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Indoor Air Quality,  it almost seems like a snobby term.  Somebody needs things so perfect, they need to even worry about their air quality.  However, why should we not worry about our indoor air quality?  It’s what we breathe everyday, and for most of us, we spend the majority of hours inside, especially in the colder months.  Doesn’t it make sense to improve your indoor air quality?  It’s better to take a little extra time concerning our air quality, than to spend days sick from extra allergens or bacteria in our air.  Here are some simple easy things you can do to improve your indoor air quality:

• Are you allergic to ragweed?  It is one of the largest allergens, and can be very frustrating.  Therefore, keep your windows closed during heavy ragweed season!  This can also be done for other airborne allergens that may bother you.
• Using a UV Germicidal light in your ducts, will help to eradicate many things that you do not want floating around your home like bacteria, mold, viruses and dust.
• High quality air purifiers are also a good idea like the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier that will catch and eliminate irritants, dust, mold, etc… in your ducts before it can get out into your home
• Keep your air at the proper humidity- too dry can be irritating for your skin, and too damp could encourage the growth of mold.  A good humidity is around 45-65% according to the EPA
• Ventilation is great, so use your exhaust fans!

Flame FAQs

Contact Flame for any more information about how to improve your  Indoor Air Quality!

Some info found at:  Wikipedia:  The Free Encyclopedia, Ragweed

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AARRRGHHHH!  (Is that what you sounded like when your dog ran across your nice hardwood floor for the millionth time and scratched it up again?)  Due to pets, age etc… you may be planning to re-do your hardwood floor.  Other than simply moving out furniture, there are other things to think about such as…

Indoor Air Quality

First thing is first, you want to make sure that your furnace or air conditioner is shut off during this hardwood process.  Why?  Because re-doing hardwood floors is a very dusty activity and furnaces/air conditioners tend to suck in this dust and re-circulate it throughout your home, in rooms you didn’t even make a mess in!  This could be especially inconvenient for those with allergies.

Finishing or staining products such as Glitsa can produce odors and vapors that could cause headaches or nausea.  And therefore ventilation is incredibly important.  Unfortunately your furnace and air conditioner will not be very effective at venting these smells and fumes, and so it is best to do it the old fashioned way-with fans and open windows!  The goal is to change the indoor air with the outdoor air.  Though your heating and cooling unit may “suck up” the bad air, it may just as easily “spit it back out” in another area of your home.

A factor to think about with ventilation is the age of your home.  Older homes are less energy efficient and so they have natural cracks and leaks where the fumes can slip out and so they may not need as much work with ventilation as the newer tightly sealed homes do!

Good luck with your project and maybe a dog gate will help keep man’s best friend off of the new beautiful wood floors (though if you’re like me, your home is your dog’s playground).

Information gleaned from these articles and the Glitsa website…check them out for more info, “Breathing Easy” and “Ventilation”

Also, remember you can Contact Flame! for further information on air duct preservation and cleaning services.

Image found at: “How to Care for Hardwood Floors” by Maurie Backman

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You may have read about E3’s on this blog before:  Energy Efficiency Evaluation.  You may have thought well that sounds neat, but I don’t really feel like spending the money right now….good news for you!  For the month of June only, an E3 inspection is only $49.  This is an enormous discount.

If you’ve never heard of an E3 before–here is a brief introduction.  They are whole house energy efficiency exams that inspect your home to find leaks and places where your home may be losing energy or is not properly heated or cooled.  It begins with a discussion between you and a trained consultant.  That way you can tell the consultant your opinion on what rooms feel warmer, cooler, dryer etc… and give him/her some things to look out for.

This leads to an equipment inspection and an inspection of the insulation (because insulation is imperative to making sure that warm or cool air stay inside or outside your home, depending on the season).  After that the consultant will perform the Infiltrometer Blower Door Test to test for leaks, an air flow diagnosis to check for blockages and finally the Electronic Air Flow Capture Hood Test that tests out how much cool or hot air is actually making it to your rooms.

Infiltrometer Blower Door Test

After all of these tests (it almosts seems like your taking the SAT again?  Don’t worry–not nearly as painful!), the consultant will sit down with you and design an improvement plan.  The plan simply contains suggestions to help increase the energy efficiency of your home and you are not obligated to follow through with any of them.  These suggestions could range from things you could do on your own, such as adding more insulation up to much larger changes involving heating and cooling units.

The E3 exam is great not only  because its results could help you find ways to save energy and lower your bills, but also because it is very interesting to be able to see where there are energy leaks and problems in your home.  E3’s provide you with valuable information, and now is the time to get it.  As you are starting to use that air conditioner, you want to make sure that your precious cool air is not being wasted this summer.

Contact Flame for More Info or to Schedule an Appointment!

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Carbon Monoxide is colorless, odorless and tasteless.  Unfortunately, it is also very dangerous.  This substance can poison your body until the point of death.  There are certain things that can cause too much carbon monoxide in the air, they are:

• Faulty Furnaces
• House Fires
• Wood burning stoves
• Heaters
• Electric Generators
• and more…

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can range from mild to severe-

It is very wise to have carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home in order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.  It is recommended that a detector be placed on each floor of the house, especially those where people sleep and where there are gas burning appliances such as water heaters and furnaces.  Flame technicians can install these for you.  They can also help to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning by giving you annual furnace inspections and therefore seeing if there is a problem or potential problem with your unit that could cause carbon monoxide poisoning.

Contact Flame if you have any questions about Carbon Monoxide, detectors or furnace inspections!

Check out this Video about Carbon Monoxide Poisoning!

*Table and info from Wikipedia:  The Free Encyclopedia, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

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It’s that time of year again:  Spring Cleaning!  When cleaning your home (or thinking about cleaning your home…) you should also think about cleaning your ducts.  Duct cleaning helps to clean out and sanitize dust, mold, pollen and other small particles.  Typically ducts should be cleaned every 3 to 5 years, however there are some reasons that they should be cleaned more frequently than that.

For example, if you have pets that shed excessively, if people in the house smoke, or if you are moving into a new house.

Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical offers NADCA (National Air Duct Cleaners Association) certified technicians to inspect, clean and sanitize your ducts.  They can also install UV Germicidal lights that kill irritants and that help to keep your ducts clean!

Questions?  Contact Flame!

(Information found at http://ezinearticles.com/?Air-Duct-Cleaning—How-Often&id=82012)

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Spring is coming! (Finally!)  With spring comes re-birth, warm weather, flip flops and also allergies.  About 35 million Americans per year are affected by seasonal allergies.  For the most part spring allergies are due to the increased amount of pollen from various plants floating in the air.  If you are an allergy sufferer you know the symptoms:  runny nose, itchy eyes and nose, coughing, sneezing etc….  Medicine can be very helpful with coping with allergies, but there are some non medicinal practices as well:

Photo Courtesty of WebMD

• Change your filters regularly!  In order to reduce the amount of allergens in your home.
• Think about purchasing an air purifier, such as the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier
• Also, every couple of years you should get your ducts cleaned to reduce dust and other types of build-up inside the duct work of your home
• A UV Germicidal light will help to eliminate bacteria, mold and other things that may trigger allergies
• In the Spring-keep your doors and windows and closed to keep pollen out (even though it may be tempting to open them!)
• Dust and Vacuum regularly

For more information about Spring Allergies, check out what Web MD has to say.  If you have any questions about duct cleaning, air purifiers, furnace filters or UV lights-contact Flame!

(Allergy information found at http://www.webmd.com/allergies/spring-allergies)

Like this blog? Check Out

• Changing Your Furnace Filter
• Air Purifier can “Exterminate” Diseases

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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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It’s that time of the year again, where furnaces are beginning to run continuously. Though it is nice to have a warm home, it also means that it is time to change your filters!  Filters should be changed about every month.  If you use disposable filters, those are easy to replace at any local hardware or maintenance store.  Prices vary greatly, but it is better to not get the cheapest one because chances are, it will not work as well.  Some filters are not disposable and they need to be taken out and cleaned every month, which can be done with a hose.  (Reusable filters are usually metal or sometimes plastic).  Here is how to change or clean your filter:  

1. Turn off the furnace-either from the service panel on the furnace or at the main circuit breaker
2. The filter is usually near the blower, and it is a square/rectangle type mesh device.
3. Remove it
4. If there is dirt and buildup make sure you wash or replace it, though it should probably be done anyways.  (This is kind of like pulling the “lint catcher” out of the dryer, just a little bigger and dirtier).
5. Either wash the filter and replace it when it is dry or go buy a new one!  (Make sure to take the measurements of the old one, so you know what kind to get!)

Yes, you could think that this is a hassle every month, but it is not worthless!  Having a clean filter increases the furnace’s efficiency, which decreases your heating bills!  As always, if you have questions-Contact Flame!

Want more info?  Here is where I get some of mine: http://www.ehow.com/how_116602_clean-replace-furnace.html

http://www.filtersusa.com/filterchanging.cfm

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We all want to stay healthy and we usually try our best to do so.  We wash our hands, drink orange juice and go to the doctor.  However, there are more things that can be done to prevent you from getting sick.

Flame offers a variety of indoor air quality products and services that will help keep your air clean and eliminate mold, dust mites, bacteria and certain diseases.  For instance, UV Germicidal lights help to kill the items that do not get stopped by your filter in your duct work.  Also, the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier and the RGF Air Purifier are incredibly high quality air purifiers.  On top of this, a duct cleaning every couple of years can help to improve indoor air quality.

If you are a doctor, nurse or other medical professional this information is for you!  These products and services are perfect for a hospital or doctor’s office where there are many sick people as well as healthy ones.  The UV germicidal light and the air filters can help to destroy bacteria and diseases that are floating around.

Whether you are a doctor or not, you can contact Flame for more information about these air purifiers, UV lights etc…

Or Check Out these Other Blogs:

• Air Purifier Can “Exterminate” Diseases
• Mmm…Clean Air
• How You Can Help Keep Your Air Clean

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If you see a bee in your home you probably try to shoo it out.  If you see spiders, ants, or cockroaches in your home you either kill them with your feet or call an exterminator.  The point is that when you have bugs in your home-you get rid of them.

Now why do we not try to do the same thing with diseases and viruses?  Sure, we wash our hands more during flu season but that is hardly on the same level as calling an exterminator.  Bryant’s Perfect Air Purifier can exterminate these things for you.

Here is a list of viruses that the Center for Disease Control has discovered that the Perfect Air Purifier is proven to kill and how long it takes:

• Common Cold virus (99.99%)——6 Hours
• Flu virus (99%)——————–2 Hours
• Bird Flu virus (99.9%)————-5 Hours
• SARS (99.9%)———————2 Hours
• Measles (99.9%)——————-1 Hour
• Smallpox (99.9%)——————18 Hours
• Anthrax (97%)———————24 Hours
• Tuberculosis (99.9%)—————24 Hours
• Staphlococcus (staph) (100%)——12 Hours
• Aspergillus versicolor (mold) (99%)-24 Hours

Diseases such as Tuberculosis are still around and can be deadly, while the flu and common cold can be a nuisance especially if you have to miss work or school.  This air purifier is a great way to help your family.

For more information on any of these diseases, you can check out the Center for Disease Control’s website, www.cdc.gov  and you can also contact Flame if you are interested in learning more about the Bryant Perfect Air Purifier.

More Information on Indoor Air Quality from Flame:

• How Flame Can Help Your Allergies!
• Mmm…Clean Air
• How You can Help Keep Your Air Clean
• Perfect Air
• Duct Cleaning FAQ
• Can’t Breathe? Maybe Your Filter is to Blame

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