Straight From the Professionals – Tips for Plumbing Winterization

November 16, 2020

Unless you’re a resident of South Florida or Southern California, all Americans are prone to plumbing problems when winter rolls around. Nobody should fear winter for the household issues the season might cause. These tips should help you winterize your plumbing against the upcoming winter season. Prepare Your Outdoor Faucets Called various names, including hose spigot, sill cock, and hose bib, outdoor water faucets make gardening, home improvement, and recreation easy. You’ve probably seen these covered up with Styrofoam during the winter. Believe it or not, this step isn’t sufficient for preventing freezing. Crawl underneath your home and find the sill cock’s shutoff valve. After turning it off, open the valve to let any remaining water drain. Unroll hoses to clear them of water, too. Store hoses in any indoor space, including sheds or garages. Now, it’s time to cover the spigot with the ubiquitous Styrofoam faucet cover. Look Into a Pipe Heat Cable Unlike your home’s living spaces, your crawlspace probably isn’t insulated. Home to most of your home’s plumbing, its lack of insulation leaves pipes vulnerable to freezing. Rather than beginning a full-scale insulation-installation project on your own, a pipe heat cable is a much more convenient solution...

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Are There Benefits to Whole-House Surge Protection?

October 20, 2020

If you have expensive electrical equipment in your home, it can easily be damaged during a storm. A simple way to ensure your appliances don’t get fried during a thunderstorm is to simply unplug them. However, what happens if you are not at home and a storm hits your area? This is where whole-house surge protection comes in. Whole-house surge protection is designed to protect your equipment from both large and small surges. Here are some benefits to having this kind of protection in your Charlottesville residence. Protects Against Lightning and Thunderstorm Damage Having a hurricane or powerful thunderstorm in your area can be frightening, not just for your pets or the trees on your property but for your electrical equipment, too. Lightning can destroy anything that is plugged into your outlets, such as your computers, your laptop, your charging phone, and more. If you live in an area that gets plenty of storms, you will want to invest in whole-house surge protection. Protects Against Small Internal Power Surges Often, the power surges in your house will be small and a result of internal appliances, such as your air conditioner. Although these kinds of surges will not fry your electronic...

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HVAC Maintenance Tips All Pet Owners Should Heed

September 23, 2020

A majority of American households host pets, the most common of which are dogs. While they might be man’s best friend, they certainly aren’t good for allergies, asthma or HVAC systems. Fortunately, however, with these expert tips, you can care for your home’s central heating and cooling system—and the people you live with—without kicking your furry friends to the curb. Keep Urine Away From Your HVAC System Even with proper training, pets are still liable to urinate on your house. Male dogs and cats, for example, mark their territory by spraying urine on objects. Your furry friends may very well urinate on your HVAC unit without you knowing it, causing parts to malfunction or even the entire system to fail. Erecting a fence or enclosure around the HVAC unit is recommended; be careful, however, not to block airflow to the unit, which can cause other problems. Protect Wiring and Other Components From Damage Many pet owners don’t like placing their pets in cages while they’re at work or otherwise away from home. Without supervision, pets are liable to damage your home’s HVAC unit, external wiring, air filters, thermostats and other important HVAC system components. While caging your pets is one...

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Benefits of Duct Sealing

August 16, 2020

Duct sealing represents a service performed by many HVAC professionals. When thinking about cooling and heating systems, homeowners may think solely about the air conditioner and the furnace. They don’t always think about the ducts, which provide a “highway” for the air to travel. With proper duct sealing, homeowners can receive performance support for the HVAC system. What is Duct Sealing? Air can leak through the ducts, often around the seams or in gaps. Duct sealing involves processes intended to eliminate these leaks. And there are scores of benefits to patching things. Improved Efficiency If hot or cold air escapes through leaks, then the air isn’t circulating through the home. While a homeowner might not receive the full benefit of the air, expect to receive a full energy bill. Think of the electricity and natural gas required to heat or cool the air. The fan spins to send the air to the ducts, and, if it gets lost due to leaks, the energy expenditure to create it remains the same. Then again, continually running the HVAC to make up for the lost air would drive costs up even further. assists Charlottesville-area residents with HVAC and indoor air quality service requests....

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How Can Air Quality Affect Your Mental Health?

July 16, 2020

The air in your home can have a significant impact on your ability to sleep, concentrate, or otherwise live a normal life. Let’s take a look at how poor air quality can lead to problems at work, school, or in your personal life. It Can Be Difficult to Sleep With a Stuffy Nose If your nose is clogged, you may spend half of the night rolling from one side to the other trying to find relief. It may also be hard to sleep when your eyes won’t stop itching or you can’t stop sneezing. When you don’t get adequate rest, you may be more vulnerable to changes in mood that can lead to anxiety and depression. Not enough rest can also be responsible for lowering your immunity to illnesses as simple as a cold. Mold Toxicity Can Lead to Cognitive Issues Exposure to mold can cause a variety of symptoms including depression, insomnia, and attention issues. These and other symptoms occur as the result of toxins entering the body and accumulating over periods of weeks, months, or years. Those who believe that mold is causing problems with their mental health may want to have a professional from in Charlottesville, VA,...

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How to Tell if You Need Air Conditioning Repair Work

June 18, 2020

When a cooling system is working properly, it can make the air in your home significantly more comfortable than the air outside. However, if an air conditioner isn’t properly maintained, it may not operate as efficiently or effectively as it should. Let’s look at some signs that repairs may be needed. The Condenser Unit Is Making Unusual Noises If you hear rattling or banging noises coming from a condenser unit, there is a chance that debris has become stuck inside of it. There is also a chance that a fan blade or part of the motor has broken off and is rattling around in the unit. Ideally, you will have someone from in Charlottesville come to your house and inspect the air conditioner. It may also be possible for a technician to replace your current cooling system with a newer and more efficient one. You Notice Strong Odors It is hard to miss the smell of wires or other electrical components that are hot or melting. Electrical problems can be caused by lightning strikes that hit close to your home or by running your air conditioner for several hours or days at a time. If you notice a sweet aroma...

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How Indoor Air Quality Data Helps HVAC Technicians

May 14, 2020

As an experienced HVAC technician will tell you, it is absolutely crucial for technicians to have well-rounded knowledge, clear information, and reliable data relating to the indoor air quality of any space they work in. There are many aspects of HVAC work that make indoor air quality data an important feature for technicians to understand and pay close attention to during their time with any given HVAC system. The Overall Importance of Indoor Air Quality When people discuss air quality, they often speak about outdoor air quality issues, such as large-scale pollution from the abundant modern use of fossil fuels and other factors like factory farming. However, the more direct threat to any individual’s health is most likely to be the quality of their indoor air. Most people spend the large majority of their time indoors, whether at work, home, school, or any other place they frequent. Because of this, indoor air quality is an extremely important topic. Pollutants traveling through the air in an indoor space can easily cause harm to the occupants of that space, whether it be immediately and quickly or slowly over a long period of time. How Indoor Air Quality Data Helps HVAC Technicians Since...

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Five Air Conditioner Maintenance Tips

April 17, 2020

Whatever the age of your ducted or ductless air conditioner, it can benefit from regular maintenance. While many maintenance tasks require the work of an expert, some can be done on your own in your Charlottesville home. Below are just a few tips to maintain your AC unit. 1. Replace the Air Filters Filters, normally located in the return air supply vent, capture indoor pollutants and prevent them from collecting in the air handler and ductwork. The amount and type of pollutants that air filters can trap depends on what they’re made of. Your vents most likely have pleated filters; these tend to be effective for 60 to 90 days. If you don’t replace them, they’ll obstruct airflow and put extra wear on your AC unit. 2. Clean the Evaporator Coil The evaporator coil, found in the indoor air handler, has refrigerant running through it to absorb heat. Even with filter replacements, this component can build up dirt, which insulates the coil and hinders the absorption. Keeping your evaporator coil clean will allow for more efficient cooling as well as for keeping the air flowing smoothly. 3. Clean the Outdoor Unit In particular, you’ll want to clean out the condenser...

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocol

March 16, 2020

We have all received way too many of these letters in recent days. So first, we want to say thanks. Thanks for trusting us to keep you and your families safe and comfortable in your homes and workplaces. Thanks for continuing to support local businesses like ours so that our employees and their families can continue to thrive. To that end, we are taking the following actions to ensure the safety of our employees as well as your safety and comfort. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Protocol Following the current guidance from health authorities, we at Beck Cohen are taking steps to protect our employees, our customers and our community: In the field: Technicians are wearing fresh disposable gloves at every job and wearing ventilators as needed or at your request. Trucks are stocked with disinfectant cleaning supplies to be used wherever technicians are touching surfaces in your home or workplace. Each call will end with technicians wiping down everything in your home which they have touched. Keep in mind that most of our work will be out of your living space and we will attempt to minimize the amount of time we spend with you. Washing hands before and after each service...

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Carbon Monoxide’s Impact on Indoor Air Quality

March 8, 2020

Most people think carbon monoxide is just a danger during house fires, but the reality is that it can cause problems in many other situations. Learning how your indoor air is affected by carbon monoxide can help you figure out whether or not it poses a risk for you and your family. What Does Carbon Monoxide Look and Smell Like? Carbon monoxide’s effect on your indoor air quality may not be immediately noticeable. This gas is completely odorless and tasteless, and it is completely invisible. This means that you cannot tell if your air quality is affected by the smell or look of your air. Does Carbon Monoxide Damage Your Health? Carbon monoxide might not seem that noticeable, but it can be even more dangerous than other air quality problems like dust. The problem with carbon monoxide is that it keeps your body from being able to carry oxygen around with blood cells. This means that having high amounts of carbon monoxide is essentially like suffocating. At levels of around 10 to 29 parts per million, carbon monoxide can cause chronic health problems like headaches and trouble focusing. At higher levels, it can cause problems like nausea, impaired vision, dizziness,...

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