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No matter what the season, it is always nice to fill your home or workplace with clean air.  Having less dust particles, micro-organisms, odors and vapors does not just make your home look, feel, and smell better, it can also make it a healthier environment.  (Especially for those with Allergies.)  Here are few simple steps that you can do yourself to help keep your air clean:

1. Dust or clean regularly
2. Make sure to replace vacuum bags regularly
3. open windows when cooking
4. Remember when you’re cleaning to get to those high flat surfaces that tend to get very dusty
5. air out dry cleaned items before bringing them indoors
6. Do not smoke inside the house or building

These small tips can help reduce pollutants in your air, but so will using the help of an HVAC specialist to perform or install these services or items that help to purify your air:

1.  Having your ducts cleaned by a certified person every couple of years.
2. Having an air cleaner or purifier installed such as the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier, Bryant Electronic Air Cleaner, Bryant 4″ Media Filter, or the Bryant 1″ Media Filter.
3. Ultra Violet Germicidal lamps can sterilize the cooling coil inside of your heating and cooling system where mold and bacteria can grow
4. Humidifiers such as a Bryant humidifier can also help to make your air clean and save energy because humidified air feels warmer and so your thermostat can be turned down.

Also available is the RGF Guardian Air VSF which not only kills and stops micro organisms like a filter and UV light, its Photohydroinization Advanced Oxidation also reduces gases, vapers, and odors.

More Information from Flame on Indoor Air Quality:

• Can’t Breathe? Maybe Your Filter is to Blame
• Mmm…Clean Air
• Air Purifier Can “Exterminate” Diseases

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It is either sweltering hot or freezing cold and your furnace or air conditioner breaks down.  It is most likely you do not know much about your heating and cooling units other than how to set your thermostat at a comfortable temperature.  So now what?  There are hundreds of heating and cooling companies in Southeastern Michigan, how can one decide?  Everyone’s website boasts off all their accomplishments and how they are the best one for the job-but what do some of the awards and certifications actually mean?
 Flame Furnace is a Bryant Gold Medal Winner, a National Contractor of the Year, a Mitsubishi Diamond Dealer, certified by NATE and NADCA, member of Air Conditioning Contractors of America, has won the Dave Lennox Award, is a Bryant Factory Authorized dealer, licensed by the state of Michigan in mechanical and electrical, and has plug power certification.  It sounds impressive, but it’s all Greek to those not familiar with the heating and cooling business.
 One of the most important certifications to look at is the NATE certification.  This stands for North American Technician Excellence certification.  Technicians must pass both a core and specialty exam to be certified and the test is not easy.  90% of Flame’s technicians are NATE certified.
 Flame is also a Bryant Factory Authorized dealer.  It may seem like any company who sells Bryant equipment would be a factory authorized dealer, but that is not true.  Bryant.com states that Bryant Factory Authorized dealer emblem indicates “your dealer has met our high standards for superior skills… superior service…superior products… superior comfort… and a superior promise-in writing-of 100% satisfaction, guaranteed.”  Always look to see if a company as a Factory Authorized emblem.
 As you can tell, there are plenty of certifications and awards for heating and cooling companies.  The NATE Certification and Factory Authorized Dealer are two items that are important for quality of a job and customer satisfaction.  If you are curious about what some of Flame’s other awards mean or any company, feel free to look them up through a search engine like “Google” on the internet, you will most likely be able to find plenty of information describing what all the accomplishments actually say about a company.

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Have you been feeling dizzy, nauseous, or having many headaches lately?  It is possible that you may have an increased amount of carbon monoxide in your home or in your workplace.  Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that can be extremely toxic in high amounts.  It can come from fuel burning household appliances such as furnaces, gas water heaters, gas refrigerators, gas or wood burning fire places etc..
Because of the nature of carbon monoxide the only way to really prevent any harm is through a Carbon Monoxide Detector, such as the Bryant Carbon Monoxide Alarm.  This detector plugs into an outlet and also has a battery back up in case of anything unforeseen.  The Bryant Alarm and other detectors are audible and will go off if there is a raised amount of CO.  Carbon Monoxide detectors often have “beeps” that are further apart in time if there is not very much CO in the air, and “beeps” that are much closer in time depending on how high the amount of carbon monoxide is.  The Bryant Carbon Monoxide Alarm will also constantly show you how many parts per million are in a room at that time.  It comes with a chart that explains what the different ppm numbers mean and what effect they will have on your body.
It is recommended that you have a CO detector in every room of the house, and it should be tested weekly or monthly.  If your carbon monoxide goes off but that amount is not serious, call a trained technician to help determine the cause of the carbon monoxide leak because the problem should be eliminated.  If there is a serious amount of CO, leave the house or building immediately and go to the hospital if anyone feels serious effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

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 Though it seemed to take a while, the warm weather is finally here.  Soon it will even be hitting 90 degrees!  After pulling out your shorts and going to the pool the first thing that you will probably want to do is get your air conditioner running.  What a disappointment it would be if it did not turn on.  Don’t worry it may be just a simple problem and there are a few things you yourself can check on your unit:

First of all, check your thermostat.  Is it set to below the current room temperature or to cool?  If not, set your thermostat at a cooler temperature and if that does not work try checking your electrical panel.

Just like when you have lights that will not turn on or an outlet that does not work, the air conditioner’s fuse could be blown or the breaker could be switched to off.  If so, make sure they are all the way off and then flip the breaker back to “on.”  Also, sometimes there is a disconnect box with outdoor fuses for the air conditioner right by the unit.  Make sure to also check those-you may have to get new fuses.  However, it is probably a good idea to turn those fuses off before checking them.

Last but not least, check your filters.  Often, your furnace and air conditioner share the same duct work and therefore the same filter.  So even though it is sweltering hot, your furnace still plays an intricate part in keeping your home cool.  Make sure the one or both filters are clean.  A dirty filter restricts airflow and causes your unit to not work well or not at all.

If you have no success after all of these steps, your best bet is to contact a certified technician for example at Flame Heating Cooling and Electrical and sit back and enjoy the warm weather.

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