airconditioning

How To Protect Pipes From Freezing

Before the onset of cold weather, protect your pipes from freezing by following these recommendations:

• Drain water from swimming pool and water sprinkler supply lines following manufacturer’s or installer’s directions. Do not put antifreeze in these lines unless directed. Antifreeze is environmentally harmful, and is dangerous to humans, animals, and landscaping.
• Remove, drain, and store hoses used outdoors. Close inside valves supplying outdoor hose bibs. Open the outside hose bibs to allow water to drain. Keep the outside valve open so that any water remaining in the pipe can expand without causing the pipe to break.
• Add insulation to attics, basements and crawl spaces. Insulation will maintain higher temperatures in these areas.
• Check around the home for other areas where water supply lines are located in unheated areas. Look in the garage, and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Both hot and cold water pipes in these areas should be insulated.
• Consider installing specific products made to insulate water pipes like a “pipe sleeve” or installing UL-listed “heat tape,” “heat cable,” or similar materials on exposed water pipes. Newspaper can provide some degree of insulation and protection to exposed pipes – even ¼” of newspaper can provide significant protection in areas that usually do not have frequent or prolonged temperatures below freezing.
• Call green Apple Mechanical Toll-free @ 888-611-7191 with any questions or concerns you may have regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs.

Is Your Furnace Ready For A Snow Storm?

A properly maintained furnace uses less fuel and lasts longer. A Green Apple Mechanical NJ HVAC professional will oil motors so they run more smoothly, check and replace the filters, and make sure your thermostat is set accurately. All of these make your furnace run more efficiently and use less energy. With proper maintenance, it can reduce your costs on your electricity bill, since 46% of the average family electricity bill is towards heating and cooling.

Annual maintenance also reduces the chance of your furnace breaking down. By checking it annually, you can do necessary repairs then – rather than when it’s in the middle of a brutal snow storm.  

Regular annual checks of your furnace are vital for your health, finances, and safety. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call Green Apple Mechanical NJ toll-free @ 888-611-7191.

Could This Be The Reason Your Toilet Is Slow Flushing?

Modern toilets use a variety of low-flow designs aimed at saving water. The early forms of these toilets may lack the necessary pressure to clear the internal trap and drain, meaning that they often develop clogs. Look at the back of your toilet for a stamped date. If your toilet was made in the mid-1990s, you could have one of these first-generation low-flow toilets.

If this is the case, don’t feel the need to rush into buying a brand new toilet. You can sometimes reduce clogs in low-flow toilets by limiting toilet paper use and avoiding clog-prone items. But if these efforts don’t help, the solution will be to install a more up-to-date toilet.

If you are experiencing any difficulty with any of your plumbing or HVAC concerns call Green Apple Mechanical NJ toll-free @ 888-611-7191

Do You Know When It’s Time To Replace Your Furnace Filter?

• If you start noticing more dust around your home, or dust around your air vents
• You smell a dusty odor in your home
• You or your family has unexplained congestion

To keep your furnace in its best condition, Green Apple Mechanical NJ recommends that you change the filter monthly and have it serviced annually by a Green Apple Mechanical professional. This will ensure that your furnace will continue to keep your home warm and comfortable when you need it most.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call Green Apple toll-free at 888-611-7191

What To Do If You Have A Burst Pipe

No matter the prevention you have taken sometimes burst pipes happen. What you do when you discover one will make the difference between an inconvenience or a total disaster. Here we have highlighted the best action a homeowner can take.

1. Look out for the signs of Burst Pipes. Not every burst pipe is a torrent of water from the ceiling, look for damp patches on walls, ceilings and floors. Loss of water pressure, unusual noises in the system and even electrical faults all can point to Burst Pipes.
2. If you suspect a burst pipe then isolate the water from the stopcock. Close the stopcock fully and open the taps in the home to remove the water from the system.
3. DO NOT use the electrical devices, keep away from light switches and sockets if water is leaking it easily can be within the electrical circuit.
4. Clean the excess water away as soon as possible the quicker the water is removed the less damage can be caused.
5. If you have any more concerns regarding any of your plumbing or HVAC needs call Green Apple toll-free at 888-611-7191

Do You Know How Old Your Furnace Is?

The average life expectancy of furnaces in homes today is between 16 and 20 years. If your furnace is close to this age or older, you should start looking at options. Don’t wait for an emergency – never a time to make your most informed decision. It’s wiser to replace a furnace as a planned home improvement rather than as a panic replacement when your furnace conks out in the middle of winter. By the way, if your furnace has a pilot light, it is almost certainly 25 years or older.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call toll-free at 888-611-7191

Should Pasta Go Down The Garbage Disposal?

The reason pasta takes the top spot is that it seems like a great candidate for the disposal. But pasta can never break down small enough to pass through the disposal’s blades and into the drain, so all those bits and pieces find places to hide.

Every time water comes, pasta swells and increases in size, which clogs the disposal drain. This forces the disposal to work overtime and wear out faster.

Also, when it comes to the garbage disposal food triangle, rice is in the same family as pasta. In some cases, rice can cause even more damage than pasta because of a single grain’s ability to swell repeatedly.

So when pasta and rice show up, skip the disposal and go for the trash can. If you are having any issues with your garbage disposal or any other of your HVAC or plumbing needs call Green Apple Mechanical toll-free at 888-611-7191

Protecting Your Home From Drafts

• How to find drafts:
  On a windy day, use a stick of incense, a small candle or tea light or a strand of hair or string and slowly “trace” around all windowsills, door jams, vents etc looking for the flame to flicker or the smoke or hair to be blown away.
• Seal all drafts.
  Silicone caulking or foam sealant works for drafts in non-movable sources, such as window frames. For movable sources, like windows or doors, use weather-stripping. Using a door draft stopper (like a rolled up towel) and heavy currents can also stop drafts.
• Don’t forget pet doors.
  Drafts from a pet door can’t be avoided completely but can be protected against with weather-stripping or even a heavy curtain on either side of the door. If your pet door is within a removable panel for sliding glass doors, be sure to weather-strip around it as well.
• If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call Green Apple Mechanical toll-free at 888-611-7191

More Reasons Not To Use “Flushable” wipes.

Don’t feed the fatberg’: Huge mass blocks English sewer

LONDON (AP) — A British official says a giant “fatberg” has been found blocking a sewer in southwestern England: a mass of hardened fat, oil and baby wipes measuring 64 meters (210 feet) long.

Andrew Roantree of South West Water says it will “take our sewer team around eight weeks to dissect this monster in exceptionally challenging work conditions.”

He urged the public not to pour grease down the drain or flush baby wipes down the toilet, adding: “Don’t feed the fatberg.”

The revolting fat mass was discovered in drains in the coastal town of Sidmouth.

In 2017, a 250-meter (820-foot) fatberg was found in sewers beneath Whitechapel in east London. A chunk of that later went on display at the Museum of London, nestled inside transparent boxes.

Call Green Apple Mechanical NJ toll-free at 888-611-7191 with any questions or concerns you may have regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs.

How Many Faucets Should I Leave On?

• Keep the heat on: if you’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time, make sure your thermostat is not set lower than 55 degrees.
•  Allow the faucet to drip: this relieves pressure on your home’s water system.
  Keep interior doors open: leaving cabinet doors open allows heat from the rest of the house to help keep the pipes warm.
• Seal up cracks and holes: look for places on the inside and outside of your home where cold air can get in and around your pipes.
• Apply heating tape: this is a special electric tape that can be applied directly to pipes.
• Add extra insulation: foam rubber or fiberglass sleeves can be put directly on pipes to help insulate them from the cold. This is especially important for pipes in attics and basements.

You can leave only one dripping faucet but you want to make sure it’s in the right location. If you know where your water comes into your house, turn on a cold water faucet at the other end of the house to allow for water to travel through the entire system.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of your HVAC or plumbing needs call toll-free @ 888-611-7191