Welcome to the Flame Furnace Blog

Have you heard of Zoning?  No, it is not some new type of dance move-it is a way to heat and cool your home that saves money.

Basically, zoning sections off your home into different zones and there is a thermostat for each of them.  That way during the winter you can turn up the heat of a room (or rooms) that you are using, but turn down the heat in a different zone. That makes sense doesn’t it?  When you take a shower or wash your hands-you do not turn on all the sinks or showers in the house-why should the heat or air be going full blast if you are not using it?  Some systems can even be compatible with a programmable thermostat to make your savings even greater!

Questions about zoning?  Contact Flame!

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Are you waking up with a sore throat or carrying lotion around your house for your hands or feet?  That is probably because it is Winter and the air is getting dryer and your furnace is not helping.  In fact, it has been found that often viruses like the low humidity!  Humidifiers help to add moisture to your home which can reduce sickness, dry skin etc… and many heating and cooling systems can come with a whole house humidifier built right in!

These whole house humidifiers are located near your furnace unit and contain a pad that should be changed about once a year.  If you have any questions about changing your pad, be sure to ask Flame!  In the humidifier there is also a damper and when it comes to winter time you should turn the switch to the “winter position” which will open the damper and allow the moisture to flow.  Also, there will be a “Humidistat” which is a control (much like a thermostat) for the humidity in your home.  For Michigan winters, typically one wants to set the humidistat at about 30-35%, however that can be changed based on your preferences!

Humidifiers for the whole house are not the only ways to add moisture to your home, you can also buy single-room portable humidifiers, which are typically less expensive, from a local hardware store.  These are also effective, but they only humidify one room so you would need multiple for your whole house and you often have to constantly re-fill the water in it.  If you have any questions about whole house humidifiers, be sure to contact Flame!

Also-check out this video about humidifiers from “Ask the Furnace Doctor! (scroll down to “One Minute Tips from Flame Furnace about Humidifiers”)

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Flame Furnace Company has been around for over 50 years and owned by the same people. Have you ever wondered how it all began?  Robert Marowske decided to start a heating company in 1949 without ever even attending college.  Business was slow at first and so he sold Christmas trees on the side to help make ends meet.  However, he soon was able to turn Flame into a leading heating and cooling company.His son, Gary, is the current president of the company.  

Gary has been working at Flame for most of his life-he started washing the trucks while he was still in high school.  As a kid, he was made to change in the garage when he came home because his mother thought his clothes were too dirty from washing trucks and working in the warehouse to be let inside.  Flame Furnace has grown from just a small heating and cooling company to one of the largest in Southeastern Michigan.

When thinking about choosing a company, remember that Flame has been a family company for over 60 years and it has maintained the same high quality for that amount of time! So Contact Flame with all of your HVAC needs!

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The countdown begins to Thanksgiving and after that-not much more time until Christmas.  This means lots of food and often, house guests.  Unfortunately sometimes it may seem as if the heat in your home is not flowing equally throughout your house and perhaps the room where all of your guests are staying is freezing!  Here are some things to look into to make sure that your upstairs is nice and comfy for family!

1.  Check you air vents.

- A lot of times you can close off the vents for rooms that heat or cool very easily to try to push more air to the other rooms.  You may even want to close off dampers to rooms that you are not using.

2.  Insulation

- When was last time you had your attic or walls insulated?  You may be losing  a lot of heating/cooling because your home is not properly insulated.

3.  Windows

- How old are you windows?  A lot of times the older windows have leaks throughout the frame.  If you feel a lot of drafts near windows, you may want to re-caulk to seal the windown frame from air leaks.

4.  Doors

- If you notice drafts around doors; installing weatherstrip will also help seal air leaks.

If you are still having problems after checking out these problems-contact Flame and they can help you out!  Have a Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving!

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Not only are we heading into the Holiday season, we are also in the middle of cold and flu season.  This can be a terrible time for anyone, especially if you have kids in school!  The good news is that Flame Furnace can you help you out! How?

Duct Cleaning-It is recommended that you have your ducts cleaned every couple of years.  In the ducts, particles, viruses and bacteria can accumulate and then circulate throughout your home which can irritate allergies and cause the cold and flu.  Therefore, giving your ducts a good cleaning will reduce the sickness in your house!

Air Purifier-Air Purifiers such as the Bryant Perfect Air Purifiers can help to eliminate cold and flu virus (among other things from your home).  In fact, within 6 hours 99.99% of the Common Cold Virus is killed while just after 2 hours-99% of the flu virus is killed!

These are not the only ways to prevent colds, check out these tips:

• WASH YOUR HANDS-when you sneeze or cough, germs stay on your hands and if you do not wash them they will transfer to whatever you touch next!
• Aerobic Exercise- This pumps you up and increases oxygen flow which helps to increase your “virus-killing cells.”
• Cut Back on Smoking and Drinking-these activities can lower your immune system activity.
• Really Relax-if you are actually relaxed, this can increase your immune system activity.
• Do not cough or sneeze on hands-when you do this you are  just getting the germs on your hands which you may transfer if you shake someone’s hand, answer the telephone, open a door etc… Just do it into a tissue or turn your head away from people.

WebMD has all of these tips and more on their website!  Check it out if your are interested and do not hesitate to contact Flame about duct cleanings or air purifiers.  Most importantly, stay healthy!

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