Get Ready for Fall
With hot days like these it's hard to believe that cool fall weather is just around the corner. But just like old age and taxes, it will be here before you know it and a little advance preparation can help.
Mature trees are wonderful for providing privacy and shading a house during the summer. After cleaning up the leaves on the ground don't forget to clean the ones that end up on the roof and in the gutters. If the leaves in gutters have started to decompose (or if you forgot last year) a narrow, square-tipped mason's trowel can make the job easier. Some low sloped roofs will actually collect piles of leaves on the surface. These should be removed since water trapped in the leaves will deteriorate the roof covering. And please, be extra careful when using ladders or working on a roof.
Overgrown bushes rubbing against siding can cause damage, and are also a great place for burglars to hide. Trimming bushes back is much easier after leaves have dropped off in the fall.
Just like your muscles, circuit breakers work better if they are flexed once in a while. Most doctors recommend regular exercise (you do, don't you?), and most electrical experts agree that circuit breakers should be cycled every year or two to ensure they are not sticky. The end of daylight savings is an ideal time to do this since digital clocks need to be reset anyway. Put a note on your calendar, then on Saturday October 28 shut down your computer and turn each circuit breaker off and back on again before setting your clocks.
Winterize Your AC
When you get the furnace ready for winter, consider doing more to shut down the AC than just changing the switch on the thermostat. Turning off the circuit breaker at the electrical panel will prevent accidentally starting the unit in the middle of winter which could damage the equipment. Then make a note on your calendar for early next May to turn it back on.
If you have cottonwood trees near your home those fluffy seed pods usually get sucked into the cooling fins. Remove these with a hose. If they are stubborn try a soft brush, like a paintbrush. If they still will not come out call a service technician to avoid damaging the fins. Covering the condenser with a tarp will keep leaves and debris out through the winter.
Furnace Tune-Up
Don't wait until cold weather sets in to call your service technician. Regular cleaning and adjustment will not only help a furnace to run more efficiently and safely, but will also help the furnace last longer. I recommend a regular service call every 2-3 years for newer units, and every 1-2 years for anything over 10 years old or for furnaces which have had problems in the past.
A dirty filter will make the furnace run poorly and will also shorten the life of heating and air conditioning equipment. Remember to change the furnace filter once per month during the heating season. The same applies during the summer cooling season if you have central AC. I find dirty filters on about one third of the furnaces I look at.
Do you have a digital thermostat? Most of these run on power supplied from the furnace, with a battery backup. Replacing the battery every year will ensure that the programming is not lost if the power goes out.
Furnace humidifiers are especially useful in our dry climate here in the Rockies. Bringing the indoor humidity back up to about 35% will make a home much more comfortable and save on heating costs. But watch out! Too much humidity will generate conditions where mildew can start. How much humidity is too much? It varies depending on how well insulated the home is and the outside temperature. Use lower humidity levels for poorly insulated homes and during colder weather, and check occasionally behind furniture against outside walls. In addition, humidifiers need to be cleaned periodically to remove mineral deposits (check the owner's manual). An old humidifier which has not been maintained can cause more problems than it solves.