Keeping Your Furnace Free From Obstacles

 Make sure all household vents are free

In order for your heating system to work properly, the air in your house must circulate completely throughout the system. That means your furnace should be fully operational. It also means your vents are clear and working properly. Are all vents in your home open, adjusted to allow air to flow freely, and free of furniture, boxes, or other household items blocking the path? Closing a vent down or blocking it can cause the furnace to work hard and less efficiently, eventually damaging it before its time.

 For gas furnaces, verify the exhaust flue to the outside is clear

There are three main reasons an exhaust flue needs regular attention: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. These three components can be found in the fumes from your furnace, especially if it hasn’t been serviced in awhile. If the exhaust flue is blocked and isn’t allowing air to freely move from inside the system to the outside of your home, problems occur quickly. And they can cause very nasty health effects:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Heart palpitations
• Collapse
• Unconsciousness
• Death

Combustion gasses might not be drafting safely up your flue because of blockage or back-drafting. If you suspect a problem, call immediately and have it checked out.

Remove all flammable objects from around your furnace

Your furnace is usually located in a separate area of your home the basement, a crawl space, a storage room. However, your furnace isn’t designed to operate with storage containers built around it. Anything flammable, clothes, paint, aerosols, gasoline, boxes, and other household items should never be placed in the general vicinity of your furnace or water heater.

 Clean your heating systems vents and ductwork

As with all systems, your entire heating and cooling system needs to be cleaned and regularly maintained to ensure it’s in good operating condition. Take a quick walk around at the start of each season. Are all vents accessible? Are floor registers free of debris, pet hair, dust and scraps of paper? Anything inside the vents can move down into the ductwork and reduce efficiency. Remove floor registers and use a vacuum to clean up any messes that occur near them. You can also consider having your ductwork cleaned, especially if you have made significant renovations to your home, or it’s been several years since they were cleaned.

Maintaining your furnace doesn’t take too much time or effort to keep it in perfect working condition. A little common sense and a small amount of TLC each year can keep a lot of the issues at bay. If you have a question, we are here to help. Just give us a call. Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical are the experts you can trust. We have been serving the NJ area for years with professionalism and expertise. Customer service and care are always our number one priority. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call toll-free @888-315-5564

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8 Major Plumbing Problems You Need To Be Ready For

Plumbing Problems can be an inevitable part of owning a home. While some problems come with aging fixtures or normal wear and tear on plumbing equipment, others may be caused by how certain systems are used and maintained.

At Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical NJ, we’ve seen and fixed all types of plumbing problems big and small alike! Here’s a look at some of the most common issues our expert plumbers handle and what usually causes them.

If you’re dealing with any plumbing problem at your New Jersey home and you need help now, don’t hesitate to call Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical NJ for same-day service.

 

1. DRIPPING FAUCETS

Dripping faucets are annoying, wasteful, and costly. Sometimes, these drips can be caused by a worn-out washer or O ring, which can easily be replaced. In other cases, corrosion or even improper faucet installation can be the problem causing the drip.

If your faucet is dripping:

• Drips are expensive and are definitely costing you.
• Let our expert plumbers diagnose the problem if a simple washer or O ring replacement doesn’t fix your drip!

2. LEAKY PIPES

Leaky pipes can be caused by all sorts of problems, including:

• Stubborn clogs
• Incorrect pipe laying
• Pipe corrosion
• Pipe joint damage
• Cracked seals or cracked pipes
• Excessive water pressure

No matter what’s causing leaky pipes, this common plumbing problem needs to be fixed fast! The longer leaky pipes are ignored, the more damage they can cause both to your plumbing system and to your home itself!

3. RUNNING TOILETS

Did you know that a running toilet bowl can waste up to 200 gallons per day? That’s a lot of water waste! In most cases, the issues that cause running toilets include:

• Refill tube problems
• Worn out flapper seals or flush valves
• Improperly sized flapper chains
• Corroded toilet handles

4. LOW WATER PRESSURE

Weak water pressure can make it challenging to use pretty much any plumbing system in your home! Often, low water pressure is a symptom of bigger plumbing problems, like:

• Pipe corrosion
• Hidden water leaks in your home
• Drain or sewer clogs
• Cracked or blocked sewer lines

5. LEAKING HOSE BIBB

A leaking hose bibb is very common. After a long, cold winter, many hose bibbs that aren’t protected can crack and begin to leak. We advise our customers to invest in a frost-proof hose bibb, which can reduce the chances of having future leaks.

6. SLOW OR CLOGGED DRAINS

Drainage problems can cause health hazards and even plumbing disasters if they’re not addressed quickly! In general:

• One slow or clogged drain in a home usually means that a problem is localized to that area of the home. Commonly, these drain clogs happen because hair, soap, and other foreign objects have simply built up in a drain over time. Routine drain cleaning can be the ideal solution for addressing this issue!
• Multiple slow or clogged drains are a red flag that you may be dealing with sewer line problems To prevent a sewer backup in your home, it’s crucial you call Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical NJ whenever you notice multiple slow drains in your home especially if the problem starts with the drains in the lowest areas of your home!

7. SUMP PUMP FAILURE

Sump pump problems can be related to a problem with the unit or an external issue. Usually, the causes of sump pump failures include:

• Stuck switches
• An overwhelming amount of water, like after heavy rain
• Clogged discharge pipes
• Improper sump pump installation
• Aging, with sump pumps around 10 years old being prone to failure

8. WATER HEATER PROBLEMS

Hot water is a necessity in any home. So, when water heaters can’t provide enough or any hot water, homeowners can be dealing with a plumbing crisis! Usually, water heater problems are caused by issues like:

• Heating element failures
• Corrosion or sediment buildup in systems
• Loose or broken electrical connections
• Improper water heater installation
• The wrong size or type of system to support a home’s needs

Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical NJ HAS ALL OF YOUR PLUMBING REPAIR NEEDS COVERED

Whether or not you’re dealing with a common plumbing problem, the trusted plumbers at Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical can help! We have the expertise and state-of-the-art equipment to diagnose and repair any plumbing problem. Plus, we offer same day and emergency service. Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical are the experts you can trust. We have been serving the NJ area for years with professionalism and expertise. Customer service and care are always our number one priority. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call toll-free @888-315-5564

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A Little Maintenance Goes A long Way

Dirt is one of your furnace’s biggest enemies. A dirty furnace can not only cause unexpected breakdowns of your heating system, but it can also have a direct effect on the health and energy consumption of your home. Today we’re going to take a look at some of the top reasons you should keep your furnace clean and the two best ways you can go about doing it.

• Better air quality. If dirt is making its way to your furnace, there’s a good chance it’s also getting into your home’s airflow. Dirt particles and other airborne contaminants can make you sick and aggravate symptoms of asthma and allergies. By taking steps to keep your furnace clean, you’ll also improve the quality of air that you and your family breathe.
• Improved efficiency. If you don’t keep your furnace clean, dirt can build up on different components of your heating system and reduce its efficiency. A  dirty air filter, for example, will restrict your furnace’s airflow and cause your blower motor to work harder than normal to compensate. When dirt builds up on your blower’s blades, it can weigh them down and reduce their efficiency. In either scenario, your furnace will have to work harder and consume more energy, which will cause your heating bills to rise. Keeping your furnace clean will avoid these problems and allow your heating system to operate efficiently.
• A safer home. When your heating system has restricted airflow due to dirt buildup (as described in the point above), your furnace will overheat and put extra stress on your heat exchanger. That extra stress can cause your heat exchanger to crack and allow carbon monoxide to get into your home’s air. Keeping your furnace clean will help avoid this dangerous problem.
• Less unexpected repairs. Lack of cleaning is one of the top reasons a furnace unexpectedly breaks down. Often times, these breakdowns lead to expensive repairs that could have been avoided if the furnace was cleaned properly. Some of these problems can also take years off of the operating life of your heating system.

Best Way To Keep Your Furnace Clean

The two best things you can do to keep your furnace clean are keep up with your filter changes and have your furnace tuned- up once a year. By keeping up with your filter changes, you can prevent dirt from building up on your furnace, improve indoor air quality and prevent airflow issues. During an annual tune-up, your furnace will be completely cleaned and prepared to run safely and efficiently for the heating season to come. Green Apple Plumbing & Mechanical NJ are the experts you can trust. We have been serving the NJ area for years with professionalism and expertise. Customer service and care are always our number one priority. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call toll-free @888-315-5564

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