Frozen Pipes? 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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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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4 Possible Reasons Your Furnace Isn’t Working

1. Air Filter Needs to Be Replaced If your furnace is running, but there is little to no hot air blowing out of your vents, you should first make sure your air filter isn’t clogged, as this will limit the amount of air coming into the furnace and, thus, how much heat it produces. A clogged air filter can also cause your furnace to overheat and shut down. Should this happen, your furnace won’t turn on again until it has had time to cool sufficiently. In some cases, your heating system will also need to be reset after overheating before it will work again. 2. Flame Sensor Is Dirty If your furnace lights and then almost immediately shuts down, it usually means that the flame sensor is too dirty to work properly. The flame sensor can also fail due to age. In either case, the flame sensor won’t detect that the burners are lit, which leads to the gas valve closing and the furnace shutting down within a few seconds. 3. Fuel or Electricity Supply Issues If your furnace won’t come on at all, you should make sure that the circuit breaker isn’t tripped. Your furnace obviously also won’t work...

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