Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

I am going to be remodeling our house soon and thinking about adding a filtration system of some sort to the furnace.  I have heard that there are things that I can do to cut down on allergies but am not entirely certain what those are.  Do you have any ideas? -Frank B., Kent

Well, the answer is twofold here– the short term solutions for cutting down on allergens while you are remodeling and the long term solution for your Indoor Air Quality to keep allergies at bay once the remodeling is finished.  Let’s start with the long term.

There are a lot of different types of products on the market that claim to cut down on allergens but in reality are more hype than substance.  An example would be the single room air cleaners that claim to purify the air.  Unfortunately, their effectiveness has proven to be minimal at best (just read the evaluation in Consumer Reports of the Ionic Breeze and you will see what I mean) and they really aren’t worth the money you will spend on them.  The most effective way of reducing the amount of allergens in your home is to install an Electronic Air Cleaner on your furnace.  A licensed heating and cooling contractor will be able to take a look at your existing system, tell you how the Electronic Air Cleaner (EAC) would fit into it and then give you a price for the EAC, including installation.  They really do work well to relieve the suffering that people with allergies have to go through.  In fact, one of the women who works in our office just had an EAC installed for her parents.  Her mom has chronic asthma and terrible allergies but has experienced a huge increase in the quality of life she has been able to have because of the number of allergens her Electronic Air Cleaner has taken out of the air in their home.

Now on to the short term.  Most people don’t think about their allergies as they are remodeling, but there are many things you can do to prevent them from flaring up while you are working on your house.  The Allergy Consumer Review (www.allergyconsumerreview.com) gives some of the following suggestions:

• Spend as much time out of the house as possible. This means schedule your remodeling for the summer months.
• The bedrooms are the most important rooms in the house. We spend 8 hours a day in there. If they are not being remodeled-have your contractors tape up the doors each day to prevent dust from entering.
• Close down the heating vents in your bedrooms during the day time to prevent dust from getting in the room.
• Use a high quality, completely sealed hepa vacuum on a daily basis to vacuum every inch of all bedrooms. Use a vacuum with on board tools to vacuum walls, crevices, furniture, floors.
• Try to remember to seal off your closets daily so your clothes remain dust free.
• Wear an allergy face mask walking around your house in the day time to avoid the dust.
• If your kitchen was remodeled, wash all your dishes afterward and throw out any “open boxed” foods.
• Doing the remodeling yourself? Wear a mask at all times and make sure your materials are toxic free. The mask is to help you not breathe in dust.
• Have your ducts cleaned after all the remodeling is finished to get rid of the dust and debris that has fallen into them.

Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

Q:  We recently moved into a newly built house and noticed that our furnace turns on and off frequently.  It will quickly get the house to the temperature we want it and shut off, but then turn back on again shortly afterward to start heating again.  Is this something we should be concerned about?  — Samuel Z., Maple Valley

A. It is possible that the furnace the builder put in the house is improperly sized.  Quite surprisingly, many homes, both new and old, have furnaces that are too large or too small for the space.  If the furnace is too small, it will run constantly because it is trying to keep up with the demands for heat that are put on it.  However, if a furnace is too large, it heats the home quickly and then shuts off quickly.  Because it is an inconsistent heat, the temperature falls soon, and the furnace is forced to come back on briefly to put out more heat.  It sounds like that could possibly be the problem at your home.  I would recommend scheduling a service technician to perform a full diagnostic on your furnace to determine if that truly is the cause or if there is more to the issue.  I would be happy to come out and take a look at it for you.  Just call our Kent Heating and Air Conditioning office at 253-630-9224 and they can set up an appointment for you.

If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!

Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

Q.  We often feel cold air coming out of our vents, even when our furnace is on.  What is causing this and how can we fix it?  –Gina M., Burien

A.  It is possible that the duct work has disconnected somewhere in your crawl space.  You will want to check it to make sure that all connections are secure and that there are no holes in it.  Sometimes rodents or other animals will tear up the duct work and create holes, which allow the cold air from your crawl space to get into your house.  Essentially, you end up heating your crawl space instead of your home.  If you feel comfortable going under your house, take a flashlight and inspect each length of ducting.  Look for any holes or disconnected and sagging duct work.  If you want an opinion from a professional heating & cooling company, we are always happy to come out and take a look at it for you.  Just call us at 253-630-9224 to get that scheduled.

If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!

Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

Question:  I just looked out my window and saw smoke coming from my heat pump!  I turned off power to my heat pump and put my thermostat into emergency heat in case something was wrong.  Help!  –Sarah F., Renton, WA

Answer:  Don’t worry, you can go ahead and turn your heat pump back on.  What you saw was probably steam that happens as a result of your heat pump’s defrost cycle.  Every hour or so when your system is in heating mode, it will blow hot air over its coils to keep it free from frost and ice.  This action can produce steam, sometimes quite a bit of it.  A little bit of frost can be completely normal to see on your heat pump coils, however, if you see a thicker ice building up, you will want to call us to schedule a service technician to take a look at it.  To fully ensure that your heat pump is in proper working order and is fully clean, you will also want to make sure that you have had a trained technician perform a Precision Tune Up twice a year for your heating & cooling system (once a year for a heating only system).

If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!

Glen J., AAA Heating & Air Conditioning Senior Technician

Question:  If I smell a gas leak near my furnace, what should I do?  — Julie H., Auburn, WA

Answer:  Call your gas company and they will come out for free to check the source of the problem.  It might be something unrelated to the furnace and the gas company will be able to find the source quickly and efficiently.  Puget Sound Energy (PSE) recommends leaving the area, avoiding talking on your cell phone or using anything else that could create an electrical spark, and call them from a phone outside your home at 1-888-225-5773.  They are available to come to your house 24 hours a day.

If you have a question for Glen, our knowledgeable Senior Technician, submit it using our communication form and you might just be featured on our blog!