Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Burlington’

Spring Is Here—Schedule Your AC Tune-Up

Monday, March 30th, 2020

service-reminder-clockSpring arrived a few days earlier on the calendar this year. But that’s only the “official” first day of spring, a point in the Earth’s journey around the Sun. Our local weather doesn’t obey the calendar, and the cold weather blows through here sometimes until May. But spring is still the season of air conditioning tune-ups and inspections, no matter what the weather is like. Without fail, the summer heat will arrive, and you’ll want your air conditioning system in peak shape to handle it.

To schedule spring AC maintenance, you don’t print up a list from the internet and try to get through it on your own. You need a Burlington, VT, HVAC contractor with experience, skill, and licensing. You can rely on our more than two decades of experience serving local homes with heating and cooling to give you the finest AC maintenance tune-up.

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Is a Drain Snake Enough to Handle a Clog?

Monday, March 16th, 2020

drain-cleaning-cutawayIf the “drain snake” you’re thinking of when you ask this question is a hand-cranked drain auger purchased from a store, then it might be enough to take care of a clog in a sink or shower drain. It isn’t a total solution, however, and in many cases it provides only a brief fix and will leave you with a clogged up drain only a few weeks later—or less.

When it comes to fighting drain clogs or cleaning out drains, you may need something more powerful. And no, we don’t mean chemical drain cleaners. These are not only temporary solutions at best, they are harmful to drains and can end up compounding problems.

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Facts on Condensing Furnaces and How One Can Benefit You

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

piggy-bankIf you have a furnace in your house that’s more than 15 or even 20 years old, any replacement system will have a higher energy efficiency rating. This because standard for gas furnaces have changed dramatically over two decades, and even the new mid-efficiency models have a higher standard than the mid-efficiency models at the start of the 21st century.

If you upgrade to a new furnace at the end of this year’s heating season, you can expect energy-saving performance. And if you want a major efficiency upgrade, one of the best options is a condensing furnace. These furnaces score some of the highest AFUE ratings (efficiency ratings) of any heating system on the market, with as little waste as 2%.

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Was This the Last Winter for Your Furnace?

Monday, February 17th, 2020

natural-gas-furnace-burnersThe winter weather isn’t done with us, but the second half of the season is a good time to consider how well your home’s furnace has held up. This may be the last winter it can perform up to expectations. Or it may already have fallen behind this season. If you’ve spent more on furnace repair in Burlington, VT than you think you should, getting a new furnace during the spring lull might be on your mind.

It’s wise to start making plans, and even wiser to learn how to recognize when a furnace is nearing the end of its service life. Let’s hunker down and get a clear-eyed assessment of your furnace situation.

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How Plumbing Trouble Can Lead to Mold

Monday, February 3rd, 2020

mold-on-wallYou don’t want mold anywhere in your house. Mold looks awful, creates terrible odors, destroys building material like drywall, and can release toxic spores. (Black mold, the most common type of mold due to water damage, is the most dangerous.) Unfortunately, a number of common plumbing issues can lead to mold. The faster you call for plumbers in Burlington, VT to fix a problem, the less likely you’ll have mold as a consequence. And if it’s mold that causes you to notice the problem in the first place, you need plumbers there on the double.

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Corrosion and the Furnace—Yes, It Can Happen

Monday, December 9th, 2019

rusted-furnaceWhat sort of home appliance do you think is most likely to corrode? You’ll probably think of the water heater, or shower heads and other water-using fixtures. You probably don’t think about your gas furnace rusting. It doesn’t use water to warm your house, after all. It applies heat to the air through a metal heat exchanger that contains hot combustion gas.

But furnaces can rust, and many do. It can be a minor irritation, a sign the furnace is too old and needs to be replaced, or even a major safety hazard. Let’s look a bit more into how corrosion can affect a furnace and what it means.

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Tips for How Often to Change the Furnace Filter

Monday, November 25th, 2019

man-holding-furnace-filterWhen heating season starts (a.k.a. “winter”), your home’s furnace will get down to steady work. That means you’ll have the semi-regular job of keeping an eye on it. This isn’t an intense job, only a reminder to keep your senses open to any of the signs the furnace is in trouble—and to remember to change the furnace filter on a regular schedule.

But what is that schedule? You may often hear advice to “change the furnace filter regularly” through the winter, but instead of a definite schedule you’re given a range of months. Which one is right? Is there a solid answer for how often to change the filter?

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Plumbing Tips to Make Thanksgiving Even Happier

Monday, November 11th, 2019

fall-cornucopiaDo you know what the busiest day of year is for professional plumbers? The day after Thanksgiving. The toughest shopping day of the year is also when many homeowners discover they’ve got a plumbing nightmare. This makes sense: the house is packed with guests—more than a home experiences during the December holidays, most likely—and the kitchen plumbing, especially the sink and garbage disposal, are under assault from food preparation. Most parts of the plumbing get used to their fullest, increasing the chances that something will go wrong.

We want you to enjoy a great Thanksgiving this year with worry-free plumbing in Burlington, VT. Below are a few tips to make everything go smoother:

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No Matter Your Heating System, It Needs Fall Maintenance!

Monday, October 28th, 2019

autumn-backgroundHow do you keep your home toasty during the cold winters in Vermont and New York? The majority of homes use natural gas furnaces, but there are many that rely on boilers, electric furnaces, in-floor radiant systems, heat pumps, and dual fuel systems. Our heating technicians work with all these types of heaters in Burlington, VT. It’s one of the reasons we’ve had so many years of success and built up a loyal client base. Whatever you use to heat your home, you can trust us to install, repair, and maintain it.

We want to focus on that last part: maintain. Your central heating system needs to have professional maintenance each fall before the cold winter arrives. And this applies to all types of heating systems, from furnace to heat pump. Skipping maintenance can lead to higher bills, inconsistent performance, repair needs, an early replacement, and even safety hazards.

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Signs You’ve Got a Garbage Disposal Going Bad

Monday, October 14th, 2019

rinsing-lettuce-kitchen-sinkA kitchen garbage disposal isn’t meant to last forever, although people often treat the ones in their homes as if they were immortal. We’ve written before about how you can take better care of your kitchen garbage disposal to avoid having to replace it years too early. Today we’re going to look at the inevitable point when you realize it’s time for a new disposal.

When you notice these signs below, call for our Burlington, VT, plumbing professionals. Our plumbers can help determine if you’ve got a dying garbage disposal and then get to work on putting in a new one that will last you for many years.

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