October Articles

November 2004 Articles

These are condensed versions of the Radio Program

11/03/04

Today, we’re going to try and answer several questions at once about carbon monoxide poisoning. We’ve been asked about it a lot and want to share this information.

Carbon monoxide poisoning happens more often than most people realize. Every year, 300-600 people die from it and thousands and thousands will seek medical attention for it. Carbon monoxide is an odor-free, tasteless gas that is produced by any number of combustion appliances. It is also produced by car engine exhaust. In the home, furnaces, gas dryers, and gas water heaters can all produce carbon monoxide.

A qualified technician should check all of these appliances at least once a year. Poisoning happens in any of several ways. People are poisoned due to chimney blockage, leaky furnaces or water heaters, or sometimes gas engines running indoors. In small doses it still poisons you-but you may check off symptoms to something else. Larges doses will kill you. The symptoms are headaches, nausea, and dizziness. If these symptoms go away when you leave your house; that’s a huge sign. You can easily protect yourself with a carbon monoxide detector. They are easy to install and reasonably priced. Any home that has any combustion appliances should have a detector. Carbon monoxide is called the “silent killer” for a reason. Many people just fall asleep and never wake up. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you or any of the people you care for. Please use a carbon monoxide detector. Listen for “Ask Mike” every Saturday on WTRB, and call us with your question at 635-3452.

11/10/04

Why is it so important to size the home comfort system correctly? There are a lot of problems that can occur if the capacity is wrong. Too small, and the house won’t be comfortable. The unit will run way too much and that increases wear and tear and shortens the life of the equipment. If it’s too big, it will cycle on and off way too much and the humidity control will drop off significantly.

If the humidity inside your home isn’t at the right level, you will not be comfortable.

I just found the cutest little plastic vent registers to put in my floors. That’s okay, right?

These custom floor vents (or registers) can be okay, I guess. There are plastic ones and brass ones that are attractive, but many aren’t very functional. There are types that try to split the airflow up to three or more directions from each vent. These types and others usually end up restricting the flow of air into the conditioned space. If you add up the air flowing through each of the sections together, they won’t amount to the same amount of air as the regular vent allow through.

Anytime you restrict airflow, you are having an adverse affect on the entire system. We like to compare the airflow of your comfort system to breathing. You must breathe out as much air as you breathe in. If you block the return from pulling air into the system or block air trying to blow out, you are changing the airflow. This can result in equipment damage and in discomfort within your home. Don’t forget to change your filters and get your questions to us at 635-3452

11/17/04

Today we’ll look at equipment failure to start.

Why does most equipment failure happen when you first start it up for the season? It happens every new season. We have seen many heating failures already this year and people are just now cranking their furnaces up. Any time something sits unused for a period of time,

(Especially months, the way furnaces stay idle in our climate), when they are first re-started, that’s when problems usually arise. If there were a small crack in a heat exchanger when it was last used, over the summer months, it probably expanded. Now it has become a major leak and can cause major problems. If electronics related to the heating system were on the verge of failure when it was shut off last spring, the sudden surge when restarting can push them over the edge. It’s almost like the saying “Use it or lose it”, but it certainly doesn’t happen every year. What can happen if the heat exchanger is faulty? When the heat exchanger is faulty, that most likely means that the combustion process is not happening like it’s supposed to. When the combustion process is not right, oxygen can easily be displaced and replaced with carbon monoxide and/or other by-products that can lead to serious health problems and even death. That’s why we always say that anyone who owns any type of combustion appliances should keep a carbon monoxide detector.

It’s also best to have proper maintenance performed each year on the heating system to assure proper operation. It can save your life. If you have a question for “Ask Mike” call us at 635-3452 or go to our website at www.qualityserviceinc.com and ask it there. We’ll see you next week. Change your filters

11/24/04

We’ve been talking about carbon monoxide (CO) a bit, and today we’re focusing on the poisonous gas. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and highly toxic. That’s the danger of this “silent killer”; it can be poisoning you and you don’t even know it. It displaces the oxygen in the bloodstream when you breathe it in, and even at low levels it can have a devastating effect on your health.

How much is too much? The easy answer is any, but for a healthy adult 50 parts per million (ppm) is safe. 200 ppm, frontal headaches within 2-3 hours. 400ppm, widespread headaches within 2-3 hours. 800ppm symptoms include dizziness, nausea, and convulsions within 45 minutes. At this level, insensible comes in less than 2 hours and death follows shortly behind. People suffering from respiratory and heart disease, infants, small children, and unborn babies along with expectant mothers and the elderly are even less tolerable. Every year in the United States over 200 people die from CO poisoning, and countless thousands become ill. Where does it come from? Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels. Any home that has a combustion appliance of any sort (Most) has the potential for CO problems. How can I protect myself?

By installing carbon monoxide detectors; we suggest one near each bedroom at least, and that you get detectors with low level warnings. Think about the symptoms above. If you feel better when you’re away from home or on vacation, you may have a problem.

It’s best to have a qualified pro check all the appliances to make sure they’re all burning properly. An orange flame usually means trouble, but a blue flame doesn’t guarantee all is well. As we all start to heat our homes, you’ll be hearing more on this subject. We don’t want to frighten, but educate. We’ll be back next week.