The cold is the biggest obstacle for comfort during winter—that’s why you have a powerful central heating system in your home. (If you don’t, call us right away and we’ll arrange to have one installed before the winter weather arrives.) But homeowners often ignore, or aren’t aware of, another winter comfort obstacle: dry conditions. Relative humidity during the winter often plunges below 30% because of all the moisture frozen from the air. When the air is this dry, it makes it harder to stay warm, even with a great heating system at work. And this isn’t the only problem dry air can inflict on you and your household during winter.
Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog
Dry Air in a Home Is Trouble in Winter
November 12th, 2018
Pick a Maintenance Plan—And Enjoy Great Heating This Winter
October 29th, 2018
Wow, the end of the year is moving up fast! Of course, it seems like it does this every year. If you’ve found the winter has surprised you more than once by striking before you can get your heating system ready, then we recommend you find a heating maintenance plan in Plattsburgh, NY and get on the schedule with professionals.
We Have a Maintenance Plan to Fit You
Taking care of your heating system so you’ll have as worry-free a winter as possible is a big part of our job. We offer two different maintenance plans to provide you with the regular inspections and tune-ups necessary for top heating system performance each year:
Is There a Way to Avoid All Drain Clogs?
October 15th, 2018
We’re sorry to bring you the bad news, but drain clogs are problems that will affect homes at some point. There is no way to prevent every single possible source of clogs. For example, you may end up with clogged drains because of sewer line issues coming from the municipal system. There’s nothing you can do to stop that ahead of time! And sometimes accidents occur and an object gets tipped over into a drain, leading to stoppage.
Now that we’ve been a bit of a downer, we can tell you the good news. You can still prevent most drain clogs. There are many preventable reasons for clogging in drains, and if you know the steps to take, you can keep them away and your drains healthy. (And you can always reach us for help when problems arise. We have emergency services!)
October Is Here: Time to Think If Your Heating System Needs Work
October 1st, 2018
The recent rains should serve as a strong reminder: it’s definitely fall, and we’re on the road to winter. Air conditioners will soon turn off for the rest of the year and furnaces and boilers will fire up (or heat pumps switch over to heating mode).
Now, before that happens, ask yourself if your heating system needs work. Can you trust it to make it through another tough winter season?
Does Loss of Water Mean a Plumbing Emergency?
September 17th, 2018
You turn on a faucet—and no water comes out. You run over to another faucet, or to the shower, and find no water their either. This certainly sounds like an emergency, especially if it’s morning and you depend on running water to get the basic parts of the early-day routine done.
But is a lack of water a reason to make an emergency call to a plumber in Williston, VT? Well, it certainly can be! We’ll take a closer look at “no water” troubles and what they may mean.
The P-Trap, A Vital Part of Your Drains, Explained
September 3rd, 2018
When we talk about the importance of hiring professionals to inspect your pipes, we emphasize that most of the plumbing in your house is hidden from sight. The freshwater pipes and drainpipes around your home are behind walls and cabinets, placed in the floors and ceilings, and in the case of the sewer line and water main, buried under the property.
But there’s one piece of piping you can see and access easily: the p-trap. This is a basic pipe piece, but it does a crucial job in your home. We’d like to take an opportunity to explain the p-trap and its function.
A Short-Cycling AC Is Bad News: Here’s Why
August 19th, 2018
“Short-cycling? What’s that?” We know it sounds like a strange circus act or a short-distance bicycling competition. But it’s a term for faulty behavior from a cooling system. If you hear your home’s AC starting and stopping multiple times over an hour, that’s short-cycling. This isn’t something you want to happen, since it spells trouble for your air conditioning in Burlington, VT. In most cases, you’ll need to call up HVAC technicians to find out why the AC is short-cycling and what to do about it.
Why is short-cycling a problem?
First, we must explain in greater detail what short-cycling means. When the thermostat of a house makes a request for cooling, the air conditioner starts up its fans and the compressor motor. The compressor is the component that allows for heat exchange and cooling of the air. The compressor remains running until the thermostat registers it has reached the target temperature, and then the compressor cycles down. In mild weather, the AC cycle lasts approximately 10 to 15 minutes and completes 2 to 3 times per hour.
Museum of Weird Plumbing: Strange Things That Can Clog Your Drains
August 6th, 2018
When you think about calling for a plumber, what’s the first plumbing problem that pops to mind? We’d bet in seven cases out of ten you’d say “clogged drain.” Slow or clogged drains are among the most common and irritating of plumbing troubles. Every home runs into them at some point, and no matter how much care people take to prevent them, they can still crop up—and often for some pretty strange reasons.
The main culprits behind clogged drains are food waste, FOG (fats, oils, grease), soap scum, hair, and small objects from bathroom and kitchen counters that may go down the drains by accident. Plumbers know how to deal with each of these. But plumbers also know how to deal with some of the more unusual and uncanny reasons for clogged and slow drains. Step into our “Museum of Weird Plumbing” and meet some of the other villains that can stop up your sinks, showers, toilets, and tubs.
Repairs You Can Do Yourself on Your AC
July 23rd, 2018
When an air conditioner loses its cooling power on a hot summer day, or even loses all of its power, it can be a serious emergency. You don’t want to be stuck for long in your home without cooling when the outdoor heat is rising. What can you do?
Trying to fix the AC on your own might be the first idea that pops into your head. And why shouldn’t it? If you want something done right, do it yourself!
Except this isn’t always the case. There are plenty of repair jobs you wouldn’t try on your own unless you were a trained professional, and fixing an air conditioner is one of them. It takes a trained HVAC technician to do them. Only they have the knowledge and tools to accurately diagnose and fix a serious air conditioner malfunction.
Is Duct Cleaning Worth the Cost?
July 9th, 2018
You may have heard about duct cleaning services and wondered if this is something you should invest in. If you’re hesitant, it may be because you’ve heard stories about air duct cleaning scams that don’t offer a service that’s worthwhile. Unfortunately, it’s true there are many disreputable companies who claim to provide duct cleaning services at cut-rate prices—and then deliver a “cleaning” that’s hardly better than nothing at all. Cut-rate indeed! These unreliable companies make money by scheduling numerous appointments in a day and only pretend to do any cleaning. It’s how they can charge those low rates.
However, real air duct cleaning from a reputable HVAC contractor is definitely a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to have this service done every year, but if it’s been a few years since you last had duct cleaning—or you’ve never had it done—we recommend calling us for duct cleaning in Burlington, VT. We have more than two decades of history of quality service and customer satisfaction.
