If we had to select the best month for scheduling heating maintenance in Plattsburgh, NY, it would be October. There is no truly bad month for heating maintenance: it’s important that it gets done each year, so having it later or earlier is better than never. But October is when you’ll get the most from having professionals inspect and tune-up your heating system.
Why is this? For one, it’s in the “Golden Zone” where it’s early enough to beat out the first serious cold weather of the year but late enough that the heater will be in prime shape for when those cold snaps first make their chilling debut. It’s also a time of year when HVAC technicians like ours have less crammed schedules because we aren’t dealing with as many emergency calls for failed ACs or heaters. You can schedule maintenance for the most convenient time.
Drain cleaning is a job we recommend homeowners schedule both to clear up clogged drains and as a regular maintenance task once a year. Drain cleaning helps keep one half of your plumbing system—the sewage and drainage side—working at top condition so you won’t have to worry about it. Nobody wants to fret about draining wastewater out of their house!
The compressor is the most critical part of your central air conditioning system. All parts of an AC are important for it to operate, but the reason we say the compressor is the most critical is because when it fails, not only does the AC lose its ability to cool, it also usually means the air conditioner must be replaced with a new condenser and indoor evaporator coil.
There are times when you have a plumbing problem so urgent that you don’t have a choice except to call an 
This is a question we sometimes hear from customers who are looking to lower household costs. It makes sense for people to inquire about purchasing used AC equipment since so many other expenses for a home can be reduced by buying used. A car for example. Or furnishings. So why not buy a “previously owned” air conditioner, especially at times when people are looking closer at their budgets?
When a furnace first turns on for the winter season, it emits a burning odor into the air from the vents. This is normal. It’s odor of the dust along the heat exchanger or heating elements burning off as the unit heats up. The smell will subside after a short time and the furnace will get into the regular groove of warming the house.
Maybe you aren’t into making New Year’s Resolutions. We understand—sometimes putting up a big plan for the year seems daunting and makes you afraid of failure. But there are smaller resolutions you can make that aren’t so much vows for personal betterment as they are simply planning. For example, planning to have better 
Dual fuel systems are heating systems that use two different energy sources for heating: electricity and natural gas (or, in a home with no access to natural gas, propane). The standard operation for a dual fuel system is a combination of an electrical heat pump with a gas furnace as a back-up. The electrical power of the heat pump provides warmth for a home in temperatures of 40°F or higher, and the gas-powered furnace takes over when the temperature drops lower.
Remodeling older homes is a major industry today. There are entire magazines and hundreds of websites dedicated to how people can bring a tired, out-of-date house to sparkling modern new life. But this flashy remodeling may not be the remodeling your house needs the most. Behind the walls and under the floorboards are plumbing pipes that might be well past their prime and made from long-outdated metals. Replacing old pipes with new ones can rescue a home from numerous problems, including massive water waste, extensive water damage, and even toxic chemicals getting into drinking water.
The end of the year is when you’ll probably entertain more houseguests than any other time. You want the inside of your home to be a welcoming place, clean and tidy. You absolutely don’t want strange, foul odors of sewage wafting through the rooms!
