Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric and Fireplaces, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Cedar Rapids Blog’ Category

Yes, Your Furnace Needs a Safety Inspection

Monday, February 20th, 2023

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of this blog, we need to be clear that gas furnaces are safe. We would never, under any circumstances, install a system that was unsafe in your home, so you can rest assured that this is the case.

Sometimes a furnace can become unsafe through years of wear and tear, neglect, and sheer bad luck. And one of the best ways to deter this problem is with professional furnace maintenance in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Maintenance isn’t just a tune-up. It’s a safety inspection and it’s going to be the difference between a winter when you’re constantly nervous about the gas and fumes that are inside of your system, and one where you sleep soundly every night. We want to talk today about the benefits of a heating system safety inspection, and why you’ll always want to trust a licensed professional to get this done for you.

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What Is Considered a Plumbing Emergency?

Monday, February 13th, 2023

No matter what age you are, whether you’re celebrating the golden anniversary this year or you just graduated high school, you probably watched cartoons at some point. They’ve always been fun and entertaining for kids, even in the Steamboat Willy era. But cartoons also have a habit of showing us less-than-realistic depictions of some real-life things, especially plumbing events.

A gushing water leak or a cartoonishly large wrench are usually the things people think about when they imagine an emergency plumbing situation. These aren’t realistic depictions of what your plumbing emergency might actually look like. Frozen pipes or a sewer clog could be a plumbing emergency, but you’ve likely never seen that on TV or in the movies!

Let’s talk about how you can better tell if you need emergency plumbing in Cedar Rapids, IA, or if you can wait a few days to schedule a normal appointment.

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3 Common Electrical Panel Problems

Monday, February 6th, 2023

For a time, electrical panels were the new and improved version of a fuse box. Those old systems aren’t really used anymore and you should first make sure that your home has an electrical panel before looking into repairs. But for most of us, that’s already a reality.

Your electrical panel is the box that has all of the labeled circuits of your home in one location. It serves as a centralized hub, a place where you can always check to see if a certain electrical circuit is on or off, or you can even see how many circuits there are in terms of your power load. If all of the power of your house is going to one outlet, then you can identify which labeled part that is in your electrical panel for an upgrade.

But sometimes you’ll notice bad things, like corrosion or a broken switch, and those are signs that your electrical panel in Cedar Rapids, IA needs repairs.

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Is a Bigger Furnace Really Better?

Monday, January 30th, 2023

Furnaces come in all shapes and sizes, but that’s for a very good reason. A furnace that is too large or too small will obviously cause problems, but many homeowners are in the dark as to what those problems might be. For instance, there’s a classic misconception that having a larger furnace is always better since you can’t go wrong with more heat in your home, right?

Well, you can, but not for the reason you would expect. No, your home won’t get swelteringly hot, and it’s not particularly unsafe, but it will lead to tremendously higher heating bills and a system that breaks down early on in its lifespan. This is what we call “short cycling” and it’s something that your furnace can be the victim of if you’re not careful.

So, let’s talk about why a furnace installation in Cedar Rapids, IA should be a specific size that fits your home.

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What Should I Do If My Water Heater Is Leaking?

Monday, January 23rd, 2023

Uh oh… you’ve got another water heater leak. You went down to the basement to check on something, or perhaps to grab some old storage containers that you’ve kept down there and you notice the constant dripping next to the water heater tank. Well, at least you’ve detected the problem, now we need to figure out what to do!

Water heater leaks aren’t all that uncommon. For a system that cycles through hundreds of gallons of water, they’re likely to encounter leaks at some point. Basically, we want to reassure you that there’s no panic needed at this moment. With a trained professional on hand, you can get your water heater fixed, or even a water heater installation in Cedar Rapids, IA. Just make sure you learn from this experience and make the right call depending on what your home requires.

Here’s what you should do if you encounter a bad water heater leak.

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Superior Heating and Cooling With Geothermal Technology

Monday, January 16th, 2023

Geothermal systems are some of the best and most efficient heating and cooling systems on the market today. There’s really no comparison when you try to look at other heating or cooling systems in those categories. The only thing that prevents them from being the prime choice for most homeowners is the fact that they’re much more expensive than other heating and cooling units. A gas furnace is just always going to cost less to install than geothermal heating in Cedar Rapids, IA, but for customers that might have the disposable income now, we’d recommend a geothermal system.

This blog is going to focus on some of the unique aspects of this technology. We first want to talk a bit about how geothermal HVAC systems work. Then, we’ll move on to discuss why they’re so efficient and long-lasting when compared to other HVAC technology.

Don’t just take our word for it. Let the science speak for itself!

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Poor Air Quality Can Be a Health Emergency

Monday, January 9th, 2023

We talk a lot on this website about the importance of proper temperature control and professional HVAC work like maintenance and repairs. One huge aspect of HVAC that we don’t talk about as much as we should is indoor air quality. The quality of your air matters just as much as the temperature, and it can have some huge implications for your home and health.

This blog post is going to highlight a few reasons why your air quality is important, and why certain members of your family, friends, and guests might have trouble being in your home for long periods of time if the air quality isn’t dealt with.

Our team has the resources to help you. With an air filtration system in Cedar Rapids, IA, you can siphon out all of the contaminating particles that might cause someone with asthma, COPD, or other illnesses to undergo severe respiratory distress.

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New Year, New Heating System

Monday, January 2nd, 2023

With the new year, it’s important to take a step back and look at how we got to where we are. There are many good reasons to choose a new heating system, whether you’re just unsatisfied with your current one or in desperate need of a new system to keep your home warm. Regardless, we understand why you might want a heating replacement in Cedar Rapids, IA, but getting rid of your old heating system can be a tough ordeal.

A lot of people decide to keep running their heating systems way past their expiration date because that sounds like the easiest way to save money. But that can lead to quite an amount of problems, from high heating bills to constant repairs that get in the way of your peace of mind.

Let’s talk about a few ways you can be a more proactive heating system owner by figuring out when the best time to invest in a replacement might be.

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A Big Change From Such a Small System

Monday, December 26th, 2022

Thermostats are a lot like our smartphones or laptops. They’re easily one of the smallest appliances in our home, but sometimes they’re so important to our day-to-day functions that you might not be able to imagine your life without them. This is just how life goes in the 21st century and it’s pretty common.

However, the amount of people who use old analog thermostats or even digital thermostats from the turn of the millennia is a little alarming. These devices, just like computers and phones made during the same age, just don’t have the capabilities of temperature control and efficiency measuring that newer thermostats have.

So, we think it’s time to talk about smart thermostats in Cedar Rapids, IA, and why your home could benefit from such a significant upgrade. Just make sure you call a team of qualified professionals to have this upgrade performed in your home.

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Dalton’s Guide to Mobile Home Heating

Monday, December 19th, 2022

It’s no secret that owning a mobile home is different in many ways from owning a multi-story house. In this crazy economy, they’re becoming more convenient as an option for homeowners who would like to own property, but can’t afford some of the very high prices for houses. They also tend to economize space very well, since you can have multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a lot of space for a lower cost and without sifting through older houses that might not have those kinds of rooms.

Overall, if you’re happy with your manufactured home, then that’s what really matters. However, heating that home is what we’re going to talk about today. Mobile home heating in Cedar Rapids, IA is a specific topic that requires a bit of attention since it can be different from traditional home heating.

From choosing specific systems to some best practices that can help you stay energy efficient and happy this holiday season.

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