Category: Bellevue

Top 5 Reasons To Have Your Ducts Cleaned

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Top 5 Reasons To Have Your Ducts Cleaned Regularly

As we move into the coldest months of the year, your furnace will be running more often and, therefore, you’ll want to make note of the air in your home. Have you considered having a professional duct cleaning?

Does your home have a strange smell? Are you noticing dust and other allergens in every room in your house? Do you feel like you’re spending too much money on your energy bills?

All of these problems are symptoms of ducts that are overdue for a thorough cleaning.

Your ducts are responsible for delivering air to every room in your home after it has gone through your furnace or air conditioner. As a result, all of the air that you breathe in your home interacts with these ducts throughout most of the year, so if they are full of dust, mold, and other debris, you’ll end up with these particles in your lungs.

The good news is that our Tacoma duct cleaning this winter can ensure that the air you breathe is completely clean, reducing health problems and saving you money in the process. While you are getting your ducts cleans, let us also take a look at your dryer vents and ducts to make sure they are clean because clogged dryer vents are the number one cause of home fires.

1) Save Money on Bills

The cleaner your ducts, the lower your monthly heating and cooling bills will be. The reason is simple, as the buildup in your ducts means your system has to work hard to push air through your vents. When your ducts are clean, however, the air moves more efficiently and uses less energy in the process. Getting your ducts cleaned even once per year makes a difference in this regard and will ensure that you don’t end up with too much dust or other debris blocking your airflow. You can save even more money if you have an energy efficient heat pump or furnace installed

2) Reduce Issues with Allergies and Asthma

If you’ve noticed a fair amount of dust in the air at your home, you should have your ducts cleaned right away. This statement is particularly true if anyone in your household has asthma or allergies because having dust pushed out through your vents can trigger attacks and make life pretty miserable. The last thing you want is for something entirely preventable to cause problems with your family’s breathing this winter but luckily, a duct cleaning can greatly improve your indoor air quality.

3) Give Your Home a Fresh Start

When you move into a new home, having the ducts cleaned is essential because you never know how the previous tenants treated the property. Did they smoke inside the house? Did they have pets? Was there water damage? All of these things lead to debris in the vents, and if you don’t have them cleaned, you’ll be stuck breathing the particles in. It’s also a good idea to brush your ducts in Bellevue or Puyallup whenever you conduct renovations because drywall dust, paint, or, in some cases, asbestos, can fall into the vents when they aren’t properly sealed. From there, these harmful pollutants are blown all over the house. It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially if you don’t know how previous homeowners treated the place or if the ducts have ever received a cleaning before.

4) Breathe Cleaner Air

Even if you don’t have allergies or asthma, breathing cleaner air is always a good thing. You could keep your house spotless, but dust will still make its way into the vents and, therefore, into the air every time the furnace or air conditioner runs. The good news is that through a duct cleaning, you can have much of this dust removed from your home before it has the chance to be blown into the air, helping ensure that the air you breathe is as clean as possible. You’ll notice a distinct difference once the job is done because the air in your home will smell cleaner and fresher. And since you can’t open this windows as much in the winter here in Seattle, having clean air coming through your vents is essential.

5) Improve the Lifespan of Your HVAC System

Maintaining an HVAC system gets expensive as the unit ages because there are so many problems that you can run into. By cleaning your vents, however, you help the unit to work at a more manageable pace and prevent debris from getting into your system. Keeping your ducts clean also means you won’t have to replace your furnace filter as often, and even though these filters are a minor expense, every little bit matters. Keeping debris out of your ducts can improve the overall lifespan of your system by preventing it from overworking when moving air throughout your home.

Keeping up with your furnace maintenance will also save you money in the long run and improve the lifespan of your heating and cooling unit. When you schedule a furnace inspection or maintenance call to your home or business, ask one of HVAC technicians to take a look at your filters and ducts. Furnace maintenance is a good tie to also have your ducts cleaned.

Who to Trust?

When searching for a duct cleaning company, you’ll have a few different options. Flyers often come in the mail advertising duct cleaning for a rate of well under $100, but the truth is that these companies might not use the best equipment and, often, won’t provide adequate bang for your buck. Its a good idea to avoid duct cleaning scams that sound too good to be true.

Reputable companies, such as Hunt’s Services, use a hybrid system where we not only have a negative pressure vacuum to suck out dirt and debris but also a brush to physically scrub the inside of your vents. This method ensures that no debris is left behind.

Remember, when it comes to your ducts, the quality of the job done is of the utmost importance.

5 Common Air Conditioner Repairs

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After the wettest winter on record and a long, cold spring, Western Washington is experiencing some of the driest weather in its history this summer and residents are looking for any way possible to keep comfortable. In fact, the dry streak is approaching the all-time high of 51 straight days without rain, which was set in 1951, leaving people in Greater Seattle and Tacoma with very little relief. While at the same time the National Weather Service is predicting continuing dry and hot weather in the foreseeable future.

Combine the dry weather with the scorching temperatures that area officials expect in the coming days, and it is easy to see why it is an absolute necessity to have your air conditioner functioning at its full capacity. Have an expert look at your air conditioning unit before these incredibly high temperatures hit to ensure that you can keep your indoor air quality optimal this summer.

If you notice that your heating and air conditioning isn’t working as it should, give Hunt’s Services a call at 253-533-7500 to have one of our technicians have a look and fix the problem.

Some symptoms of an HVAC or air conditioner repair include:

1) No Cold Air

Perhaps the most alarming symptom of an air conditioning problem is finding that you don’t have any cold air coming out of your vents. When you run into this issue, you will have turned the unit on, only to find warm air coming out of the vents, much like you had turned on your furnace.

This situation certainly isn’t ideal, but the good news is that it is usually a simple problem for a professional to fix. The likely cause is a refrigerant leak, as this refrigerant is what cools the air before the unit pushes it through the vents. When refrigerant levels dip below a certain level, the unit won’t have the ability to do its job any longer, causing your house to heat up.

Luckily, a heating and cooling technician can fix this leak and replace the refrigerant, so you won’t have to worry about it being a long term issue this summer in the Greater Seattle area.

2) Squeaking Noises

Keep an ear out when you turn your air conditioner on this summer because it could provide potential clues regarding a problem. For example, if you notice that your air conditioner is squeaking or squealing, the fan belt could be the culprit. What the noise is doing is letting you know that you have a problem and that you could end up with a service disruption.

This issue is easy for a technician to fix, as it involves removing the old belt and replacing it with a new one. A broken belt is also an issue that you can catch ahead of time if you put yourself on a maintenance schedule. The gist of this plan is that you will have a professional inspect your air conditioner every year to ensure that the fan belt and other components are in good shape.

3) Poor Air Flow

Check your air flow and make sure that it is at an acceptable level. You could run into an issue where the air coming out of your vents is cold, but there isn’t enough of it to cool the house the way you had envisioned when you purchased the air conditioner.

Poor air flow is a common problem that develops in air conditioners over the years and is usually the result of a dirty filter. Much like a furnace, your air conditioners requires its filters to be changed every six to 12 months, depending on how often you use it. A duct cleaning might also be necessary. Signing up for scheduled maintenance on your unit is a good way to make sure that your filters are always new, your ducts are clean, and that you have the proper air flow.

4) Not Cooling Enough

An air conditioner that seems to be cooling the home, but is not quite up to your standards, could require various repairs. For starters, the lines that carry the refrigerant between the different parts of your unit might not have the proper insulation. This problem often arises due to the insulation wearing out over the years, which means that the technician will have to put a new sleeve over them.

Even an air conditioner that is running at full capacity could have problems. A potential issue is that your air conditioner might not be large or powerful enough to cool your home during a heatwave. While heatwaves are not common in Puget Sound compared to our neighbors to the South, you might consider upgrading or even replacing your air conditioning unit if it has outlived its usefulness and reliability.

5) Turning On and Off

You might notice that your air conditioner switches on and off throughout the day, regardless of the weather outside. This issue is common in homes where the thermostat is in a less than optimal position, as external components could be influencing the temperature in that part of the house, causing the malfunction.

All you will have to do if you find yourself in this position is have your technician move your thermostat, as this should lead to your air conditioner or heat pumps performing at a higher level.

Beating the Heat

We could end up with temperatures in the triple digits this summer, and if this occurs, you’ll be glad that you had your air conditioner serviced ahead of time. Do your part by having your HVAC system or heat pump looked at by a professional, so that you can keep yourself comfortable this summer.

Preparing Your Home For Seattle’s Rainy Season

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We know that it’s coming every year, yet, for some reason, we fail to prepare for it. The vast majority of Seattle’s precipitation falls between October and March, an average of 26.31 inches during these months annually, leaving many homes prone to flooded homes, yards, and particularly, basements.

The main issue occurs when a great deal of rain falls in a short period of time. For the most part, King County homes are equipped with basic flood prevention designs, since we get so much annual precipitation. Problems arise, however, when we have a storm that the system is unable to handle.

Luckily, by taking a few precautions before a significant storm hits, you can limit the damage that is done to your property should your area be hit particularly hard. As with anything in Seattle, it’s a good idea to plan ahead. That way, you won’t be stuck having to call in an emergency plumbing contractor when your basement starts to flood or having to completely redo your basement after it is turned into a swimming pool.

Check Your Home

Start by checking the various aspects of your home that are designed to prevent flooding in the first place. For example, your gutters have been installed with the purpose of helping water that lands on your roof to flow away from your home and into an area that is safer. If your gutters are clogged, however, this cannot occur. This is where many people get into trouble, as they end up with pools of water on their property that eventually make their way into the basement.

In areas with frequent precipitation, such as Seattle, you might want to have your gutters and downspouts running into a drain. If you do this, however, you’ll also want to have a plumber check your drains every year to ensure that they are not clogged and that they can handle the output that the drainage system is putting on them. A simple drain cleaning could prevent a great deal of damage in this situation because if this water is unable to run down your drains properly, it could lead to significant flooding.

In addition, you might consider having the walls in your basement sealed, especially if they are showing signs of seepage. Check for moisture on your basement walls and under the doors after every rainfall. If you find moisture, bring in a professional. This is a relatively simple procedure to have done on your home that could end up saving you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in repairs later on.

Install Sump Pumps

In many cases, your best bet will be to have a sump pump installed in your home. These pumps are usually placed in your basement or crawl space and are used to remove water from the area around your home. Sump pump systems collect water in a basin and come with a drainage method that diverts water from the home after it reaches a certain level.

Keep in mind that severe storms can overwhelm a sump pump system, which is why many homeowners have a couple of them installed in their homes. Get in touch with someone who offers these types of plumbing services in King County to figure out if installing sump pumps on your property would be beneficial.

Elevate Everything

You might want to start by taking anything that you don’t want to get wet off the ground in your basement. This can include things like washers, dryers, electric panels, and water heaters. You can use concrete blocks or treated wood to elevate these items, which can prevent water damage from occurring should your basement flood.

4 of the Most Common Plumbing Myths

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Myths are a common thing in life, as we hear things daily that are treated as common knowledge but aren’t necessarily true. This applies to household plumbing, as there are probably a number of things that your friends or family have told you that are doing you more harm than good. These are some of the most common plumbing myths that we hear while plumbing in King and Pierce Counties.

1) Drainage Problems Are Easy to Spot

While some drain problems are easy to notice, such as your sink not draining or your toilet not flushing, others are a little more difficult. Every time a food particle goes down your drain, there is a chance that it will get stopped somewhere along the way. It is very likely that your sewer line has vulnerable areas where particles and grease will stop, slowly forming a clog.

These areas won’t cause a backup immediately, but will slowly grow over time. Eventually, this leads to a clogged drain that will force you to call an emergency plumber in Pierce County. You can prevent this, however, by scheduling regular maintenance on your drainage system. This maintenance schedule ensures that clogs are removed before they have a chance to leak back into your house.

2) Sewer Line Replacements Require a Trench to be Dug in the Yard

When you find out that you have a leak in your sewer line, you probably envision your yard being full of sewage and your Pierce County plumber having to excavate your property to fix the problem. While this is certainly possible, the more plausible scenario is that we will come in and complete a trenchless sewer replacement.

In many cases, we can simply install a new liner inside of your existing pipe or use a process called pipe bursting to instantaneously replace the existing line. All of this is done without digging up your yard, saving you a headache once the job has been completed.

3) Low Water Pressure is No Big Deal

Many households suffer from water pressure problems and have no idea why this is happening. For the most part, homeowners learn to deal with their low water pressure, not knowing that the problem can easily be fixed. If you have low water pressure in your home, it could be a sign that a major problem is present. In some cases, it is something simple, like your valves, aren’t opening all the way or your shower head is old and full of mineral deposits. In other situations, however, you could have a water leak somewhere on your property.

If your water pressure has suddenly dropped, you might want to give us a call to have a look at your pipes. Having one of our technicians come by to troubleshoot could save you a great deal of money should you have a broken pipe.

4) Clogs Don’t Require an Experienced Plumber

Crafty marketing has made many consumers believe that putting chemical drain cleaners into the pipes is all that is needed to remove a blockage. The truth is that these chemical cleaners corrode the pipes, leading to much larger problems in the future. If you have a small clog, try removing it with a solution of vinegar, baking soda, and boiling water. If you have a larger clog, your best bet is to call a certified plumber to have it removed the right way.

Of course, not all plumbers in King and Pierce Counties are the same. At Hunt’s Services, all of our technicians have years of experience in this industry and have access to the newest technologies on the market. This allows us to deal with your plumbing problem quickly and efficiently, while protecting your pipes in the process. Give us a call at 253-533-7500 to book an appointment today.