Fall 2013

The Importance of Servicing Your Furnace

If you’re like many homeowners, then you’ve noticed the chill in the air as fall and winter approach. As we all shut down our air conditioners and prepare to stay warm, we wanted to alert our customers to the importance of getting your furnace serviced. Take a look below at some of the benefits of regular tune–ups for your furnace, and then call your local heating contractor to set up a visit from their technicians today.

As your furnace operates, it will naturally develop a variety of small problems and issues. These can range from the fan motor belt wearing out to the burner gradually getting dirtier. Without regular service, such issues will likely just get worse and eventually cause more costly repairs. They can also force other parts of your furnace to work harder to compensate for the broken part.

When you get your furnace regularly serviced before the fall and winter, your technician will thoroughly clean and inspect your entire furnace. This allows him or her to find any small problems in the system and alert you to them so you can approve repairs. This has several important potential benefits to your home.

• Reduced repair. Probably the most important potential benefit to regular tune–ups is that it allows you to avoid many types of repairs that result from lack of maintenance.
• Increased efficiency. If your furnace has many small problems with it, then it will have to work harder to heat your home, which reduces its efficiency and leads to higher monthly bills.
• Extended equipment life. Over time, these many small problems that your furnace develops could cause the system to prematurely break down. Regular tune–ups can help extend the life of your furnace so that it can operate as long as possible.

Many homeowners fail to realize that their furnaces actually work hard throughout the hottest time of the year as well as the coldest. All summer long your furnace works with your outdoor condenser and coils in order to force cool, comfortable air throughout your home. This is precisely why routine maintenance, including a thorough inspection, tune–up and filter change, is so important prior to the heating season. Take care of your furnace before you need it most this winter.

5 Ideas for a Fun Halloween Party

Halloween is just around the corner and everyone loves an excuse to dress up as their favorite superhero or movie character. Whether you’re throwing a party for your kids or you’re hoping to entertain some of your friends, you want to make sure that everyone has a great time. With theme parties, the options are almost endless. There are so many different themes, party games and party favors that it can take forever just to figure out what you want to do. Take a look below at 5 ideas for a fun Halloween party that will make the night memorable for everyone.

1. Safe for kids and fun for adults. One thing that will definitely ruin any party is someone getting hurt. At Halloween parties, falling and tripping are particular dangers because the lights are often turned low to make it spookier. Make sure that people can see the floor or any steps and obstacles in your home. You can use well–placed electric lanterns and strings of lights so that people can always find their way.

2. Keep the kitchen well–lit. You can definitely turn your home into a haunted house, but make sure there is a place for people to congregate, talk, eat and drink in the light. Everyone wants to enjoy all of your hard work with the decorations, but make sure your guests have light so they can see what they’re eating and drinking.

3. Party games. There’s nothing like some fun party games to break the ice if there are unfamiliar faces and also to entertain the kiddos. One fun Halloween game is to use toilet paper and have a competition to see who can wrap their friend like a mummy the fastest. You could also tell ghost stories as well or even hold a pumpkin–carving contest.

4. Costume contest. There’s nothing like some friendly competition in order to bring out the best in people. If you want to make sure that everyone puts in some effort to their costumes, then a contest is a great idea. You can even have one contest for kids and one for adults.

5. Make clean–up easy. Cleaning up after a party is just as hard as setting the whole thing up. Do yourself a favor and make it easy for your guests to throw stuff away. Set out lots of trashcans, use disposable cups, plates and utensils, and think about covering your furniture for the evening.

We hope you have a terrific Halloween this year and that everyone stays safe. Trick or treat!