Where Did Those Sniffles Come From?

So let’s conduct a brief survey – brief meaning one question and you’re the only one who has to answer. Here goes: When you get a sniffle of some type, are you likely to take full responsibility, or are you going to look with a suspicious eye toward your kids, spouse, co-workers or strangers in shops or restaurants?

Well, I know – we don’t invent germs and viruses. They had to come from somewhere. But these upper respiratory-type ailments don’t always come from “germs.” They actually could come from carpet, or furniture, or hair spray, or even that air freshener you plug in to “freshen” up the air.

The quality of your indoor air can be affected by many common household belongings. It can also be affected by many ordinary activities, including cooking, building a fire or enjoying a hobby. To learn more, take a look at this free report, Is that Sniffle from a Cold? Or from Your Indoor Air?

Now or Later? And the Big Impact that Small Question Can Have

At some point any of us will say, “I’ll deal with that later.” There is, after all, only so much our “now” can hold. Whether limited time, limited money, limited mental energy, limited physical energy or a mix of all of those at once, the “now” that’s right in front of us for handling issues has to be well managed.

So you want to make good choices – the kind that looks past the now to what’s coming later. Maybe you’ll ask a set of questions like: In the future, will this action help prevent prospective problems that will cost me more time, more money, more inconvenience and be really uncomfortable at an unfortunate time?

That’s the sort of question you might ask yourself when you’re considering routine maintenance on your home comfort system. When you look at it in the context of “now or later,” it’s pretty easy to figure out the answer that makes the most sense. To learn more, take a look at this free report, Simple Math: How Routine Maintenance Adds Up to Be Well Worth Your While.

Standing By For Your Call!

If you’re old enough to remember the iconic Maytag repairman from TV commercials of days gone by, you’ll remember how bored and lonely he was because Maytag washing machines never needed repair. That whole campaign was a great idea because of how long it lasted in popular culture and what a good message it was for customers to hear: you’re not going to have a problem with our products.

In our work, we have a similar message. If we’ve tuned up your furnace for the winter season, you shouldn’t have any problem. In fact, if we tuned up every customer we served prior to winter, we might feel a little like that Maytag repairman. Still, we know the unexpected can happen. Plus, sometimes you just have questions. So, just know, we’ll always welcome your call.

One of the other great lines from infomercials of days gone by was the call to action at the end: “Operators are standing by.” That meant “call now and someone will be able to help you.” You could almost picture a whole room of desks with telephones just waiting to be answered. So think of that when you call us. We’re standing by, ready to help. Whatever home comfort issue is on your mind, just call us at (512) 252-4700 or contact us through our website, and we’ll get someone to you right away.

Uncovering the Mystery of Maintenance

Maybe you’ve invited a service technician to your home before (yes, we do think of this as “invited” because we’re glad to be chosen by you). But once he got there, you started hearing clicks and clanks and simple expressions like, “Hmmm.” So you start wondering, “What in the world is he doing?”

Well, I can sympathize. It isn’t fun to have a stranger in your home sort of doing his own thing, as if you don’t need to be involved. That’s why our techs explain what they’re going to do, and then when they’re done, explain what they did. It takes the mystery out of maintenance. It reassures you about what’s taking place on a very important piece of equipment in your home.

Maintenance involves specific steps, particular to the equipment. In fact, we can tell you now what kinds of things are going to take place to save you energy, convenience and comfort. To learn more, take a look at this free report, What’s on Your Maintenance Checklist?

Lost in Translation

How about a quick language test? Ever hear of the terms SEER and EER? Well, if it’s near dinnertime, you might think that SEER sounds like something you do to a steak, and EER sounds like corn just off the stalk. So maybe I’m just hungry, but I’m not talking dinner – I’m talking comfort.

And therein lies the problem. If you don’t share a common language, it’s hard to understand what someone is trying to tell you.

This concept is true in all sorts of ways – whether it’s English vs. French, or text message acronyms vs. correct spelling in complete sentences, or industry terms vs. what words people actually understand.

All industries seem to have an “insider language,” where words and technical terms are thrown around as if they should make sense to everybody. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.

We see that often as our customers are trying to choose the most energy-efficient solutions for their home, but sometimes they feel like things are lost in translation. If that could be you, you might appreciate this brief report on, “The Language of Energy Efficiency.” Take a look.

Decisions, Decisions...

Are you the sort of person who says, “I may be indecisive, but I’m not sure.” If given the choice between “Yes, No or Maybe,” do you look for the checkbox that says, “All of the above?” You have my sympathies…

Making decisions is no laughing matter, and homeowners are faced with a slew of them. Some are smallish, like selecting new towels for the guest bathroom. Some are a little larger, like choosing a new bed for the guest bedroom. Some are even larger – like figuring out how to avoid in-law houseguests once they find out about your new towels and bedroom set!

And believe it or not, some decisions get even more sizeable than that – like whether or not to replace a home comfort system. Well, if you’re in the “fact-collecting” mode for that last one, we’ve got some information that can help.

With the summer we’re having, your air conditioning unit is experiencing a heavy load. But is it up for the job? Take a look at this free report, “Repair or Replace? How Do You Know?”

Not the End of Allergies?

One good thing about the end of springtime is the end of spring allergies. And now we have summertime, where the breathing’s easy… achoo!

Ah, yes, summertime sneezes. That can be quite a bit for all of your family’s noses to handle. And why is this happening, you ask?

Most folks think that spring allergies are worse than summer, thanks to pollen and new growth in lawns and gardens. But summertime also has active allergy issues, especially when staying cool means spending long periods of time inside tightly closed homes.

Indoor air can trap all sorts of pollutants that make respiratory issues worse and set off sneezing. Quite a number of our customers have had significant trouble with allergies and asthma, and we help them out by identifying the trouble spots we detect in the air in their home.

If you’d like to know more about what could be lurking in your indoor air, check out this free report, “Identifying Asthma and Allergy Triggers in Your Home.”