Your Home Could Be Making You Sick

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There is nothing worse than getting sick during the winter, or anytime of the year for that matter, but colds and flu can actually be prevented if you keep your home clean and tidy. One of the best ways to prevent your winter illnesses from returning is to have your air ducts cleaned on a regular basis. Air ducts get dirty over time, but there are certain types of debris that can make your air ducts worse. Mold, dust and even pet hair can clog your air ducts. Pet dander and hair can also cause problems with your air ducts.

Dirty air ducts not only spread polluted air throughout your home, but they can also make you sicker and cause the rest of your family to become ill as well. One of the best ways to tell if your air ducts are dirty is to pay attention to how you are feeling. If you and your kids suffer from watery eyes, it could be a sign. Another indication is a runny nose, headaches and constant fatigue. If your throat has become increasingly dry and scratchy it may be time to call in the professionals.

Most people have no idea how often they should clean the air ducts in their home. Of course every property is different, but it is better to be pro-active. If you wait for one of your family members to get asthma, or they already have it, you could be asking for real trouble. Mold can be detrimental to allergy and asthma sufferers. If you are unsure, have Dry Con come out and inspect your air ducts. Some things to consider are the age of your house, how old the people are that live in your home, whether or not you have plumbing issues that can lead to mold, and the area in which you live.

Keep in mind that there are several reasons to have Dry Con come out and inspect your cooling and heating systems. These include home flooding, rodent or insect problems, mold odors and condensation. If you live in an area that has recently had a fire, it is imperative that you have your air ducts cleaned. If you have just moved into a new home you should have your ducts inspected. You don’t want to breathe what the previous homeowners left behind.

Do not wait until it is too late. Contact Dry Con and find out if your indoor air quality is 100 times worse than outdoor pollution. The wellbeing of your family and your pets depend on it.

DryCon’s Home Sense Fall 2011 Ed.

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Energy Efficiency: Don’t “Duct” Your Responsibility

You’d think twice about putting a new engine in an old car, right? But many households don’t take this same approach when it comes to their heating and cooling systems. They purchase new, high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and then attach it to a clunker of a duct system. The equipment may heat and cool the home, but the system never performs at its full potential. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program recommends that you have your duct system checked – either during an equipment replacement or a service call. Ask us about this when you call to set up your next appointment. By fixing your ducts, you could save up to $140 per year in energy costs. Do you have a clunker of a duct system?

  1. Do your filters get dirty quickly? Are there dirt streaks showing at the corners and seams of duct connections?
  2. Do you have rooms that just don’t get much air flow and never seem to feel comfortable?
  3. Do you have ducts in your attic or crawl space?

Any or all of these conditions may be attributable to poorly performing ducts. For contractors fixing your ductwork, here are a few of the recommendations the EPA offers:

  • Inspect the whole distribution system, including attic and crawl spaces.
  • Seal leaks and connections with mastic or metal tape. Don’t use duct tape!
  • Determine if additional air returns dampers or new zones are needed.

Want to know more? Give us a call and we can perform a thorough video inspection on your duct system.

Home Safety Alert: Falls Are Leading Cause of Home Injury
Everyone trips and stumbles from time to time. But a simple moment of “not watching where you’re going” can have serious consequences. According to the Home Safety Council, falls at home cause more than 5 million injuries each year – and even account for nearly 6,000 deaths. The Council recommends that you take a look at several areas, including:

  • Stairs and Steps – For better protection, have handrails installed on both sides, and make sure they extend from the top to the bottom of the stairs. Use safety gates at the top and bottom with small children in the home.
Also, keep the stairs clear of toys, laundry, books or other clutter. Finally, if any steps are broken, have them repaired.

  • Lighting- Lighting helps us watch where we’re going, see hazards ahead and make adjustments. Make sure you have adequate lighting at entrances, on your porch and walkways and at the top and bottom of the stairs. Also, place nightlights in the bedroom,
hall and bathroom to prevent stumbling in the dark during unplanned visits to the bathroom or tending to snack attacks in the kitchen.

  • Reduce Slips- A big injury can start with a small slip, and that can start with a small rug. Secure small rugs by taping them to the floor (or don’t use them at all). Place a mat or non-slip strips in the tub and shower and add grab bars. Also, use a bath mat with a non-skid bottom on the bathroom floor.
  • Other Good Practices – If you have a two-story (or more) home, place window guards on upstairs windows to keep children from falling out.
Don’t Lose the Air You’ve Paid to Heat or Cool
You might not be familiar with the inner workings of the systems that run your home, but you’ll know when you’re comfortable, whether the utility bills seems sky high, or if the air inside is aggravating allergies and asthma problems. Oftentimes issues like these can be traced back to your ducts. Ducts are used by your heating and cooling system to distribute comfortable air throughout your home. But according to the EPA, in typical houses, about 20% of the air that moves through the duct
system is lost due to leaks, holes and poorly connected ducts. Duct sealing is a practical solution for these losses – which can lead to higher utility bills and can make it difficult to keep the house comfortable. When your duct system is properly sealed, here are some ways you can benefit:

  • Comfort – You’ll be less likely to experience common comfort problems, such as rooms that are too cool or too warm.
  • Indoor Air Quality – Sealed ducts reduce theopportunities for air pollutants to enter your home. They can also reduce the risk of a “backdraft” of combustion gases coming into your living area from gas appliances such as water heaters, clothes dryers and furnaces.
  • Save Money – Sealed ducts can improve the efficiency of your heating and cooling system, lowering energy bills.

Just give us a call if you would like us to conduct a Duct Review on your home.

Reducing Air Pollution
    If most people were asked to do a quick word association about air pollution, chances are strong words like “city” and “traffic” would be among the first to come to mind. However, while large cities with heavy traffic are certainly susceptible to air pollution, city dwellers and drivers aren’t the lone culprits when it comes to causing air pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), what we do inside our homes, regardless of where we live, can be polluting the air both indoors and out. To do your part, consider the following tips for reducing air pollution:

  • Recycle. One of the easiest ways to help reduce air pollution is to participate in your community’s recycling program. Recycling helps reduce air pollution by reducing production emissions.
    Plus, recycling helps to conserve valuable – and expensive (as you’ve probably noticed on your utility bills!) – energy.

  • Proper storage and disposal of common household items.

Many items around the house can be very harmful to the environment if not disposed of or stored properly. One easy thing you can do to help the environment is to make sure your paints, pesticides and solvents are stored in airtight containers.

  • Inspect your appliances regularly.

Inspecting heating and cooling systems (filters, in particular), can help reduce the emissions of harmful

    gases into the air both inside and outside your home. Have a professional (like us!) check your home comfort system in the Spring and in the Fall. If your system isn’t operating efficiently, it could be costing you significant amounts of energy dollars.
  • Look at things in terms of your physical health.

    • If you or your loved ones are struggling to adjust to a more air-friendly lifestyle, perhaps the context of personal health can help put things in a better, and more effective, perspective. Exposure to air pollution can aggravate asthma, lead to potential lung damage, cause coughing or shortness of breath and could result in premature death for people with existing heart or lung diseases.

Since these issues affect over 50 million Americans, chances are air pollution is affecting someone you know and care about.

My Word by Jeff Henson
Dear Friends,
It’s great to have this chance to stay in touch with you – I hope you’ll enjoy the articles in this newsletter. We’re committed to staying in touch with our customers because you’re why we’re here. Of course, there’s more than one way to communicate with friends. Our newest way is our new website, which you’ll find at Dryconknox.com. We welcome you to visit this site to learn more about our services, schedule appointments, ask questions and make suggestions. You’ll find our blog here too! The Web, online communication tools and social media have
transformed the opportunities to stay in touch. That’s true for our customers too. So, if you’re there, we want to be there. Maybe you’ve signed up for a Facebook account and are reconnecting with people whose faces you barely remember. Or take in tweets like you can’t survive without 140-character news breaks. Or double-check travel, shopping and services decisionson the Internet before you do nearly anything. That’s why we’ve also launched even more ways to stay in touch. Yep, we’re tweeting – so be sure to follow us on Twitter.com/dryconknox.
We would love for you to like us on Facebook – search for Drycon. And here’s the main purpose of all of the above:
  • To stay connected with you
  • To gain your input and hear your feedback
  • To let you know when we have specials

Hope to see you soon – online, in your home and wherever else we may meet.
Jeff Henson
P.S. Check out the discounts in this newsletter for some big savings. If you’re not going to use them, though, feel free to pass them on to a friend.