Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric and Fireplaces, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Waterloo’

Why Store-Bought Drain Cleaning Solutions Are No Solution

Monday, April 12th, 2021

sink-drain-with-water-rushing-downWhen you have a clog in a sink within your home, your first instinct is very likely to reach for a plunger… or that bottle of store-bought drain cleaning solution you keep on hand.

A plunger is always a good start. If the clog is superficial enough, you may very well be able to relieve your drain pipe with the plunger and a little bit of “elbow grease. The latter option though—the store-bought drain cleaning solution, is no solution at all.

We’ll dive into the “why” behind this a bit more below, but for now, we’ll just say that store-bought drain cleaners have a lot of caustic chemicals in them, meaning they eat through the clog, then keep on going to eat through the lining of your plumbing pipes over time. Read on as we uncover some more reasons this is no solution.

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Will Your Heater Make It Through the Rest of Winter?

Monday, February 15th, 2021

woman-in-parka-huddled-on-couch-drinking-of-of-mugWintertime temps are still here for a while—in fact if you believe in Groundhog Day predictions, it’s here for about four more weeks, at least! This means your heating system has some time before you shut if off for the season. So if you have repair needs, you should definitely take care of them sooner rather than later.

We understand how tempting it is to put off end-of-season heating repair needs. After all, can’t you just wait until you need the system again next fall?

You could, but if it’s a problem also impacting your air conditioner, you’ll find yourself in trouble later this spring. And if it’s a big enough problem, you might have a completely broken down heater by the time you go to turn it on next fall.

But how do you know you even have heater repair needs? Read on as we uncover some of the most common warning signs, and if you discover any of them, give us a call.

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Tips to Keep You Warm This Winter

Monday, December 7th, 2020

woman-hugging-pillow-looking-coldWinter is right around the corner, and we want to help you be prepared! Hopefully you’ve already taken a step toward winter prep by having your heater tuned-up. If you have a furnace, this means scheduling an annual maintenance session. If you have a year-round heat pump system, this means having maintenance done twice a year.

But what if you’ve had maintenance done and you just don’t feel like your heater is keeping you warm as it should? Well, it may be that you need a heater upgrade. We’re happy to talk to you about your options! Another possibility is that you simply aren’t using your heating system as efficiently as you could be. Read on as we share some heating efficiency-boosting tips.

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Does Your Water Need an Upgrade?

Monday, November 23rd, 2020

hand-holding-glass-of-waterYou might be wondering what we mean by this—“My water? What’s wrong with my water?!”

We get it—this probably isn’t something you think about too often. But we want to encourage you otherwise. Some water quality problems can be quite harmful, after all. The water you use for cooking, cleaning, and drinking has many miles to go from the water treatment plant to your home, and on the way has the potential to pick up harmful contaminants.

And then there are mineral deposits, too. Namely, calcium, magnesium, and iron. Now, these minerals are not harmful for you to ingest, but over time they are very harmful to your plumbing system and quality of life. Read on as we uncover the problems associated with what’s called hard water and what you can do about it!

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“Does My Boiler Need Heating Maintenance?”

Monday, November 9th, 2020

gas-boiler-manometerThere are many things in life that are understandably debatable. Should you have pineapple on pizza? Is the second week of November too early to start listening to holiday music? Should you schedule maintenance for your boiler?

Before you shout out a resounding “NO!” for all three of these, we have to urge you to reconsider your response to the last inquiry. Boilers are very sturdy and have fewer moving parts than other types of heating systems, like furnaces or heat pumps. But that doesn’t mean you can necessarily get away with not diligently caring for your boiler system.

In our last blog post, we covered why it’s so important that you have furnace maintenance done and there are many checkpoints to consider with furnace systems. But any heating system needs to have annual inspections, boilers included. Read on to learn more!

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Follow This One Step to Prevent Furnace Repairs

Monday, October 26th, 2020

furnace-burnersTemperatures are starting to drop and homeowners are starting to think about their heating systems. How well is yours working? How much are you paying for its use each month? Do you have any repair needs to address?

We hope as well that you’ve considered the single most important step you should be taking toward furnace care this season—scheduling maintenance!

Your maintenance tune-ups are the best way to keep your heating operating as effectively and efficiently as possible for as long as possible while avoiding up to 85% of the repair needs it may ever need in its lifespan. Keep reading as we go over why it’s so vital to have this service done and how you’ll benefit.

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Can Drain Clogs Be Prevented?

Monday, September 28th, 2020

sink-drain-with-water-running-downThink you don’t have to worry about drain clogs? Figure that when one happens you can just reach for a bottle of store-bought liquid drain cleaner? Think again!

Unfortunately, these harsh chemical “solutions” are anything but a solution for clogged drains. Sure, they may temporarily relieve a clog like a build-up of hair or soap scum. But in the long run, they’re going to do more damage to your pipes than they are good. This is because of the caustic ingredients they’re made up of.

When you do have a drain clog, the best thing you can do is call on our team for professional drain cleaning, which we will elaborate on below. In the meantime, read on to learn how to prevent drain clogs to begin with.

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Signs It’s Time for an Electrical Upgrade

Monday, September 14th, 2020

technicians-hands-working-on-electrical-panelOf all the things you think about when it comes to homeownership, the state of your electrical system is probably pretty low on the priority list. That is, until you have an issue with an appliance or outlet, or experience a blackout. The thing is though, you don’t want to wait until something goes wrong to actually address the issue. This can leave you in a worse position than preventing it to begin with.

And electrical problems can be prevented. It just takes you knowing the signs that your electrical panel needs an upgrade. With the addition of so many electrical devices, components, and chargeable devices, this is important information to have on hand. Read on as we uncover some of the problems that are clear indicators it’s time to pay attention to your electrical panel!

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Why Is My Air Conditioner Leaking?

Monday, August 31st, 2020

Before you panic, know that we’re here to help. While a leaking air conditioner definitely isn’t a good thing, it’s not entirely uncommon. AC systems start to leak for a variety of reasons, and we’d like to go over what exactly is happening when you encounter this type of problem.

Since we’re pros, we know a thing or two about AC services in Waterloo, IA. Leaking air conditioners can be repaired when repairs are called for, which is why it’s so important that we cover this topic. When homeowners can detect that their AC is leaking when it’s not supposed to, they can call us and we can get to the bottom of the problem.

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Home Efficiency Boosting Tips

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

woman-looking-comfortable-in-home-leaning-back-on-couch-with-eyes-closedSummer is chugging right along, and the hottest temperatures are still ahead of us. That means as much as we’re running our home cooling systems right now, we’ll be doing it even more in the coming weeks. of course, this also means hefty energy bills. Air conditioners aren’t cheap after all–actually your HVAC use typically accounts for half of all your home energy use!

This doesn’t mean it needs to break the bank, though. You can take some steps that will help improve the efficiency of your air conditioner and help you out a bit on the financial end.

First, we have to mention maintenance–scheduling routine annual maintenance (or biannual, if you have a heat pump) is key to ensuring efficient AC operation. In addition to staying on top of your cooling system tune-ups, you can:

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