Day: October 3, 2020

The upcoming holidays will surely make your kitchen the busiest place in the house. It’s always been fun and fulfilling to cook food for the entire family. However, issues with your kitchen plumbing can occur, interrupting your holiday preparation. Among the most common kitchen plumbing problems is a clogged drain. Slow and clogged drains cause stagnant water that produces a bad, unhealthy smell around the house.

Make sure to act quickly before the drain in your kitchen sink gets blocked completely. Here are the 4 DIY drain cleaning methods you should try.

Pour baking soda and vinegar

After mixing baking soda and vinegar in a cup, immediately pour it down your drain. The fizzing mixture will work its way down the pipe and remove anything that is blocking the waterway. For best results, let the baking soda and vinegar mixture sit for a few hours or overnight, so it can effectively do its work. Another way to use this homemade mixture is to pour the baking soda down the pipes first, then follow with the vinegar.

Vacuum it

If you have a wet and dry vacuum in the house, using this tool is worth a shot in clearing your kitchen

Heating a home may keep you comfortable, but it also can be expensive. Looking to reduce your heating bills? Follow these tips.

1. Use an Efficient Heat Pump

Heat pumps can be a more energy-efficient option than furnaces because it’s easier to transfer heat than to make it. But not all heat pumps are created equal, and not every region of the country is suited to only heating with a heat pump. So it’s important to do a little homework; otherwise, it could cost you more in the long run.

The most important feature to consider when selecting a  heat pump is its Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER, which measures the appliance’s cooling efficiency. Basically, the lower the SEER, the less money you’ll save on the system’s operation.

Most heat pumps installed before 2006 are 10 SEER or lower, which means you’re saving just about 20 percent on your heating bills.  

That’s unreasonable when you could use a system like American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning’s AccuComfort Platinum 20 Heat Pump, a 21 SEER system that saves

There are all kinds of ways to keep your home heated from the ceiling to the floors — here are a few examples:

• A forced-air furnace, powered by natural gas or propane, pulls in cold air and filters allergens like dust and pollen. The furnace’s heat source warms the air, which a blower distributes through ducts.

• Electric heat pumps pull heat from one place — the air or ground — and move it throughout the home. Unlike furnaces, which burn fuel to create heat, heat pumps simply transfer it.

• Boilers, powered by electricity, gas or oil, heat water until it boils, hence the name. The water transforms into steam and then distributes heat through pipes and radiators.

• Wood-burning fireplaces generate a draft of heated gas that attracts more hot air as fire rises. Smoke goes up the chimney and exits the flue, which draws in oxygen to keep the fire burning.

• Gas fireplaces have artificial, incombustible logs that hide vents. Flames burn behind closed doors, there’s no smoke, and gases exhaust through tubes in the wall.

• Baseboard heating systems,