Invisible, Breathable Dangers

One type of indoor air pollution that you can actually see with your own eyes is smoke. I’m sure you’ve been witness to (or participated in) some type of cooking mishap that filled the kitchen with smoke. It doesn’t take a lot of scientific research to know that the smoke lingering in your home is getting breathed in by your family. That’s obvious, so you open a window or turn on an exhaust fan or do something to help clear the air.

But that’s for dangers that you see. Some indoor air pollution is not as easy to spot. For example, you may not notice the pollutants being produced by mold, dust, pet dander, household cleaners and more. Worse, carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, but very dangerous.

Well, we have a way to help you see what you’ve been breathing. Interested in learning more about our Indoor Air Analysis? Hope so. Just call or email, and let us hear from you.

An All-Around Great Idea

Logic. Intelligence. Prudence. Practicality. Fear. These are among the guiding qualities that people rely on when they decide to maintain their furnace. It’s a smart decision because it preserves an investment and assures continued comfort in cold weather. And it also protects against very real dangers, such as carbon monoxide leaks.

But what makes this idea even better is when you can bundle all of the above (energy savings, less repairs, safety checks, longer equipment life), plus additional discounts, priority service and twice-a-year tune-ups on your heating and cooling system. That’s what’s called a maintenance agreement program, and it one-ups the good idea of a tune-up into a great idea.

To learn more about the value of making routine maintenance a part of your seasonal routine, contact us today. Just call or email, and we’ll take care of you.

How's the Weather Treating You?

I used to hear this from time to time: “How’s the world treating you?” It’s just one of those friendly greetings which most folks answer with anything from the succinct “Fine” to “Better than I deserve.”

In this work world I live in, what I really want to know is, “How’s the weather treating you?” This is the kind of business where temperatures and weather conditions make a difference in how our customers feel, so I like to know how things are going. Are you comfortable in your home? Is your home heating working like it should? Is it consistent? Reliable? Are your energy bills where you’d expect? Any strange noises or smells causing you concern?

Whatever it is, if you have any trouble, just let us know. We want to make sure you feel just fine when you’re in your home – because that’s what you deserve! Just call or email and let us hear from you.

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?

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.”

Cause and Effect

You're probably familiar with the concept of "cause and effect" and how it can lead to a whole bunch of trouble. (Not that I speak from experience. And not that I don't!) But this basically means that some things happen not just on their own but as part of a set of events.

As an example, let's say you’re walking into your home when your phone starts ringing. To answer your call, you quickly drop your high-priced prescription sunglasses on the couch. You sense that's not a good idea, but you tell yourself you'll pick them up when you finish the call. Then you forget. Can you imagine what "effect" is coming? Yes, someone, maybe even you, will probably be sitting on those glasses in the near future.

See the point (even if through crushed lenses)?

Now let me apply it to something more in my area. If the air inside your home is making respiratory issues like allergies and asthma worse, there could be several causes that are leading to these effects - and several strategies that can help your family breathe a little easier. A few of them are here in this report called, "Improving the Quality of Your Home’s Indoor Air."

Trust, But Verify

Do you ever feel like you’re scaring people? Let’s say when you visit a home, you sense that the family that invited you would like you to go through a security clearance before entering. Well, that could make the social gathering a little awkward. And yet, I’m sympathetic because I know a little about what that’s like – from both sides.

In this business, contractors sometimes get painted with a broad brush. A couple of fly-by-night operations swoop in, make promises, cash checks and leave town with work undone – and others who really do want to help feel the cloud of suspicion. It happens. So let me share a helpful piece of advice: “Trust, but verify.”

That’s a phrase Ronald Reagan made famous when he was talking about the old Soviet Union. Basically, it means to proceed confidently but with the backing of verification. Calling about home comfort services may not be on the same level as the signing of treaties with communist countries, but please feel free to verify our promises. And you can look for that type of verification in our guarantees, long work history in this community, testimonials of satisfied customers… and in many other ways.

So let us hear from you when you need us!

When Waiting Doesn’t Make Sense

Here's one of my all-time favorite phrases: "I'll deal with that later." Actually, I misplaced my sarcasm font or I would have used it just then. But a lot of people I know really do like that phrase.

Sort of like "deferred maintenance." This is a concept known by businesses and institutions with property, buildings and equipment that basically means, "We don't have the budget to repair what's declining as it is declining, so we'll deal with it later." It's easy to sympathize with the approach of waiting until something is broken until calling for a repair. But it can also be a costly approach.

Homeownership isn't really any different. We have to keep an eye on the systems and infrastructure that keep our home running. Your air conditioning system, obviously, is in this equation.

By investing each year in routine maintenance, you can save long term on the cost of repairs, extend the life of your equipment and avoid inconvenient breakdowns. It's simple logic, and only takes a little bit of planning, which means - dare I say? - dealing with it now. But that doesn't have to be scary. Read "Make Plans for Air Conditioning Maintenance" for quick tips to maintaining your system.

Taking Care of Your Investments

No, this is not an article on financial planning, but this is certainly an issue that could affect your financial well-being.

Your home comfort system is a big investment, no question about it. If you take care of this investment, it will take care of you – over a longer equipment life that is spent operating efficiently, saving you energy dollars and keeping you comfortable. Not a bad result for routine maintenance.

Yes, maintenance matters. But what does it involve? If you’d like to learn more, take a look at our free report, “A Quick and Simple Home Investment,” available on our Facebook Page for a limited time!

A Little Bit Here and a Little Bit There Makes a Difference

Save a little money here, save a little money there, and pretty soon it adds up, right? Well, one of the areas where we most like to see our customers save money is in your energy use.

When the days are very hot, your air conditioning can account for up to 70% of your utility bill. So it makes sense that whatever you can do to improve energy efficiency at home can help you keep more money in your own pocketbook (and send less to your utilities).

But the important point to make here is that you don’t have to take big steps to save energy. You can take small steps over time or make a few small changes in your habits. And you’ll find a lot of ideas for doing just that at the link below.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can keep more energy dollars for yourself while enjoying more comfort at home, we’ve got a free report with 10 good tips on how to “Save Energy. Stay Comfortably Cool.”

How to Shine a Little Light on a Dark Night

Spring storms aren’t always predictable. You don’t exactly know when you’ll lose power and not be able to cook, keep your refrigerator working, stay comfortable or find your way in the dark. That’s why a lot of homeowners create a backup plan. They make the fairly small investment in a home generator to save themselves a lot of trouble later on.

Have you wondered about getting a generator for your home? If so, how do you decide which one is right for you? And how do you safely operate a generator? These are big questions, and we can help you get started on the answers.

If you’d like to learn more about selecting and operating home generators, take a look at our free report: “Power Outages to Come?”

Better Breathing

There’s something about spring… it’s sort of a “best of times, worst of times” season of the year. The crisp cool air can be quite nice after wintry mixes are done, and you feel that need to spend more time outdoors.

And yet, that nice, fresh air is also picking up a few particles from the lawn and garden that can make breathing a chore.

Inside, you’re not exactly safe either if the quality of your indoor air is affected by contaminants. High humidity, for example, can create a breeding ground for mold and dust mites that produce an unhealthy breathing ground for you and your family.

If you’d like to learn more about these issues, take a look at our free report, “Is the Air in Your Home Making Spring Allergies Worse?”

Environmental TLC

It’s not hard to see the value in being sensitive to the environment. Take air pollution in particular. The smog-like substances that spread out into our communities can find their way into our lungs, affecting our health.

Some of this air pollution comes from the fossil fuels that are burned to generate the electricity that runs our homes. So whatever we do to reduce our use of these fossil fuels is better for the air around us.

Environmentally-conscious habits among homeowners can begin with steps as simple as turning off the light when you leave the room. Going further, energy-efficient appliances will help because they require less energy to operate.

If you’d like to learn more, take a look at our free report, available on our Facebook Page for a limited time: Energy Use in Your Home Affects the World Around You.

Is Your Home Trying to Tell You Something?

Sometimes you can hear little noises that tell you your home has a concern to address. You know, something like the drip, drip, drip of a faucet that says "fix me." Or the sound of wind that's coming through a crack that should be patched.

Spring is a good time to walk through your home just to "look and listen" to the maintenance issues that cropped up over the winter months. That way you’ll know what needs tending to.

Along those same lines, be sure to add your home comfort system to your maintenance list. Routine maintenance is one of the most practical ways you can preserve the life of your system and preserve your pocketbook at the same time. Maintained systems run more efficiently, which saves you money.

What else should your maintenance tour include? For ideas, take a look at our free report, "Give Your Home a Spring Checkup,"