Resources

The right time to have your heating system inspected to ensure its state of readiness for winter is before the heating season gets underway. In fact, with annual preventative maintenance, you’ll get a lot more mileage from your furnace, and save bunches of money on your utility costs. Still, even with ongoing maintenance, the older your system gets, the more likely it is to exhibit signs of needing repair. Over the years, these are the symptoms our customers are most likely t

You expect a lot from your heating system, which really means you expect a lot from the people who built, installed, maintain, and repair it.  After all, your heating system is only as good as the people whose hands have touched it. Yours included. Here are just a few of the ways you can help it perform better, more energy efficiently, and with fewer repair problems to foul your mood: Clean or Replace the Filter For best results, your furnace filter should be cleaned or repla

Heat stroke occurs when your pet’s internal temperature becomes dangerously high, generally about 106 degrees F. It can stem from being locked in a hot car, or to over-exercising in a hot and/or humid environment. Either way, it leads to a cascade of very serious conditions that can result in brain damage, organ failure, and death. Dog Heat Stroke Prevention On hot, humid days, keep your pets indoors, except to answer their calls of nature. If keeping them outside isn’t an op

We could write a novella on all the different ways to eliminate and reduce the number of allergens that routinely haunt your indoor living spaces. But very few people would read all that, and certainly not in one sitting. So instead, today we’re going to show you how to turn your living room (or similar space) in an allergy-free zone for your family’s great comfort and enjoyment. Get rid of the wall-to-wall carpeting. Yes, it looks nice and feels nice on your bare feet or whe

Great question, and there’s probably a very good reason why you’re conducting online research on the subject. That reason? Perhaps it’s because your indoor comfort levels don’t feel right, or you don’t feel right, and whatever’s causing your discomfort, you want it fixed! So, is the problem – whatever it might be – related to high indoor humidity? The answer is probably “yes” if you observe any of the following: Your home’s humidity is over 55 percent. Just like you have ther

Spring has sprung so it’s time to open your windows, let in some fresh air, and jump right into spring cleaning. Doesn’t all sound like fun, does it? Well, lest you think we’re here to take all the fun out of spring, allow us to share some time-saving shortcuts to your normal spring cleaning regimen. Steam up your microwave. Cleaning dried on food splatters from the microwave can be a time-consuming task, but a little steam can make it all go simpler and faster. Simply boil a

If you’re a firm believer in the “leave well enough alone” outlook on life, we’re pretty sure we can change your mind, at least when it comes to your home air conditioning system. In this case, leaving well enough alone means neglecting recommended and much needed preventative maintenance – both the kind performed by a licensed HVAC professional plus the kind of DIY maintenance steps you can carry out on your own. What sort of neglect are we talking about?  Here are the usual

Most of us love a fertilizer that doubles the size of your plants or spikes the number or fruits or flowers they bear. But is using chemical fertilizers really worth the excess? If you say “no”, then you discover now how to make your own plant fertilizers. DIY Miracle Grow:  Start by making a concentrate: 1 gallon of water, 1 tbsp. of Epsom salt, 1 tsp. of baking soda, and ½ tsp. of household ammonia. Once you’ve mixed all the ingredients you can mix a ½ cup of the mixture wi

For thousands of local home owners, indoor air quality is a daily concern. If it isn’t already, it should be, because the very allergies you attribute to other causes could very well be the result of polluted indoor air. This isn’t just a local problem, either. Across the nation, the EPA has determined, indoor air is, on average, twice as polluted as outdoor air and can be up to 100 times more polluted. Which means that even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms now, why ta

If the sounds of fire engines and other emergency vehicles sound strange to you during the winter, they shouldn’t. Winter is prime time for house fires, and much of that is caused by the way we heat our homes. The good news is that, with a little planning forethought, most home fires are preventable. Here are a few steps worth following for your added peace of mind. Fireplace Safety Keep the fireplace area free of any flammable materials. Leave the glass fireplace door open w

When thinking about redecorating or remodeling your living room, it’s easy to get stuck on “I don’t know, I just want something different.”  If that’s as far as you’ve gotten, chances are you spending tons of time on the internet, searching and searching for the great unknown until, by chance, it happens to hit you. Or, you can go about this in an entirely different way using the STENT approach, where STENT stands for Size, Time, Environment, Need, and Technology.  Would you

Most people are surprised to learn that indoor air pollution, on average, as twice as polluted as outdoor air. That information comes to us from the Environmental Protection Agency which further states that indoor air pollutions can up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air. By themselves, those numbers don’t mean much.  But when you consider that people spend up to 90% of their time indoors, there’s cause for concern.  In fact, health risks emanating from indoor air pol

This isn’t the kind of blog you read just to pass the time. If you’re here, you very likely have a current and perhaps even pressing home heating need. Well, think of us as the Progressive Insurance of local heating and cooling professionals in this way: we’re not afraid to give you advice that could result in you hiring someone else. All we’re interested in right now is helping you make a balanced and informed decision, and if that turns out to be GBT Heating & Cooling, all

Look around your house and ask yourself this: “How much of what I own is likely to last a lifetime?” The honest answer will be “very little, except maybe your house itself. Short of that, just about everything else has a temporary lease on life. For example, air ducts can come apart where they’re joined. They can develop cracks of just about any size, too. When that happens, two things are sure to follow: Conditioned air (warm or cool) can and will escape where you don’t need

Each ductless system features an outside condensing unit, just like you see with central AC systems. But instead of pumping air into an air handler and then through forced air ducts, a ductless system pumps refrigerant directly to one or more wall-mounted heat exchangers. A ductless system can be used to heat and cool your whole house, or for a new room or addition. It’s more energy efficient than either a central AC or heating system and easier to maintain, especially if you

When a furnace malfunctions, almost anything can be at fault, including poor design, or inferior parts used during the installation. But let’s assume that yours was installed to perfection but has recently give you cause for concern. More specifically, you’re wondering “what the heck is going on?”, or words to that effect. Here are the five most common furnace repair problems and what the logical next step probably should be: Dirty or clogged filter. When was the last time yo

Here, from our experience, are four of the leading indicators that your furnace needs a little repair help: Excess Build-up of Dust If you’re noticing more dust motes flying through the air and settling on your furniture, there’s a good chance you have a dirty or clogged furnace filter. For best results, is should be cleaned or replaced monthly. A completely clogged filter can cause your furnace to overheat and that, in turn, can result in a cracked heat exchanger. Reduced Ai

For purposes of this blog, let’s assume it’s a given that you need one. And now let’s examine some key things to consider before you sign on the dotted line. Correct Sizing Oversized furnaces cycle on and off too often. That in turn will shorten the life of your furnace while driving up energy costs vs. installing a right-sized system that runs consistently over a longer period of time. The only way to determine the right size furnace for your home is to have a heat load calc

Well, when it comes to preparing your home for winter, we strongly recommend the written variety, but only if you actually intend to refer to it and check things off once they’re completed. Otherwise, developing the list in the first place is pretty much a wasted task. Hang on, folks, there’s a third possibility here, i.e., the kind of person who researches other peoples’ lists until they find one that suits them. Hey, nothing wrong with that approach provided you trust the s

And those are just a few of the obstacles lining up to thwart your best intentions. So beat them back AND stay healthy by following these “good health” tips: Tailgating. Football season is here, and tailgating is a wonderful pass time. But you don’t have to give up on your weight loss goals just because you want to BBQ with your friends! Grilled kabobs are light fare, and you can also use leaner meats. Chili is an American classic, and it is full of high fiber and protein. Ju