Don’t Help Dust Hide

Textiles in your closets, such as clothes, towels and bedding, provide the perfect hiding spot for dust if not kept clean and organized. To keep the dust down in your clothes and linen closets, store lint-prone items in drawers or plastic boxes. Bulky items that shed can be covered with garment bags. Keep your closet floors clear so you’re not tempted to avoid vacuuming them.

Change your bedding, including your duvet cover, weekly so dust doesn’t have a chance to build up. Blankets can go a little longer between washes, but they should still be taken outdoors and shaken vigorously once a week to prevent dust accumulation.

If you’re managing allergies, consider setting up a portable air purifier in your bedroom to enjoy cleaner air while you sleep. To reduce household dust and other air contaminants in all your rooms, a whole-house air purifier is a better option.

Optimize Your Cleaning Routine

Use microfiber dust cloths and mops to pick up dust rather than just spread it around. To effectively remove dust from your carpets, use a vacuum with a round bristle brush. When vacuuming hardwood floors and similar surfaces, use an attachment without a brush. Ideally, choose a vacuum with a HEPA filter. Rugs should be professionally cleaned or taken outdoors and cleaned with a rug beater.

While you’re cleaning, set your heating and cooling system’s thermostat to “fan only.” This circulates your home’s air through your system’s air filter to trap the dust kicked up during cleaning. For more reliable dust removal, skip the cheap thin fiberglass filters and choose pleated air filters with a MERV between 5 and 11. These effectively trap the tiny dust particles that can cause irritation.

For more tips on how to reduce household dust, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning wherever you are in the Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about reducing household dust and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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1. Keep your filter clean – A dirty air filter reduces your system’s efficiency, strains the components and worsens your indoor air quality. To avoid these problems, clean and replace your filter as often as the manufacturer recommends. Different filters have different maintenance schedules. A charcoal filter only needs to be dusted and placed in the sunlight for disinfection once every six months. A catechin filter, however, should be vacuumed clean or washed every two weeks or so.
2. Clear the outdoor unit – Periodically clear dry leaves and other debris off your outdoor condenser unit. Once or twice a year, spray it down with a gentle stream of water from a garden hose. This prevents buildup that impairs airflow, reduces your system’s efficiency, and can cause components inside the unit to overheat.
3. Allow for condensate drainage – The outdoor end of your condensate tube should be directed to a floor drain, gutter or similar area where condensate can drain freely. Blockages in this drain let water back up in the system. This water can then start dripping out of your indoor unit onto your floor. Running your A/C when the outdoor temperature is below 70 degrees can also cause your indoor unit to drip.
4. Care for your remote – Pressing the reset button solves most simple remote malfunctions. When that doesn’t work, try installing fresh batteries. If your remote still doesn’t work, consult the manufacturer.
5. Schedule professional maintenance – Because ductless mini splits are used year round, they require more attention than a furnace or central A/C system. Aim to schedule professional maintenance for your mini split system twice a year. One before the heating season and another before the cooling season are ideal times.

For more tips on caring for your ductless mini splits or to schedule a professional inspection, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning anywhere in Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about ductless mini splits and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Air Seal and Insulate

Air leaks in your home let in hot outdoor air and humidity, while poorly insulated areas let the sun’s heat radiate right through. In winter, these inefficiencies waste your furnace’s heat. A few relatively simple home energy upgrades will solve these problems.

Apply caulk to leaks around window and door frames, the fireplace, exhaust vents, utility line penetrations and other non-moving surfaces. Install weatherstripping around areas with moving parts, such as the window stops of casement windows and the inside tracks of sliding windows.

Boosting your attic and wall insulation is another way to reduce your cooling and heating bills. In fact, you should see a return on this investment in between 3 1/2 to 12 years. In the Twin Cities area, an attic should have an R-49 to R-60 layer of insulation. That’s a minimum of 16 inches of fiberglass batts.

To assess your wall insulation, contact a heating and cooling technician for a home energy audit. A technician can take infrared images of your home to find poorly insulated areas without tearing anything open.

Upgrade Your Appliances

Any appliance more than 10 years old is less efficient than today’s models and is most likely near the end of its life expectancy. Upgrading to a newer model now can reduce your energy bills and save you from a sudden, inconvenient breakdown. Replacing a 10-year-old air conditioner could save you 20 to 40 percent on cooling this summer.

Your A/C and furnace aren’t the only things to consider, though. If the seal on your refrigerator door no longer closes tightly, you’re probably due for a new refrigerator. At the very least, replace the seal.

For more guidance on choosing your home energy upgrades for this spring, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning anywhere in the Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about home energy upgrades and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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The first thing to know is that an air conditioner doesn’t produce cool air, but rather removes heat from your home. A refrigerant fluid cycles through the system, absorbing heat indoors, flowing outdoors to release that heat, then flowing back indoors to absorb more heat.

Cooling Your Home’s Air

The “cold side” of your system includes the expansion valve, the indoor evaporator coil and the blower fan. The expansion valve receives high-pressure liquid refrigerant from the outdoor unit. It rapidly releases pressure on the refrigerant, causing it to cool. In addition, it regulates the amount of refrigerant that enters the evaporator coil.

The cold liquid refrigerant now flows into the evaporator coil and circulates through it. The blower fan moves air over the coil and the cold refrigerant absorbs heat from the air. When moisture in the air hits the cold coil, it turns into condensation and falls into the condensate drain. What remains is cool, dehumidified air that flows into your air ducts and out to your rooms.

Getting Rid of the Heat

As the refrigerant absorbs heat, it evaporates into a hot gas. This gas flows through copper tubing to the outdoor condenser unit, known as the “hot side” of the system. First the refrigerant enters the compressor, which pressurizes the gas. It then flows to the condenser coil. A fan blows air over the coil to help cool the refrigerant inside. This is where the refrigerant shakes off most of the heat it picked up in your house. The refrigerant leaves the condenser coil as a high-pressure liquid and flows back through copper tubing into your house. It enters the expansion valve to start the cooling cycle all over again.

For more help understanding how an air conditioner works or for repairs or maintenance, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning in the Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Let the Air Flow

Changing your air filter on schedule is one of the simplest and most important air conditioner maintenance jobs you can do. A dirty filter makes it harder for the blower fan to pull in enough air, potentially reducing your system’s efficiency by up to 15 percent. Once a month, check the air filter and replace it if you find it covered in dust. For cleaner air, more protection for your system and longer-lasting filters, upgrade to higher-efficiency pleated filters.

Every now and then, brush the leaves and other debris from the outdoor unit. At least once a year, use a garden hose to spray down the unit and wash off any remaining dirt.

Spruce Up the Components

The finest layer of dust on the evaporator coil is enough to reduce this component’s efficiency. Once or twice a year, take a look at the  evaporator coil. If it’s a little dusty, clean it with foaming coil cleaner or compressed air. To remove a thick layer of dust, however, call a technician.

To keep the condensate drain algae free, pour in half a cup of white vinegar once or twice during the cooling season and wipe down the condensate tray with a diluted bleach solution. Use a wet vac to pull sludge from the outdoor end of the condensate drain line.

In addition to these DIY maintenance jobs, schedule a professional A/C tune-up every year. Your technician can inspect and care for the components you can’t access.

To schedule professional air conditioner maintenance or for other help with your cooling system, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning anywhere in the Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioners and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Improve the Airflow

Reduced airflow is at the root of many air conditioner issues. First, make sure your air filter isn’t clogged. If in doubt, put in a clean filter. Next, check your air registers and vents. If they’re dirty, remove the covers, vacuum out the insides of the ducts as far as you can, then wash the covers and replace them.

Finally, use a stiff brush to remove leaves and other debris from the fins of your outdoor condenser unit. If you haven’t cleaned this unit in a year, remove the cover and use a gentle stream of water from a garden hose to rinse the fins down from the inside out.

Inspect Your Equipment

If your condensate pump isn’t working, your system can’t dehumidify properly. Test the pump by pouring a cup of water into your condensate drain. If the pump doesn’t start and the water pools, this could be the cause of your malfunctioning air conditioner.

If your A/C runs, but can’t maintain a consistent, comfortable temperature, check your thermostat.

Consider that what you have may not be a malfunctioning air conditioner, but rather an improperly sized one. If you’ve recently built an addition or otherwise remodeled, your old air conditioner may be too small to meet the increased demand. An air conditioner that’s never dehumidified sufficiently or provided even cooling is most likely over-sized.

If you’d like professional assistance getting your A/C to run effectively again, contact us at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning in the Twin Cities metro area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about air conditioner and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Only a reputable local HVAC contractor has the credentials and expertise to ensure these elements of a professional A/C installation:

Proper Sizing

It has nothing to do with the dimensions of the unit but everything to do with how effectively and efficiently it does its job. “Sizing” means matching the capacity of the unit in BTUs (British thermal units) to the home’s individual thermal characteristics and cooling load. Proper sizing is determined by an HVAC technician conducting a room-by-room survey using Manual J software, the industry standard program for calculating cooling load.

Duct Leakage

Connecting a new state-of-the-art A/C to aging, deteriorated ductwork is false economy. The Department of Energy reports that energy waste averages 15 percent when duct leakage issues are not addressed at installation. An HVAC contractor can pressure test the ducts to quantify the extent of leakage and pinpoint the location of leaks for professional sealing.

Optimum Airflow

Uniform distribution of cool air to all parts of the home is verified by airflow measurements. Adjustments are made to ductwork dampers to balance the flow of air throughout the entire home. The optimum state for cooling is neutral air balance in each room as airflow entering through supply vents equals the volume drawn out through returns.

Refrigerant Test

Most A/C units come pre-charged with refrigerant. Once the unit is installed and refrigerant conduits connected, however, that level may be insufficient or leakage may occur. Refrigerant levels should be verified before and during the installation, as well as after the unit is test-run.

To schedule a professional A/C installation in the Twin Cities, contact the experts at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about A/C installations and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Evaporator Coil

When the refrigerant flows through the evaporator coil inside the air handler, it becomes exceptionally cold, absorbing the heat from your home. All cooling systems use a fan that pulls air over the coil. Removing the heat from the air chills it and the cooled air blows through the ductwork.

Condenser Coil

This coil wraps around the outside of the condenser. A large fan inside the condenser blows air over it, which helps it lose the heat the indoor coil collected. Sometimes the condenser coils are surrounded by thin metal fins, similar to the ones found in a vehicle’s radiator, that also help dissipate heat. As the refrigerant goes through this coil, it flows back into the compressor, which pressurizes it and sends it back to the evaporator coil indoors.

How Coils Affect Cooling Performance

The two most important aspects of getting the most efficiency from a cooling system include coil compatibility and cleanliness. If the condenser and air handler are mismatched, efficiency falls. Before installing a new central system, the HVAC contractor needs to show you documentation that the coils match each other.

Keeping both coils clean is essential for top performance from your system. Checking and changing the air filter when it’s dirty helps keep the evaporator coil clean, as does annual professional maintenance. Removing anything that blocks air from blowing through the condenser coil speeds the cooling process. Cleaning the outdoor coil with water and mild detergent will remove the dirt that impedes its ability to lose heat.

To learn more about checking and maintaining the evaporator and condenser coils, contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve provided trusted HVAC services for Twin Cities homeowners since 1974.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about evaporator and condenser coils and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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Indoor Allergy Triggers

• Pollen – Pollen doesn’t stay outdoors, unfortunately. It’s easily tracked inside on shoes, hair and clothes. And Minnesota Public Radio News predicts that continued global warming will cause ragweed and other allergenic weeds to flourish, leading to longer allergy seasons. Consider showering and changing clothes immediately after coming inside.
• Mold – To help rid your home of mold, reduce humidity. If you still use window A/C units, switching to central air will control indoor humidity better. Ideally, add whole-home humidity control to your HVAC system to easily keep humidity under 50 percent.
• Chemical residue – Household cleansers, adhesives, remodeling products and even furniture release microscopic, unhealthy allergens. These settle on surfaces along with dust and circulate in the air. Choosing products low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can limit indoor air pollution, and diligent vacuuming limits dust.You may need to go further, however. The smaller the particle, the harder it is to eliminate from your indoor environment and the easier it gets into your lungs. Removing the smallest particles may require air purification or enhanced air filtration. Your HVAC contractor can recommend options for your Twin Cities home.
• Pet dander – Even short-haired pets can spark allergic reactions. It’s not the fur, but the animal saliva plus dust and other allergens picked up by fur. Any pet can spread or create indoor allergens. Wash your pets often and keep them out of bedrooms to help control allergy symptoms. Vacuum carpets and furniture often since dander settles there.
• Dust mites – Fight them with dehumidification and cleaning, as advised for mold and dander. Think about using minimalist, smooth-surface furniture and using blinds instead of curtains. Purchase hypoallergenic covers for pillows and mattresses and wash bedding weekly in hot water.

For home air quality testing, as well as professional help eliminating indoor allergy triggers, contact the home comfort experts at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about indoor allergy triggers and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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About Window Condensation

Window condensation occurs as warm, moist air moves towards a cooler window. As it comes in contact with the glass, the air cools and releases the moisture it holds, resulting in fog or water droplets on the glass.

Temporary issues with condensation on home windows are fairly common, and can be caused by transient situations like sudden, dramatic temperature changes, especially humid weather or home remodeling. Such temporary problems generally resolve themselves as conditions revert to normal.

Frequent condensation on home windows often indicates a persistent moisture problem, which merits further investigation, since excessive moisture can lead to rotting wood, mold, mildew and other forms of water damage– especially around the windows, as condensation drips onto window frames or leaches into walls. Common causes of this situation are poor ventilation, which can trap moisture indoors, air leaks, or an unbalanced or improperly sized HVAC system, which can promote excessive indoor humidity.

Preventing Condensation on Home Windows

If you have persistent window condensation, there are a number of steps you can take to remedy the problem. Most important is to control humidity in your home, keeping it below 50 percent. Ensuring proper ventilation is key to humidity control, especially in kitchens, baths and laundry rooms. Having your HVAC specialist evaluate your heating and cooling system and any attached humidifiers/dehumidifiers can help, as can ensuring that your attic is properly vented. Other things that may help include sealing air leaks, installing double-paned windows and using insulated window coverings.

If you need more information on how to handle condensation on home windows, please contact Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning. We’ve been serving the home comfort needs of homeowners throughout the Twin Cities metro area since 1974.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about condensation in your home and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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