Rentmeister Total Home Service Blog: Archive for June, 2014

How to Make Your Air Conditioner More Efficient

Friday, June 27th, 2014

During summer, you might try to lower cooling costs by running your system less frequently than you’d like. However, there are other ways to increase the energy efficiency of your AC system without giving up your comfort. This guide contains energy saving tips for your air conditioning system in Salt Lake City this summer.

Cleaning or Replacing Air Filters

When your air filters are dirty, the efficiency of your AC system seriously suffers. Dirty air filters restrict airflow, which means your system has to work excessively to compensate. Replacing your air filters about once a month, or cleaning them if yours are washable, can increase energy efficiency up to 15%. You may need to do this more or less often depending on how often you run the AC.

Insulation

Heat moves naturally from a warm space to a cooler space. Even though your air conditioner is responsible for releasing the inside heat back outdoors, the building structure may allow heat to flow back into your home too easily. Insulation within the walls, ceilings and floors increases heat resistance by preventing heat from entering your home during summer and preventing it from flowing outside of your home in winter. Insulation may have been installed in your home when it was built or it can be retrofitted by blowing it into the walls through a small hole.

Regular Maintenance

Scheduling regular maintenance on your air conditioning system helps prevent problems in the future. If you schedule maintenance every year at the beginning of the cooling season, you can help prevent sudden breakdowns. A technician will clean system components and let you know of any issues that could be inhibiting your AC’s efficiency.

Schedule Repairs as Soon as Possible

If something is off with your air conditioning system, don’t wait to call a professional for repairs. If your system has to work harder to make up for any damaged AC components, it will use a lot of energy to do so. Fixing problems as soon as possible helps to ensure that your system continues to be efficient.

Contact Rentmeister Total Home Service for energy efficient solutions for your air conditioning system in Salt Lake City.

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What Are Some Signs That I Need To Upgrade My Air Conditioner?

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

Your air conditioner has done a good job of keeping you cool over the years, but can you get more out of your AC system? An HVAC technician can install upgrades to your air conditioner that allow you to manage your energy bills and your comfort more efficiently.

We’ve detailed some of the signs indicating that you may be ready for an air conditioner upgrade. For upgrades, replacement and more, contact Rentmeister Total Home Service for air conditioning installation in Salt Lake City.

High Energy Bills

If your energy bills suffer every month from your family’s AC use, this may be a sign that it’s time for an upgrade. A zone control system is an innovative way to lower energy bills. It seems wasteful to adjust the temperature to the same degree throughout the house if you and your family are sleeping soundly upstairs. With a zone control system, you can turn off or adjust the air in rooms you’re not using, thus lowering the cost of cooling your home.

Different People, Different Needs

Sometimes, the members of your household have different temperature needs. A zone control system not only helps with high energy bills, but can also help family members feel more comfortable as they adjust the temperature in their rooms to whatever setting they prefer. If your family members would benefit from custom temperature settings, it may be time for an upgrade.

Inaccurate Thermostat Readings

Do you feel like your thermostat reading is not always accurate or is hard to read? If you’re still relying on a manual thermostat, you may have an inaccurate temperature gauge that keeps your home cooler or warmer than you want, causing discomfort and possibly forcing you to use too much energy. Upgrading to a digital thermostat will give you an accurate, clear reading you can count on. You can also program it to come on at certain hours for increased reliability and ease.

Whether you’re considering a zone control system installation or a new programmable digital thermostat, Rentmeister Total Home Service can take care of all of your needs for air conditioning installation in Salt Lake City.

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How Water Softeners Prevent Plumbing Repair

Friday, June 20th, 2014

Hard water is a condition that affects the water supply entering some homes through the municipal system. Hard water contains an excess of minerals, usually calcites and magnesium. This is rarely dangerous for your health, although it can reduce taste quality and make it difficult to form soap lather.

The major problem with hard water is what it can do to your plumbing and fixtures if left untreated. Installing a water softener in your home’s plumbing will counteract water hardness and help you avoid needless plumbing repair in Salt Lake City, UT. Contact Rentmeister Total Home Service for water treatment solutions that will help you with water softener installation.

How a water softener helps your home

The large amount of minerals inside hard water can cause numerous issues inside your plumbing. One sign that you have hard water is the appearance of off-white flaky substances along faucets and edges of drains. These are the calcite deposits from the minerals in the water. They are unpleasant to look at, but imagine what kind of problems they can pose for the inside of your pipes, where they will start to build up.

Excess calcite deposits inside a pipe will start to reduce the space within the pipe. Although it is extremely rare for these deposits to close off a pipe entirely, the lessened space in the pipe will cause a spike in water pressure. High water pressure will inflict damage throughout your plumbing and will lead to numerous leaks springing up along connection points. You can expect to call for many plumbing repairs to seal leaks when you have hard water.

Hard water is also a serious problem for your home’s water heater. The high temperature inside a water heater tank will turn the minerals in hard water into limescale that will develop along the interior of the tank. Limescale acts as an insulator, and this will cause an imbalance in the tank’s heat and create overheating. A water heater will need regular de-scaling to fix the problem… unless the hard water can be counteracted.

How does a water softener deal with hard water? This whole-house treatment system balances the minerals in hard water with salts. Calcium and magnesium ions in water will switch places with sodium ions. A water softener only needs to add a small amount of sodium (12.5 mg per 8 ozs.) to the water supply to make this switch, which is well below the minimum set by the Drug and Food Administration for “very low sodium” levels.

You need to have professionals handle installing a water softener. Call Rentmeister Total Home Service today to arrange an appointment to look at your home’s issues with hard water and come up with a solution. Should you need plumbing repair service in Salt Lake City, we are available 24 hours a day for emergency service.

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Serving Breakfast and Serving our Community

Monday, June 16th, 2014

Rentmeister Total Home Service is proud to be sponsoring the Pancake Breakfast benefiting Chloe’s Sunshine Park for our fourth year in a row during Heritage Days. We invite our wonderful customers, friends and family to join us at the Community Center on Saturday, June 28 from 7:30-9:30am for a delicious pancake breakfast. Rentmeister’s staff will be cooking, serving and cleaning up from this event that is sure to be a blast for the whole family. The cost is $3 per person or $20 per family (up to 8 family members).

Proceeds from the breakfast benefit the proposed Chloe’s Sunshine Playground project. The project is named after Chloe Bennett, a Syracuse City child who has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and West Syndrome which limit her ability to speak, walk, and to play on traditional playground equipment. Chloe’s mother felt inspired to gather support to create a community playground that would accommodate all children where they could play together and bridge the gap. The proposed playground would be fully accessible and feature ramps, shade structures, slides, swings, a water splash pad and restrooms. 

Come out to the Pancake Breakfast to learn more and help show your support. We look forward to seeing you!

 

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Steps to Take When You Detect a Plumbing Leak

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Plumbing leaks are fairly commonplace, but that doesn’t negate their severity. If left untreated a leak can destroy drywall and other portions of your home, as well as putting strain on the plumbing system and costing you a great deal in monthly water bills. Even a minor leak can become a big headache if you aren’t careful. The good news is that in a big town like Salt Lake City, plumber services are on call to handle the problem professionally. You should always let a plumber repair the leak itself – it will ensure that the job is done right – but there are still some steps to take when you detect a plumbing leak.

The first thing you need to do is determine if the leak is in your household or if it stems from the larger water system. If it does, then it’s the city’s problem and you shouldn’t need to retain a plumber to deal with it.  The secret to doing that is your water meter. Read the meter and then refrain from using any faucets, toilets or other plumbing fixtures for at least two hours. Then check the meter again. If it has dropped at all, the leak is coming for your property any further steps must be taken. Otherwise, call the city and inform them of a leak in their system, near your home.

Once that’s complete, you need to determine if the leak affects the whole house or just one fixture. If you can’t pinpoint the exact location of the leak, check the nearest affected fixture, then check other fixtures in the house to see if they’re affected the same way (such as with lower water pressure). If they are, you should shut off water to the entire house and call a plumber. If you can definitely track the leak to a single fixture, however, you’ll probably be okay just shutting off water to that fixture.

In any case, you should call a plumber immediately upon completion of the steps to take when you detect a plumbing leak. If you’re looking for a plumber in Salt Lake City, the experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service are standing by to help. Give us a call today!

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3 Common Sources of Plumbing Clogs

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

If you’re a plumber in Salt Lake City, clogs in the pipes are practically a daily issue. We’ve seen every conceivable source of clogs in kitchen and bathroom plumbing, and we can spot the culprits fairly readily when they show up. That’s one of the reasons why you should always call a professional plumber rather than trying to treat clogs yourself: we can apply the right tool for the job rather than taking a one-size-fits all approach (like a store-bought cleanser) and hoping for the best.

Here are 3 common sources of plumbing clogs to give you an idea of the variety of causes for this seemingly simple problem.

  • Hair and soap. Human hair is surprisingly strong and when soap suds solidify in the pipes, they can become extremely viscous. Put them together and you have a recipe for disaster: a gummy, glue-like mixture that can stop pipes up as sure as putting a plug in the drain. A good drain catcher in your sink or shower can help prevent these kinds of clogs, but a plumber can usually clear them up quickly if they do occur.
  • Food particles. Food particles can include obvious culprits like peach pits and bones, which should never be thrown down the drain. But they can also include things like potato peelings, which are very fibrous and tough. When they get caught in the drain, you usually need a mechanized snake to deal with the issue.
  • Hot grease or fat. This is perhaps the most insidious source of plumbing clogs you can find. When grease or fat is in liquid form, it seems perfectly natural to pour them down the drain. But they will solidify once they’re in the cool pipes, and can easily form a blockage.

If you’re looking for a plumber in Salt Lake City to deal with common sources of plumbing clogs, then the experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service are standing by to help. We have the tools to handle most any kind of clog, as wells as the experience to treat it right the first time, every time. Give us a call today to set up an appointment. You’ll be glad you did!

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