles of water or condensation on or near the system, it could be a sign of a problem. Pipes and coils can wear out and develop leaks. Water leaking or condensation from these problems can cause mold or mildew to form, which is an unhealthy situation.

Strange Noises

Noises like whining, screeching, banging, or thumping are all signs that the HVAC system is not operating properly. Noises like these are usually something like a broken belt, loose screws, or debris that has become stuck in the external parts of the HVAC system.

Noises like wind or whistling can mean there is a leak in the ductwork. Less airflow coming through the vents can also indicate leaky ductwork, which will make the system work harder to cool or heat the home.

You should call an HVAC company if you notice one of these warning signs in your HVAC system. Getting a small problem fixed soon will keep the problem from getting worse.

Ways To Make More Space Within Your Home

Regardless of your home’s size, it’s possible to feel like you’re claustrophobic if your home becomes too cluttered. Luckily, with clever uses of lighting, furniture manipulation, and storage, there are many ways to make more space within your home. Let us show you a few of the best methods you can take advantage of.

Use Mirrors and Lighting

Without adequate lighting, much of your house can become obscured in shadows, especially in the corners. Consequently, even the emptiest of rooms feel smaller because you can’t physically see all of them. By allowing more natural lighting into your home, you can fill out the dark corners and make it feel larger. To help facilitate this light, you should use warm and bright wall colors and mirrors. Doing this helps reflect the light around the room. Furthermore, mirrors create the illusion of space even if they’re simply reflecting the room at you.

Balance Your Furniture

Another way to make more space within your home is to rearrange your furniture into a more pleasing balance. Before you worry, we’re not referring to the practice of feng shui, but rather the simple fact that rooms look more spacious when furnished well. The key is to devise a layout that makes it easy to move through the space. At the same time, it should keep the entirety of the room captivating.

Create New Storage

Maybe you feel like you have too much stuff. Or perhaps you need a storage place for tools and equipment that are important but unnecessary in everyday life. Tool sheds are old solutions to such problems. But these days, prefabricated sheds allow for quick and easy construction. They also look nice. In fact, building a prefabricated shed adds value to your property in addition to being an elegant solution for your storage needs. Other slick ways to add storage include creating a closet under staircases or having the living room ottoman double as a storage place. These storage spaces won’t be intrusive to your home and property.

What to Look For When Renovating an Older Home

Renovating an older home can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a lot of stress. There's nothing quite like the empowerment you feel in making an older home more modern. However, you also have to know what to look for when renovating older homes, choosing the specific projects to tackle, and then somehow keeping it all under budget.

Character to Build Around

Older homes are alluring to many people because they're in established and mature neighborhoods. They have great locations and have usually been around long enough for trees to grow up. There is also a unique charm to many older homes. It might be a quaint fireplace, bay windows, or just crown molding in the dining room. Always keep an eye out for such features. Don't just keep them. Build around them all you can and even accentuate them. In an age of cookie-cutter homes and prefabs flooding many markets, lots of buyers prefer something with individual style. You might just be one of them.

Age-Related Risks

Older homes may have stood the test of time, but how well have they really fared? Take a quick look inside any available circuit breakers to see the inspection and installation dates of the electrical system. Have a contractor get up on the roof, check the foundation for cracks and settling, get a technician to look over the HVAC system. Quite a bit of the home's infrastructure may need to be replaced just to bring a home up to code. Even if a lot of it can be grandfathered in, you might want to do it anyway just for peace of mind.

Opportunities for Modernization

After you decide on specific features to keep for character and deal with old-age problems a home might have, it's time to look for ways you can help bring the home into the modern age. This might be a sweeping overhaul of a whole floor by blowing out walls to introduce an open-concept living, but it can also be as practical as adding more electrical outlets, Wi-Fi, and USB ports for recharging mobile electronics.

Give the Lawn a Facelift

After you’ve worked out the inside and are comfortable, don’t forget to update the outside too. If a sprinkler system isn’t already installed, then that might be the first thing you look into. Not only will it help the grass, but you can have other lines set up for flower beds and trees also. 

Whether you live there or you sell to someone else, the next residents will be happy you looked out for all of these. 

Why You Should Get Your Boiler Repaired as Soon as Possible

Keeping your boiler up and running is an essential part of maintaining your home. Unfortunately, it is also something that many homeowners can overlook. Here are some reasons you should keep your boiler maintained and get it repaired as soon as possible when it breaks.

Catch Problems Early

Your boiler is not an appliance only used during the winter. Every time you use hot water, it is thanks to your boiler. Your boiler might be experiencing issues right now that are only going to get worse during the winter.

If you have your boiler serviced annually, technicians will be able to identify and repair problems with your boiler before they progress and become major, expensive, and inconvenient repairs. Boiler issues do not fix themselves. They are only going to get worse the longer you ignore them.

Avoid Buying a New Boiler

It may surprise you to know how affordable it is to service your boiler and make minor repairs. It is definitely less expensive than purchasing a new boiler entirely.

Doing regular maintenance and checks on your boiler will keep it running correctly. When minor issues are identified, they can be fixed right away. This minimizes the chances of your boiler completely breaking down on you later. A well-maintained boiler will last longer than one that has never received service. This will save you money.

Reduce Energy Bills

Any money you spend on a boiler repair will be recouped in the money you save on your energy bills. During the restoration, the technician will review the condition of your boiler to make sure it is running correctly. The amount of money you will save will vary based on the age of your boiler, how energy efficient it is, and how much you use it. However, keeping your boiler in good condition means that it will use less energy, lowering your bills.

Keep Your Family Safe

In addition to keeping your boiler running efficiently, repairing it keeps it running safely. Thousands of people are hospitalized or die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year. This is often caused by a faulty boiler. Unfortunately, because the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, and headaches, which can be confused with other illnesses or dismissed as nothing at all, people do not realize how their faulty boiler affects them until it is too late. Servicing your boiler ensures that you and your family are safe.

Annual boiler maintenance and repair should not be overlooked. You can avoid having to purchase an entirely new boiler for much longer if you keep yours properly maintained, taking care of any problems that might arise before they have a chance to destroy your boiler. You’ll also be able to keep your family safe from dangers such as carbon monoxide poisoning, something that can be hard to detect until it’s too late. Overall, there are only benefits, both long-term and short-term, to keeping your boiler in decent condition.