Archive for the ‘maintenance’ Category
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Over the summer months, many of us experienced problems with our air conditioners. The souring temperatures and the repetitive heat waves truly took a toll on the system and if you didn’t have problems with your air conditioner, you were one of the lucky ones. The rest of us dealt with failures and leaks that needed emergency repairs. Luckily, Four Seasons was around all summer long, day in and day out, fixing broken air conditioners. A broken part is one thing but a leak or a condensation problem could cause much bigger problems that may have been initially seen. Water is like poison for both your air conditioner and your furnace, and if you had a leak in your air conditioner last summer, getting the furnace cleaned is more important than ever before.
Finding Problems Your Air Conditioner Caused
It is always recommended that you have a yearly maintenance check performed on the furnace at some point during the heating season. The cleaning will help identify problems and get the unit running efficiently and reliably for the remainder of the season. If the furnace was exposed to water over the summer months, you may not even know the extent of the damage that it may have caused unless you have the unit assessed. (more…)
Tags: air conditioner, Chicago, cleaning, condensation, Elmhurst, Evanston, Four Seasons, Furnace, furnace maintenance, furnace repair, Heating, IL, installation, leaks, maintenance, mold, replacement, rust, Tune Up, winter
Posted in Air conditioning, Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, maintenance | Comments Off
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
The winter season brings with it the need for warmth and comfort within the home. With all of the focus being placed on the condition of your furnace, odds are you haven’t even thought to check up on the state of your hot water heater. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone, but if you don’t take the time to give this unit a little attention, you could find yourself in a bit of a pickle down the line. Hot water tanks, like furnaces, tend to fail at inconvenient times. For example, your poorly maintained hot water tank may decide to stop working in the middle of your morning shower on the coldest of cold winter days. This is an all too common occurrence that could be easily prevented with water heater maintenance from Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning.
Eliminate Cold Showers with Four Seasons
Just like the furnace needs to be cleaned and checked yearly, the hot water tank could use a good scrub down as well. Your Four Seasons serviceman can give your hot water tank the servicing that it truly needs and we can do it right now! From flushing the system to cleaning the pilot, your Four Seasons tech can handle it all. In the end you will have a system that runs much more efficiently and reliably than ever before. Don’t wait for a cold shower to ruin your day and schedule your proactive maintenance with Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning today!
Tags: Chicago, clean pilot, cleaning, cold showers, efficiency, Four Seasons, Homer Glen, hot water, Hot Water Heater, hot water tank, IL, maintenance, Palatine, Posen, reliability, system flush, yearly tune up
Posted in Heating, Hot Water Heater, Tips and Suggestions, maintenance | Comments Off
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
When something goes wrong with the furnace, many homeowners take the wrong attitude when it comes to the furnace repair. They could care less what is wrong with the system or what caused it. They just want the system fixed so that they can get on with their normal day to day lives. At Four Seasons, we want our customers to be involved in the care of their heating and cooling systems. When you are kept in the loop and concerned about your system you will find that you have far fewer problems. Our servicemen are educators. They will walk you through the repair step by step and even give you ways to prevent the same problems from reoccurring. So, this is Four Seasons encouraging you to get in your technician’s face and get involved in the care of your heating system this winter.
Teaching You the Basics
Some HVAC companies don’t want to teach you the basics of furnace care because they want you to rely on them for every little issue. We realized that this was an unrealistic approach to business. Customers need to know how to properly replace their filter and adjust their thermostat. Our servicemen will take the time to walk you through these simple procedures, and we have a 24 hour customer support center available to those that may have questions. This way you don’t have to waste your time and money hiring a technician for a simple adjustment that you can handle on your own. (more…)
Tags: 24 Hour Repair, Chicago, comfort, education, filter replacement, Four Seasons, Fox Valley, Furnace, furnace repair, IL, maintenance, Mundelein, prevention, repair, winter
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, customer service, furnace filtration, maintenance | Comments Off
Monday, November 28th, 2011
Thanksgiving may be over, but we are just beginning the winter season here in Chicago! The worst of it is yet to come, but we have found that many homeowners are already having big problems with their heating systems. One of the more common complaints we get are about furnaces that turn on an off every few minutes. This problem is refereed to as short cycling in the HVAC industry The home never gets to the desired temperature because only a little bit of heat is put out of the unit when it does cycle on. The temperature on the thermostat is never met and the homeowner is left frustrated and confused. This problem could be caused by any number of issues, but Four Seasons has a solution for them all! Here are some of the most frequently found problems:
- Dirty System: Systems that haven’t been cleaned in ages are often the source of overheating problems. A simple clean and check from Four Seasons could be enough to get the system going again.
- Dirty Filter: Dirty filters block airflow and consequently cause the furnace to overheat as it attempts to keep up. A unit that is overheating will shut itself off as a safety mechanism but as soon as it cools off it will attempt to turn itself back on. This causes the short cycling symptoms and could be taken care of with a simple filter change. (more…)
Tags: filter change, Four Seasons, furance repair, Furnace, furnace cleaning, furnace sizing, Heating, IL, Lake Villa, oversized, replacement, Sauk Village, short cycling, Skokie
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Tips and Suggestions, furnace filtration, maintenance | Comments Off
Friday, November 25th, 2011
Not all furnaces are created equal, and if you have had a high efficiency furnace installed in your home over the past couple of years, you may have already begun to notice some of the differences between your new unit and your old system. The biggest difference is seen every month on your energy bills. Most homeowners that upgrade find that they send much less on energy to heat the home and yet receive more comfort than the old system was ever able to provide. However, Four Seasons wants to point out one difference between the old system and new system that may require you to make one more maintenance check periodically throughout the winter.
Technological Improvements Save Energy
Traditionally furnaces were vented through the chimney of the home. This was an inefficient way of getting the excess combustion gases out of the home, but in the process actually spent more energy than the furnace used to create heat. Hundreds of your hard earned dollars were being wasted in the combustion process and were never actually turning into usable heat for the home. The new high efficiency furnaces sought to improve upon this by creating a more efficient combustion and venting process. (more…)
Tags: Algonquin, blizzard, Chicago, combustion, Four Seasons, Furnace, Heating, IL, maintenance, obstruction, PVC pipes, save money, service call, snow, venting, winter
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Safety, Tips and Suggestions, furnace filtration, maintenance | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
When customers call into Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning for a furnace repair service call, we always ask for a general description of the problem. The answer is usually some variation of, “The heat doesn’t work!” One such variation of this problem would be that the furnace is not producing enough heat. The vents are pumping out somewhat warm air, but the home just seems incapable of getting to the temperature set on the thermostat. If this describes your furnace, the problem may be located in the furnace or it could possibly be a problem elsewhere in the home that is affecting your furnace’s ability to keep you and your family warm. Four Seasons can help you sort it out, and below are some of the potential causes of your problem.
What’s Holding Back Your Furnace?
- Dirty Filter: Believe it or not, a dirty furnace filter could be what is stopping your furnace from working at its full potential. A clogged filter blocks airflow and the small amount of air that is getting by isn’t enough to heat the home efficiently. Given more time, the clogged filter will eventually choke the furnace and stop it from providing any heat at all! If you haven’t changed the filter in months and you have this problem, change the filter before you spend your money on a service call and see if you notice an improvement in your comfort.
- Filthy Burners: If the filter is clean, the problem may be located inside the furnace. Dirty, poorly adjusted burners can also be a source of this problem. A way to see if this could be causing your problem would be to take a peek inside the furnace while it is running. If you see flames that are any other color than clean burning blue, you have this problem. Orange and yellow flames aren’t as hot as blue flames, but a simple cleaning and adjustment from your Four Seasons technician could get things running normally once more. (more…)
Tags: burners, Chicago, filter, Four Seasons, Furnace, furnace filter, furnace repair, Hazel Crest, Heating, home comfort specialist, Homer Glen, IL, Insulation, not enough heat, replacement, sales, service call, sizing
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Tips and Suggestions, attic insulation, furnace filtration, maintenance | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 21st, 2011
Very few things are more annoying than when batteries die on a vital appliance in the home. Next thing you know you are digging through drawers or stealing batteries from your children’s toys. Why not be proactive this year instead? There are three appliances in the home that most defiantly need to have their batteries changed twice a year: once before the summer season and again before the winter season. If you haven’t changed the batteries in these appliances in a while, now is the time to get back on top of this home maintenance task!
Beeping, Breakdowns, and Batteries
- Smoke Detectors: These crucial appliances are there to give your family advanced warning in the event of a fire in the home. When the batteries fail in these systems, the unit will beep incessantly until the battery is replaced. You may find yourself tempted to simply disconnect the unit until you get a new battery, but we urge you not to get in this habit! You may forget to replace the unit promptly and you will leave your home and your family vulnerable in the event of a fire.
- Thermostat: The thermostat controls the comfort level in the home, and the majority of these units run on batteries these days. If your thermostat is running on batteries that haven’t been replaced in ages, they may fail without your notice. You will think that there is a problem with the furnace and end up spending your hard earned money to have technician out to tell you that you need to change the batteries. The thermostat may even appear to be working normally, but the batteries simply don’t have enough juice to communicate properly with the furnace. (more…)
Tags: 24 Hour Repair, Alsip, batteries, Blue Island, carbon monoxide detector, Four Seasons, Furnace, IL, Oak Lawn, proactive, protection, Safety, smoke detector, thermostat
Posted in Boiler, Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Home Improvement and Repair, Home Services, Informational, Safety, maintenance | Comments Off
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Not only does Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning install and service water heaters and boilers, we are also in the business of protecting them from damage. We do this in a couple of ways, but if you have hard water in your home, your system is definitely at risk. Four Seasons now offers their customer’s full installation of water softening systems that can save your home from the damage hard water can do. For those of us that don’t have hard water, we still need to protect the system, and Four Seasons has a way to make that possible too!
Damage Cause by Hard Water
As hard water flows through your pipes, water heater, and boiler, it leaves behind deposits. Calcium and magnesium are usually the biggest culprits and over time, they can become caked inside these parts of your home. Pipes will loose their ability to transfer water effectively, and the water heater and boiler will loose energy efficiency. This happens as the buildup covers the burners. The boiler and hot water tank must then use more gas to heat up the water that will be transferred through the home. With time, these deposits will damage the systems beyond repair and will require replacement. A water softener will remove these deposits from your water before it ever comes in contact with your plumbing, your water heater, or your boiler. (more…)
Tags: Boiler, breakdown prevention, Chicago, energy efficiency, Four Seasons, hard water, IL, Lake Zurich, pipes, plumbing, protection, Round Lake, water heater, water softener, yearly maintenance
Posted in Boiler, Heating, Home Services, Hot Water Heater, Plumbing Services, maintenance | 1 Comment »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Once again the flu season is upon us and many of us are attempting to ward off this illness by getting a flu shot. We take this proactive step so that we don’t find ourselves laid up in bed for several days sneezing, coughing, and wheezing. Getting sick costs us money and comfort. We loose money when we have to miss work or pay for babysitters when our children have to stay home from school, and we loose comfort because no matter how many bowls of chicken noodle soup you may consume, you are still restless, agitated, and sick. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that we spend a little money every year to get a flu shot as a prevention tactic.
Proactive Furnace Cleaning Services
This type of thinking can be applied to a variety of situations, but we would like you do ask yourself this winter, “Does your furnace need a flu shot?” Sounds funny but furnaces can get the flu too! They can wheeze and cough and fail to keep you warm. This usually happens at a very inconvenient time and it defiantly costs you money and comfort as you wait for a repair to be completed. What can you do to prevent this from happening? You can take a proactive step and call Four Seasons. We make house calls! (more…)
Tags: Boiler, breakdowns, Chicago, Cicero, cleaning, comfort, cost, flu season, Four Seasons, Furnace, Heating, IL, Lake Villa, Lansing, maintenance, pretention, proactive, save money, sick furnace, Tune Up, winter
Posted in Boiler, Furnace, Heating, Savings, Tips and Suggestions, maintenance | Comments Off
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Chicago may have been spared when inches of snow fell on many of our neighbors, but we can hardly hope for many more days of fall with winter close on the horizon. It is now time to prepare your home for the snowy season ahead, and one of the steps we all must take involves protecting the air conditioner from damage. The air conditioner is left out in the cold every winter and it is therefore subjected to all of the effects of winter. Protecting this system will help prolong its usable years, but improperly winterizing your air conditioner could create even bigger problems. Four Seasons can help you put your air conditioner into hibernation safely, so that it can be ready to cool you down when summer returns once more.
Covering the Air Conditioner
Encasing the air conditioner for the winter requires a balance between air flow and coverage protection. Many homeowners make the mistake of wrapping the air conditioner too tightly in a tarp or sheet of plastic that doesn’t allow for enough airflow. This could actually encourage the creation of rust within the system. Moisture and condensation will buildup under the tarp and without a mode of escape, they will begin to eat away at the costly coils within the unit. Rust is like a disease for your air conditioner and there is no real way to stop it from destroying your unit once it begins. Not covering the system will also lead to rust buildup, and is not an alternative to using a tarp or sheet of plastic. (more…)
Tags: air conditioner, air conditioner cover, air flow, custom fit, Downers Grove, Four Seasons, IL, protection, rust, snow, South Holland, winter, winterize
Posted in Air conditioning, Tips and Suggestions, maintenance | 3 Comments »
