Is Your Home Safe from this Killer?

What is the Threat?

Sadly, each year thousands of people die from Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. This silent gas causes asphyxiation with prolonged exposure. Because it is so easy to misdiagnose, only lately has CO poisoning become recognized as the second greatest household danger next to fire.

What is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon Monoxide is a toxic, odor­less, tasteless, and colorless gas. Its threat is present in virtually every household. Mild exposure to CO gas can cause headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, and nausea; while extreme exposure causes brain damage or even death.

How does it enter my home?

Due to damage, poor maintenance, or defects, many appliances such as furnaces, water heaters, gas stoves or fireplaces may silently emit CO. Carbon Monoxide is produced when fuel burns without sufficient oxygen (incomplete combustion). This type of malfunction can happen to any fuel burning appliance at any time.

What can I do?

One way to avert possible danger is to have any fuel burning applian­ces cleaned and inspected each year by a qualified technician. Another helpful practice is to clean your fire­place vents and chimney regularly.

Even with these preventative measures, however; advanced warning of CO poisoning is only possible if you install and maintain a CO detection device. And please, install more than one CO detector, replacing the batteries annually! The most effective devices work much like a fire alarm, signaling by sound if CO levels are dangerous. Home Service Corp. can inspect your furnace, boiler and water heater, install a detector and answer your questions about CO.

 

Get an ebook with 99+ energy saving tips here.

Contact us today if you have questions.

It’s a good time of year to have our trained experienced air conditioning Technicians solve your cooling problems whether you live on Grosse Ilse, in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Melvindale, Wyandotte, or Lincoln Park.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Urgent Setback Thermostat Recall

 

Important Recall for a popular thermostat

Below is the information to determine if your setback thermostat is included in this recall. If you have questions, please contact us.

 

 

 

We are always concerned about our customer’s safety. We are ready to answer your questions so feel free to call us.

 

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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20 Spring Tips for your home’s plumbing, heating, cooling

With a brutal winter coming to an end, spring is here. Although it is early to do some of these things, the list will help you prepare for summer and much warmer weather. Here are several tips to safe energy and unexpected surprises from your plumbing, heating, and air conditioning systems.

Your Heating & Cooling System

 As the snow melts away and you can again see that air conditioning unit in your backyard, clean debris, weeds, leaves, and branches   from around the unit.

        If you have a cover on your unit, be sure to remove it, wash it and store for next winter use.

     As the temperatures warm, use a car polish and wax on the painted surfaces of your air conditioning unit to keep the finish from deteriorating.

3.      If the unit is out of level, gently level it so it will operate properly.

4.      If you shut the unit off, energize it by turning on the circuit breaker or replacing the fuse block. Don’t immediately start the unit up but allow a day for the system to “warm up”.

5.      Replace the filter in your furnace. When you are in air conditioning mode, the blower will be operating at a higher speed and needs to move more air to cool your home. A dirty filter is one of the issues that can quickly cause unit failure.

6.      Reset the humidifier for warmer temperatures. Check your owner’s manual for instructions.

7.      If you have a pump for condensate from the inside air conditioning coil, be sure it is plugged in.

8.      Check the point where the refrigerant lines enter the home for openings that may need to be caulked to prevent critters or outside air into the house. If you have a high efficiency furnace that vents to the side of your home, also check here for openings that may need caulking.

9.      If you have not reset your setback thermostat for daylight saving time, put out the manual and do it now.

       Finally the most important tip to assure you air conditioning system is in tiptop operating condition, call us today and schedule a spring tune-up by a qualified technician.

Your Plumbing System

1.      Turn the water back on to outside spigots and careful check for any damage to the waterlines from freezing.

2.      Remove the cover of your sump pump pit (if you have a sump pump) and check to be sure debris or sand are not interfering with the pump intake.

3.      Also check the piping from the pump to the outside of your home for damage.

4.      Check the piping from your sump pump to be sure it wasn’t damaged from snow, ice or shoveling during the winter.

5.      Run your backup sump pump system to be sure it will operate properly if needed.

6.      Consider adding a backup sump pump system to your existing system if you don’t have one. With lots of melting snow this is an important item.

7.      Make sure your down spouts are set to put melting snow from your roof or spring rain away from the home so the sump pump will not have to operate as often.

8.      Check the point where the sump pump line leaves the home for openings that may need to be caulked to prevent critters or outside air into the house.  Also check for openings around the outside spigots that may need caulking.

9.      Call us to schedule your plumbing repairs or a complete system inspection and evaluation.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Duck Tape or Duct Tape?

Duct Tape Prom Outfits

Duct tape has become a household staple for repairs of all sorts. There is hardly an adult who hasn’t used it at some time or another to fix something flapping, broken or loose. In fact the interest in duct tape has become so large that Jim and Tim, the Duct Tape Guys have written numerous books, give speeches, and have a website all about duct tape. There is such a cult following of duct tape fans that their books have sold over 1.5 million copies.

Many agree that adhesive tape, the fore runner of duct tape was invented in the 1920’s by 3M Company researchers led by Richard Drew. I’m not sure what people did before adhesive tape was invented. During World War II, the American military needed a strong, waterproof tape to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. You have heard the phrase, “You need to your powder dry.” A really important issue when you’re starring into the eyes of your enemy. Being waterproof, everyone referred to it as “duck” tape. This versatile tape became the universal “tool” that could be ripped by hand and used to make quick repairs to jeeps, aircraft, and other military equipment. Johnson and Johnson Company which had developed its own line of adhesive tapes, helped the war effort by combining cloth mesh (which rips easily) with a rubber-based adhesive, and then gave that combination of rubberized, waterproof coating.

Following the war, housing in the United States boomed, and many new homes featured forced-air heating and air-conditioning units that relied on duct work to distribute warmth and coolness. The strong military tape made the perfect material for binding and repairing duct work. By changing the color of the tape’s rubberized top coat from Army green to sheet metal gray, “duct” tape was born. Today this type of tape is no longer acceptable to seal or connect ductwork.

Duct tape consists of 3 layers. The top layer is a resilient plastic (Polyethylene). The middle layer is a fabric mesh, which facilitates tearing. And the bottom layer is a rubber-based adhesive.

Duct Tape Moon Rover Fix

The 3 layers are pressed together during manufacture. Duct tape is commonly used in situations where a strong, flexible adhesive is required, especially where exposure to the elements is a concern. But over the years it has been used for a multitude of more zany situations including:

– repairing flat tires

– making men and women’s clothing

– restraining unruly prisoners

– Forts, costumes and toys for kids

– making tennis balls behave like cricket balls

– as a temporary bandage

– temporarily repairing spacecraft.

It now comes in hundreds of colors and patterns including your favorite team’s logos. What are some of the unique ways you have used duct tape?

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Resolution Time

Pro or What-to-be?

A toolbox full of tools does not make a Professional

With the slower economy over the past several years, many jobs have been eliminated with the unemployed or under employed looking for additional sources of income. Additionally teachers, firemen, and policemen have had schedules that allow them to have a second career. Some believe that they have the skills of a professional and decide they can be as effective as a professional in a repair or installation project. To be perfectly frank, they often can do many of the simpler tasks a professional Plumber, Air Conditioning/Heating Technician, or Electrician can do. But then again, we have followed behind many “simple” tasks that have been totally messed up by a handyman.

I am always amazed how a parent will look out for the safety of their children in many ways but look to save a buck and jeopardize the safety of their family in other ways. Most parents wouldn’t think of buying a black-market car seat for their small child. They wouldn’t consider a cheap bike helmet for their son or daughter. They wouldn’t buy milk or fruit that was not pasteurized or free of pesticides. They don’t shop for the cheapest tutor or coach. Yet when they have someone make a repair to a faucet that could scald a child, a heating system that uses natural gas as the fuel, or a circuit that needs to be properly grounded, they will have someone with little or no experience do the work just to save a dollar.

So what makes the difference between a handyman and a professional?

·        The definition of a professional from Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “relating to a job that requires special education, training, or skill”.

·        The definition of a Handyman from Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “a person (especially a man) who is skillful at doing small jobs (such as household repairs)”.

That’s quite a difference. Each of these trades requires hours of classroom training, years of working with a master, testing and ongoing training. The time frame to become a master in these trades is at least 5 years of work and study. Many have associates degrees or full bachelor degrees in business and construction. Their experiences of working in hundreds of homes similar to yours help them quickly and effectively diagnose the problem and often offer a variety of solutions. They back their work and will solve the issue to your satisfaction.

As Glenn Haege, The Master Handyman, often says, ”The best tool in your tool box is often your checkbook, call the professional.”

We have professionals ready to meet your needs Call us today to be assured of a successful outcome.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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What’s Behind the Washing Machine?

Ouch! Is That Your Utility Bill?

With the cold snap or should I say cold couple of months, you may have been surprised by your gas and electric bill. If you have upgraded your furnace or boiler in the last year or so to a high efficiency unit, your bills have probably been a surprise at how much smaller they were than what you had expected. If you opened the gas and electric bill and you have not upgraded your furnace or boiler in a number of years or not at all, you were probably shocked at how expensive it was to heat your home with that old unit.

Some will say just turn down the thermostat to say 60 or 65 degrees and deal with it. Wrap up in two or three more layers and just look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. There are those that choose to do this or are forced by economic changes, but for most of us, it is truly a reduction in comfort and standard of living.

When the first and second generation of high efficiency furnaces and boilers hit the market, we were all excited about the energy savings. What we were not ready for was the high cost of repairs in these newly designed systems. Fortunately, the models available from quality manufactures today have reduced this problem for consumer and we even have longer term warranties available if something does occur.

Many furnace and boiler models today can reduce the electrical energy consumption by over fifty percent with super-efficient motors. Unit operating noise has been reduced to “whisper quiet”. Equipment comfort levels have been increase by reducing temperature swing with the occupied spaces. Many furnace cabinets are insulated to save additional energy and reduce noise.

Additionally, comfort today can be increased by high efficiency humidifiers which add moisture to the air to give your home a better environment for your family. Specialty air filtering can be added to remove, dust, pollen, spores, and pet dander from the air in your home. Ultraviolet lights can be used to reduce bacteria and germs in the air.

Even if you are on a tight budget, we can install a new high efficiency furnace or boiler which will save on both your gas and electric usage….saving you money. For many homes this added comfort and energy savings can be achieved for less than $5.00 a day. Contact us for details of the financing plans, terms and to see if you qualify for this financing.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Resolution Time

Resolution Time!

 We all make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, to get fit, to stop a bad habit, or some other “life changing” promise to ourselves. Here are some activities to put on your calendar that will save you money and improve your health!

Your heating and air conditioning system heats, colds, humidifies, cleans, and moves air around your home. With some simple steps you can have a cleaner, more comfortable, safer, home and save money. These are always good resolutions to add to your list. Here is a simple tip on an easy way to accomplish these resolutions.

On that new calendar or on that new tablet or smart phone calendar do the following:

·        Put in a task to once a month check the filter on your furnace. If it is dirty, change it out every month. If it is clean check it again the following month. A dirty filter can cause your increase your furnace blower motor to work harder thus using more electricity..

·        Put in a task to check and clean the humidifier once a month during the heating season. Soak the pad in a 50% vinegar/water solution overnight and rinse with water. Replace the pad at least once during the heating season. The build-up of minerals will decrease the effectiveness of the humidifier. This reduces comfort and causes more hours of humidifier operation which costs you money. Also open the humidifier bypass damper at the beginning of the heating season along with the water supply valve. At the beginning of the cooling season close the humidifier bypass and shutoff the water supply to the humidifier. If you have UV light check it for proper operation.

·        While you are doing the things mentioned above, be sure no “stuff” is stored within a foot of the furnace or water heater. If there are flammables nearby, be sure to get them out of the house! A malfunction of the furnace or water heater can quickly cause a major fire if flammables or combustibles are nearby.

·        Mark April to call for a service call by a professional to safety and operational check your air conditioner before the season of hot weather is here. When your system is properly adjusted, it saves you money and provides better comfort.

·        Mark August to schedule a fall safety and operational check on your furnace. Every fall hundreds of people are hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning from poorly operating furnaces.

·        Put in a task to check the air conditioning unit monthly during the warm months for weeds, leaves, cottonwood or other debris that can partially clog the intake of the air conditioning unit and reduce efficiency and the life of the unit.

·        Put a task on the first day of spring and the first day of fall to replace the batteries on your smoke detectors and your carbon monoxide detector. Also check for operation. If they are more than 10 years old, they should be replaced.

·        While you are changing out batteries on your smoke detectors, also change out the batteries on your thermostat if needed. Check the manual for instructions. Also remember the clock on the thermostat may need to be changed when we “spring ahead” or “fall back” to be sure you have you program operating properly on your thermostat.

That new smart phone or tablet can be used for more than just games. It can remind you of the simple tasks needed to assure comfort, safety and energy saving in your home this coming year.

Happy New Year for all of us to you and your family!

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com.

Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

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Cider Time?

Am I in Trouble Now?

There are a lot of scary things we must do in life. Some of these include going to the dentist, getting a shot, starting a new job, or having a stranger in the house! When you call for service on your furnace or air conditioning system, you may be calling a stranger to come into your home. Day in and day out there is an article, a television sting, a report on customers being taken advantage of by poorly trained, unethical heating, air conditioning, plumbing or electrical service technicians. Before you have a company into your home you always want to find out some keep things about the company and the Technician that is coming out.

Here are some of the things you should check on:

• Does the company have liability and workers comp insurance
• What are their customers saying about them
• Have they been in business for a number of years
• Do they list an address for their place of business
• What do your friends or neighbors say about the company
• What does the web say about them
• Are their trucks well marked
• Do the Technicians go through drug testing and background checks
• Can I get information about the Technician coming to my home before hand

That last item brings up some interesting facts that you should know. Plumbers and Electricians are licensed by the State of Michigan and are required to have a journeyman’s level of expertise for most work but there is no classification for a Journeyman Heating or Air Conditioning Technician. The leaders within the industry recognized this and set up the North American Technician Excellence (NATE) program.

NATE is a testing program which requires a Technician to have a substantial amount of classroom and field experience to become certified in an area of the heating and air conditioning industry. There are about a dozen different classifications in which a Technician can become certified. The certification is only good for five years then the Technician must retest or have at least 60 hours of approved training. This is to assure the Technician is competent in the newer technologies since the changes have been coming rapidly in these fields. The need for higher efficiency furnaces and air conditioning equipment,  the greater need for indoor air quality measures, the protection of the environment from refrigerants, and the use of electronic controls within the equipment and system controls has made the simple heating and cooling of a home far more complicated than just 10 years ago.

So you want to be sure the Technician coming to your home to service your heating or air conditioning system or installing a new system has the NATE certification. We provide information about the Technicians we are sending to your home in a variety of ways. Our Customer Service Department can provide that over the telephone. We can email information to you before the Technician arrives. We also have information about our Technicians on our website for you to review. We are constantly training our Technicians and upgrading their customer service and technical skills so you don’t need to be scared of who is coming into your home.

Contact us for more information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com. Home Service Corporation serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs since 1980.

DO NOT send your kids to college!

That title is  strong but the American dream of sending your children off to college so they can get a great job and live better than you did is out of reach for many American families. Between the cost of a four year degree and the number of degrees that offer little economic future for the graduate, much has changed in the last couple of decades. College costs have exploded at the same time the value of most higher education is in decline. According to the Project on Student Debt, b

etween 2001 and 2010 the cost of a university education skyrocketed from 23% of median annual earnings to 38%. Two-thirds of today’s college graduates have to pay off student loans, which typically amount to tens of thousands of dollars and frequently climb into six figures. Student loan debt is a large part of the reason why so many young adults in their twenties and thirties are living with mom and dad these days. They can’t afford to start their own families and households. Some of them will be in debt for the rest of their lives.

Many of the jobs filled by college graduates with degrees have been replaced by automation operated by lower skilled and paid employees. A current report says the unemployment rate for recent graduates is 8.8% and the underemployment rate by those recently graduated is 18.3%. Many of those employed are in jobs their degree is not even needed.

There have been other alternates available for young people to provide for themselves and a family but the common wisdom has said college is the only way. Let us give you and your kids an alternative of which we are intimately aware.

As a heating, air conditioning and plumbing contractor, we see the existing shortage of highly skilled young men and women in our field of service and replacement. The opportunities are here today for motivated young people to earn while they learn or to be earning after achieving an associate’s degree from a local education facility. Starting wages are well above minimum wage and by their later twenties they can easily be earning $60,000 to $80,000. Along with a good income they won’t have that sizable college loan to repay, will have several more years of income and will have jobs that are “green” and in high demand.

Some other options include the opportunity to move into management positions, designing positions, sales positions and become self-employed business owners. The health of each of us is as dependent on the plumber as the doctor. Our comfort is as dependent on the heating and air conditioning technician as that easy chair. Each of these areas doesn’t have the pizazz of some other jobs but they do have the stability and future that many other jobs may not possess.

Contact us for information or visit our website at www.HomeServiceCorp.com and to talk to us about a future that may be right for your son or daughter!

Home Service Corporation

Celebrating our 32^nd year serving our Michigan customers Heating & Air Conditioning , Plumbing and Electrical needs.