Preventing Frozen Pipes in Minnesota’s Harsh Winters

The cold winter season has hit the Minnesota area. While you’re likely preoccupied with your heating system for the upcoming season, you don’t want to forget about your plumbing system. We’ll share our best tips to help you avoid having frozen pipes this winter. Why Are Frozen Pipes a Concern? When your pipes freeze during the winter, you may think that it creates only a slight inconvenience. The most obvious problem is that you won’t have fresh water until the lines thaw. However, the damage doesn’t stop there. When water freezes into ice, it expands. The water inside your pipes pushes against the piping material, causing it to distort. Sometimes, piping can develop a leak or crack due to expansion. While you won’t notice a water leak when the cracking occurs, you will once the line thaws. If you’re not home or you don’t notice the leak, it can cause extensive water damage to your home and drive up your water bill. It is best to implement some helpful practices to prevent pipes from freezing throughout winter. Insulate One of the best ways to prevent frozen pipes during the cold winter season is to insulate them. You can use various...

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Dealing With Common Winter Emergencies

The winter months are hard on plumbing systems and heaters, particularly for homes in the Aitkin, Minnesota, area. This can lead to emergency situations that require the help of a professional. Trying to take care of these on your own or waiting too long to call someone can lead to significant damage to the system. Frozen Pipes One of the most common problems during the winter is frozen pipes. The water on the inside of the pipes expands as it freezes. As the freezing water expands, the pipes can crack, which can lead to severe leaks and water damage. Frozen pipes are most common in unheated spaces, such as attics, basements, and garages. The affected areas won’t have good water pressure if the freeze is in an incoming pipe. If a drainpipe is frozen, water won’t be able to drain through it. Burst Pipes Burst pipes during the winter months have two main causes. The first is when the water freezes in the pipes and causes immediate problems. The second is when the pipes are weak because of previous freeze-thaw cycles and a weak area bursts. When a pipe bursts, significant water damage can occur in your walls or floors....

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Top 8 Tips to Save Energy in HVAC Systems

Most homeowners rely on heating and cooling systems that consume electricity or burn fuel. That energy consumption is often substantial during frigid winter and sweltering summer months. HVAC equipment is the top contributor to the average American household’s carbon footprint. It also results in big monthly bills that can put a dent in your budget. Let’s explore eight tips to reduce your carbon footprint and spend less on heating and cooling. 1. Schedule Seasonal Tune-Ups There are many reasons to schedule a cooling tune-up in the spring and a heating tune-up in the fall. Many HVAC warranties require it. Tune-ups also help to avoid expensive emergency breakdowns and extend the life of your equipment. They also improve efficiency. Consider a traditional furnace and air conditioner setup that many homes have. The industry rates furnaces based on how much fuel they successfully convert into heat. A typical furnace is around 80% efficient when running optimally. Dirt and carbon build up on the combustion equipment and can drop that efficiency by as much as 10% or more. On the other hand, air conditioners use a condenser and evaporator coils to cool your home. These coils get dirty over time, causing your central...

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Can Heat Pumps Also Cool?

Whether you’re ready to purchase your very first air conditioning system or you’re simply replacing your old one, you have a couple of different options. You can choose to go with a traditional central air conditioning unit or you can opt for a heat pump. Many people are confused when they hear the term heat pump because it sounds like this unit only heats your home, but that’s not exactly true. What Is a Heat Pump? When you actually take a look at its name, a heat pump works to pump heat from one location to another. In the wintertime, it pumps heat from the air outside into your house to warm it up. During the summer, it pumps heat from inside of your home and takes it outside. Simply put, a heat pump will effectively cool your house during the hot summer months. How Exactly Does It Work? A heat pump works by using refrigerant to transport heat from one area to another. This system works based on the physical property that heat always naturally wants to move to low-pressure cold air. A heat pump has three main components that all work in unison to provide warm or cold...

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How to Winterize Your Plumbing System

Minnesota is no stranger to cold, snowy weather. The winter months can bring massive amounts of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. Luckily, that makes the fall an excellent time to ensure that your plumbing will get through cold weather with minimal problems. Preparing your pipes and fixtures now can help avert catastrophes during blizzards and other extreme weather events. Consider performing these easy steps to winterize your plumbing in and around Aitkin County. Why You Should Protect Your Plumbing Preparing your plumbing for cold weather helps avoid costly damage to your home. Frozen pipes pose a significant risk to your home’s plumbing. Water expands when it freezes, causing pipes to burst and resulting in water damage to walls, floors and more. In the coldest days of winter, you may wait days to get emergency service, leaving you without running water and potentially causing further damage. While you can do many of these tasks now, you’ll need to perform others during the coldest months to ensure your plumbing continues to run. Start by attending to outside pipes and fixtures. However, before you do anything, make sure you know where the main water cutoff valve is located. Knowing this location can make...

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Which Is Better: Tanked or Tankless Water Heaters?

When the time comes to consider either a conventional (tanked) or tankless heater choice for your residence, it will affect you in ways that make a substantial difference in your comfort and your home’s energy usage. You may also see a difference in your gas or electric bill. We’ve listed some advantages and disadvantages of both water heaters so you can make a well-educated decision. What Is a Tanked Water Heater? Tanked water heaters are the most common type of water heater in homes. These heaters heat and store between 30 and 80 gallons of water in an isolated tank, constantly keeping it heated to a pre-set temperature. This is a great benefit, as it will be able to supply hot water whenever needed, but it also means that the heater is always operating, keeping the water in readiness for use. How It Works A tanked water heater heats water using either an electric heating element or a gas burner. When hot water leaves from the top, cold water enters the bottom, where it reheats. There is a delay that occurs whenever the amount of hot water in the tank is gone and the tank needs to refill. It takes...

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The Importance of Regular Drain Cleaning

Your overall plumbing system in your Atkins home relies heavily on the functionality of the drains. The only way to dispose of water or waste from your fixtures is by allowing it to go down the drain. If you come across clogged, narrowed, or otherwise troublesome drains, it is imperative to note that there is a potential for encountering serious and messy plumbing issues. When you make a habit of scheduling routine professional drain cleaning, you can effectively address and prevent these problems from occurring. What Is Professional Drain Cleaning? When you hire a plumbing contractor to send a plumber to clean your drains, you get a comprehensive cleaning experience. The plumber may begin the service by scoping your drains, looking for stubborn clogs and obstructions that prohibit drainage. If blockages are found, the plumber uses special tools and equipment such as a drain snake or auger to dislodge and remove the obstruction. For deeper cleaning, plumbers use pressurized water to blast buildup and contaminants out of your drains, moving this gunk to the sewer. Once complete, your drains will provide a clear pathway for water and waste to flow and will be free of odors and toxins for a...

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Are Gas Furnaces Being Phased Out?

There has been much talk in recent years about banning gas furnaces. Some places may indeed start phasing out gas furnaces in the future, and there are also new regulations around them that could go into effect. As to whether there will eventually be a country-wide ban on gas furnaces, that remains to be seen. In this article, we’ll look at some of the different changes that may be coming and why so that you know what you can potentially expect in the future. An Overview of the Rule Changes Around Gas Furnaces As of writing, California is the only state that has concrete plans to fully ban the installation of all gas furnaces in the future. This ban is set to go into effect in 2030 and would require that all new heating units produce zero carbon emissions. That means the only options at that time will be any type of electric heating, such as a heat pump, electric furnace or an electric boiler for homes with radiant heating. Once the ban goes into effect, it won’t force people to immediately get rid of their gas furnaces. Instead, it will just mean that the person won’t be able to...

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How a Smart Thermostat Can Help You Save Energy

Home cooling and heating consume a substantial amount of energy. In fact, HVAC is the primary contributor to the average Aitkin, MN, household’s carbon footprint. Air conditioning will be the main cause of global greenhouse gases in the 2030s. The HVAC industry has made great strides in developing more energy-efficient technologies. There are also steps we can all take as individuals and families to save even more. The first one is to use a smart thermostat. Personalized Scheduling The Department of Energy (DOE) promotes the use of smart thermostats by all American households. It approximates that the typical household loses as much as 10% on heating and cooling annually. This unnecessary energy consumption largely happens when you’re away from home or asleep. All smart thermostats support programming or scheduling. This feature lets you set up a schedule to avoid that waste. You could, for instance, have your thermostat adjust the AC setting several degrees an hour after your bedtime. It can then restore your preferred temperature setting an hour before you wake up. Profiles Many smart thermostats support profiles, so you can have multiple schedules. A common setup is to have a schedule for the workweek and another for the...

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Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that’s poisonous to humans. It’s often called the “silent killer.” This is because you can’t see, smell, or taste it. That’s why it’s so important to recognize the symptoms of exposure. Approximately 50,000 Americans head to the ER each year because of CO poisoning not linked to a house fire. Isolated, the symptoms can seem innocuous, but if you notice multiple symptoms occurring at the same time, you should act. If you believe you’re experiencing CO poisoning, get into the fresh air immediately. Then, call 911 for emergency medical help in Aitkin, MN. Short-Term Symptoms of CO Poisoning at Low Concentrations Most incidents of exposure to CO involve low concentrations. Even at low concentration, you can experience symptoms. It’s important to note that some people are much more sensitive than others. You should also be aware that CO poisoning affects your brain and heart the most of any of your organs. The first sign of CO poisoning is typically fatigue. This is true even for adults who are fit and otherwise healthy. If you experience sudden fatigue, there’s typically some external cause. Unusual fatigue can be more difficult to detect in people who are...

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