Mike’s Winter Weather Tips

As a heating and HVAC company, we have some valuable tips to help you stay warm and comfortable during the winter months:

1. Schedule a maintenance check-up: Before winter hits, having a professional check your heating system to ensure it functions correctly is a good idea. This will help you avoid breakdowns and potentially costly repairs.
2. Change your air filters: Clean air filters improve your HVAC system’s efficiency and air quality in your home. Remember to replace your filters regularly throughout the winter months.
3. Use a programmable thermostat: A programmable thermostat allows you to set your home’s temperature to your desired level automatically. This means you won’t have to adjust the temperature manually and can save money on your energy bill.
4. Seal air leaks: Check windows and doors for gaps or leaks that may let cold air in. Sealing these gaps with caulk or weatherstripping can help keep your home warm and reduce heating costs.
5. Insulate your home: Adding insulation to your walls, attic, and crawl spaces can help keep heat inside your home. This will also help reduce your heating costs.
6. Consider a humidifier: Dry winter air can make your home feel colder than it is. A humidifier can help add moisture to the air and make your home feel more comfortable.
7. Dress warmly: Wearing warm clothing, like sweaters and socks, can help you feel more comfortable in your home without cramming up the heat.

Following these tips can help keep your home warm and comfortable during the winter months while reducing energy costs.

This post goes beyond our usual tips for heating, plumbing, cooling, and ventilation.

Instead, this winter weather blog is meant to give you ample time to make changes before it gets REALLY cold.

Let’s begin!

• It’s still comparatively warm outside during much of the fall. Keeping window shades and heavy drapes closed keeps that warm air inside. It collects throughout the house. Have you ever walked outside on a chilly day and thought, “It’s warmer out here than inside”? Well, that’s because outdoors, you’re enjoying the remaining time that the sun and earth are still close enough to give us some warmth to enjoy.
• Now is also an excellent time to consider where your furniture is placed within your home. If your family room has most of its chairs and sofas near the windows, you’re more likely to feel a draft. So, begin planning on rearranging furniture – in every room where it makes sense to be more centered and aware of windows and outside doors.
• Speaking of windows, replacement windows in an old house are often a good investment, especially with the recent rising prices of fuel for heating systems. Hiring a contractor, taking out a loan, and doing 25 windows at once are unnecessary. Look for the ones that are the oldest, single pane, where the window putty is long gone and the wood frame is cracked and worn. Many home improvement centers offer weekend FREE tips and techniques on replacing just a few of the worst with a double-insulated, tilt-in style window. There is not a lot for a handy do-it-yourselfer or even a local handyman to handle.
• Have you got a fireplace that you enjoy using during the upcoming holidays? If you have one and don’t use it (whether it’s wood-burning or gas-fired), make sure the flue is closed. Most have a handle sticking out; if it doesn’t have OPEN and CLOSED printed, it’s easy to tell. Light a candle near but not inside the fireplace, and see if the flame is drawn toward the fireplace. If not, then your flue is closed. But if it is, turn the handle and see if the flame remains vertical. If still unsure, you can try looking up inside the chimney to check if you can see any light. Any light means it’s not closed. Fireplaces that don’t draw combusted air out of your home can be quite dangerous. Another call for a handyman. Chimney sweeps may look charming on Mary Poppins, but they can be quite expensive.
• Our last blog post told you everything you needed to know about programmable thermostats. I strongly recommend you give it another read, and a manually settable thermostat is easy to install and while not as sophisticated as the NEST or other Wi-Fi connected devices, if no one is home for long periods of the day – at work or school, or during sleeping hours, you can lower your fuel costs significantly just by reducing demand for heat during “off-hours”/
• Nearly anyone can easily install weather stripping. Let’s say you can feel a draft coming from below a door. Simply measure the door’s width (or length), visit your closest home improvement center, and ask for some help finding weather stripping to close that gap. Many are self-adhesive and require a pair of scissors to cut them to length. But check for the best type and location for your weather-stripping to go, by asking a pro.
• Be active in turning off any ventilation fans in bathrooms or kitchens, which typically push air to an outside vent to reduce cooking smoke or keep bathrooms from developing mold or mildew.
• A lot of heat can be lost through electrical outlets and switches. Most are a standard size and all you need to do is turn off the power going to the control or outlet just to be safe. Then select the appropriate foam insulator (typically, they come in single or double size, but if you have a 3-light setup, you can buy one that fits that size too.
• If you have access to your water heater pipes, inexpensive insulation can also help. Remember the basement is typically the coldest since it’s below ground, so insulating the hot water pipes’ surface keeps the hot water from being exposed to lower basement temperatures. Again, this a relatively easy DIY project if access to the pipes coming out of the hot water tank is simple.
• Do you remember when your attic was last insulated or even checked? You might discover that some older batting has broken down with age and is not doing its job. Time to find someone who can inspect it, ensure there are no health hazards from old asbestos, and prevent ice dams from forming on your roof, above the gutters.
• Finally, and most importantly, contact Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC for a completely clean, test, and tuning of your system. Muccia’s new PRIME inspection covers everything associated with fuel combustion, the safe exhaust of carbon monoxide, and checking for any leaks and emissions problems. Make an appointment today by calling Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC at 201-343-1414 or sending an email to info@mucciaplumbing.com

Be sure to visit us at www.mucciaplumbing.com to read all our previous blogs, and LIKE us on Facebook.

Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC cares about your heat, your health, and your happiness. So please call us now.

About Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC

Exclusively Serving Bergen County, New Jersey

Michael Muccia is a Master Plumber and the owner and operator of Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC. Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC is a full-service Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) service company based in and serving Bergen County, NJ, since 1978. The Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC team of trained and certified service technicians offers various services, including general plumbing and heating maintenance, for residential and commercial clients.

Whatever your plumbing, heating, air conditioning, or ventilation needs are, it’s easier with Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC. We treat our customers, large and small, with the best service in the industry. We know you have a choice when considering an HVAC company, and no matter what we do for you, we treat it as the most crucial job in our history. Our experience proves that we know how to work efficiently, which keeps costs low, uses only the best components within budget, and stands behind the work we do.

Muccia Plumbing, Heating & AC has locations in the following areas:

Hackensack | Hillside | Ramsey | Waldwick | Maywood | Tenafly

• Published at October 11, 2017
• Category: How To