Do You Need to Have Your AC Serviced?

As summer gets underway, you may be thinking about whether or not your home’s HVAC system is ready for more frequent use during the warmer weather. Here are three signs that you may need to have your HVAC serviced or replaced.

1. Your Air Conditioning Has a Smell

If the air coming out of your AC has a noticeable odor that’s kind of dirty or dusty, then you probably need to have it cleaned. Your evaporator coils need to be cleaned annually, and the vents throughout your home also need to be cleaned periodically in order to ensure that the air quality inside of your home is okay.

2. Your Energy Bill Has Suddenly Skyrocketed

A surge in your energy bill that goes beyond the increase that you typically see in summer may indicate that your HVAC system is working overtime. This could be for a number of reasons including improper cleaning or maintenance, low freon, blocked condenser lines, or system age. If your HVAC system is more than ten years old, it probably makes more sense to invest in a new system rather than a costly repair. If you need a new AC Staten Island, work with a well-reviewed company who can offer you a competitive estimate for installation.

3. The Vent in One Room Isn’t Working Well

If only one vent isn’t blowing out air as forcefully as it normally does, you may have a connection problem in your ductwork. Over time, connections can become loose and in some cases totally disconnected. Also, it’s possible that animals in your attic or crawlspace have caused a tear in your ductwork or have created an obstruction.

If you suspect that you have a problem with your HVAC system, it’s best to address it before temperatures reach their peak. The longer a problem goes unaddressed, the greater the chance that a small problem could lead to a big problem or a total system failure. 

Small Garden Ponds

Those who love to garden and enjoy a beautiful landscape may have considered putting in a small garden pond. While these are often fun to look at and add a certain element of class to your home, many do not realize the work that goes into having them. It’s not as easy as digging a hole and pouring water into it. There are several things you have to think about and look after if you have one. Here are a few examples of some of the most important things you’ll need to do.

Manage It

No matter where your pond is, you’ll have to keep an eye on the plants around it. You should take precautionary measures like installing nets and other mats to protect it during the seasons of leaf and pollen falling. You should also be aware of what’s happening in the pond and be prepared to handle aquatic weed control.  

Clean It

The best way to keep your pond nice and beautiful is to clean it as often as it needs it. There is no specific time period one can put on doing this, as different things will cause it to become dirty. A skimmer net will help you keep things off the top of the water, but you may need to invest in some type of pond vacuum for underneath the water.

Maintain It

If you have anything inside the pond, whether it be lights, fountains, pumps, or hoses, you need to make sure you are keeping up with them. Different things can cause them to become nasty and dirty which is not good for the pond’s water or its structure. The sooner you handle a problem, the easier it is to fix though too.

While small ponds can change the outlook of your home, remember that it will take a lot of work to have. Those who truly love the look of it will find it easier to stay on top of, regardless of what needs to be done.

Moving Tips

The process of moving out of your house and into a new place is often stressful and hard. A lot of work goes into packing everything up and getting it to the new place. If you are going to be moving soon, here are three tips to help you make it easier.

Hire Help

Moving everything in your home may not be as easy as you think it will be. Depending on you far you are going, your items will need to be packed onto a truck and brought to your new place. While you can ask friends and family for help, it is often easier to look into loading and unloading services for hire. This ensures both sides of the move will be completed no matter what happens.

Get Supplies

Since everything will not be able to fit in a box, you need to make sure you have the right packing supplies. For large items, moving blankets and shrink wrap are good to have on hand. These are especially helpful for wrapping the furniture to make sure things don’t break or receive scratches. Dishes, pictures, and other small fragile items should be layered with bubble wrap and wrapped in paper. A numerous number of boxes and packing tape will also be needed.

Make a Plan

The best way to pack up your house in an organized fashion is by doing it one room at a time. As you pack up a room, you can label the boxes with detailed inventory and mark what room the items need to go in. This not only makes packing easier, but it will also help you unpack and get your new place in living order faster than if you had random boxes everywhere.

Doing some of these things can really make your move go a lot smoother and easier than one thought possible. Instead of dreading everything you need to do, these ideas can help you get through the whole thing stress-free.

Decorating Tips To Brighten Your Space

Most don’t want to live in spaces that feel dark, small or closed off. Because of this, finding ways to decorate your living spaces that will make them feel brighter and more expansive can be a good way to help a small space feel larger without having to make any drastic changes to your home. If you’re looking for ways to spruce up your house and make it feel bigger and brighter, here are a couple of things to consider. 

Get New Lighting

One simple way to help brighten up your living spaces and help to make them feel larger is by getting the right kind of light fixtures. Whether you opt for lighting fixtures Bedford Park IL or another kind of light fixtures, new lighting can be an effective way to create the illusion of space within a small area. Lighting can be particularly helpful in expanding rooms that have no windows or are otherwise lacking adequate amounts of natural light. 

Take Care in Choosing Colors

The colors you select for your living spaces can also have a significant impact on how spacious they feel. When trying to make a space feel larger, it can be best to choose colors that are light, airy and bright. This is because dark colors tend to make spaces feel smaller, and may give them a closed-in feeling, while lighter colors are more open and reflective. Dark or bold colors may look beautiful in larger spaces, but in a smaller space, they may the room feel cramped or dank. By choosing pale colors, you can help to avoid feeling closed in and can create an illusion of space. 

The Bottom Line

Most don’t want to dwell in spaces that feel small or closed off. However, this may feel difficult to avoid if you have smaller living spaces.

That doesn’t mean, though, that you don’t have any options. By paying attention to how you decorate and opting for quality lighting and pale colors, you can help to create the illusion of space.