Wednesday, July 22, 2015

4 Common Causes of Drain Clogging



Though much of their entire system is largely unseen, drains perform a very important function in homes. Without them, dirty water will end up just pouring all over. The same result can be had if you don’t keep your drains clean. If your drains are clogged, your best option is professional drain cleaning. An insight into the usual reasons for drain clogging should help you prevent such problems from happening.

Children

Yes, children can clog drains. No, this doesn’t mean they go down into the drain themselves. It’s just that they tend to throw foreign objects, often toys, down the drain. To prevent this, do your best to supervise them during playtime.

Common Household Items

Aside from what children may throw down your drains, other foreign objects also find their way into drains, albeit unintentionally. Jewelry, soap, and other toiletries are common examples. Remember that toilet paper can also cause clogs and so, should not be flushed down the drain.

Plants

The roots of plants are attracted to moisture in the ground. Well, guess what? Your drain pipes got a lot of them. So, it’s not surprising that roots find their way into the pipes. These can crack the pipes and cause leakage/blockage.

Grease

Slowly but surely, the oily substances you allow into the drain will build up to clog it. So, be careful about washing those utensils in the kitchen sink. Dispose of oil some other way to minimize what goes down your drain.

Keeping the Furnace Functional All Year

Since Canada is placed well in the North, temperatures can get low even in the summer months. In Stony Plain, the hottest month is July with an average high of 25 degrees. Still, it can get a bit cold at night, reaching as low as 13 degrees. From there, the temperatures will drop, reaching an average low of zero degrees on October. Come December, even the average high gets below zero – only rising above zero on March.

With this kind of climate, it’s important to keep heaters in good condition throughout the year. When cold nights strike, heating in the home is going to be invaluable. Thus, it’s important to conduct a regular inspection of your home’s heating system, especially if it’s more than 10 years old.

Taking care of your furnace should ultimately be left to the professionals, though a homeowner can do certain things such as minor inspections. For example, you can take a look at the filter. If its dirty or worn out, it’s just a matter of cleaning or replacing the filter – a task the average homeowner can take care of easily. You can also take care of maintaining cleanliness on the area around the equipment.

Other things to watch out for are unusual sounds, smells, and other oddities when the equipment is in operation. It might mean it needs a further inspection from professionals.

Three Benefits of Ductless Air Conditioning

It’s often hard to cool a home efficiently without existing ductwork. Fortunately, cooling technologies today offer a good alternative for homeowners with this exact dilemma: a ductless air conditioner is a fairly small unit that can efficiently cool any room in your home. It doesn’t need ductwork, nor is it noisy because the compressor is located outside. Here are three more benefits of ductless air conditioners: 

1.       Easy Installation 
There’s no need to yank out parts of your walls to make way for ducts. An HVAC contractor simply has to make a small hole in the exterior wall of the room. This makes it highly ideal for installations in enclosed patios, extensions in your home and converted living spaces.
2.      Energy-Efficient
Ductless air conditioners are very energy-efficient compared to central systems. It’s estimated that a central air conditioner loses about 40 percent of energy via the ductwork alone through issues like leaks, insufficient installation and unconditioned parts of the home. You do away with these inefficiencies when you have a ductless A/C installed.
3.      User-Friendly
User-friendliness is another added benefit of ductless units. They come with their very own programmable thermostats which allow you to set your personal cooling preferences. You can set each room to be as cool as you want. 

These are only some of the best benefits of ductless air conditioning. If interested, talk to a trusted local contractor to know if ductless units are the best cooling option for you.