Rosenberg Plumbing & Air Blog

Can I Service My AC Myself?

April 2, 2024

When that intense South Texas heat kicks into high gear, the absolute worst is having your air conditioner die or act up. While most people choose to call a professional when there is a major issue, smaller issues can be a gray area. If you are handy, you may consider a DIY fix. Read on to learn when you can safely work on an issue yourself and when you should be sure to involve a trained technician. Regular AC Maintenance Tasks You Can Do Yourself Keeping your air conditioning system in top shape is key to ensuring efficient, reliable cooling all summer long. While most maintenance and repair tasks require a professional technician, there are a few simpler tasks that homeowners can tackle themselves between tune-ups. Filter Swaps One of the easiest yet most crucial maintenance jobs is regularly replacing your air filter. A clogged filter restricts airflow, straining the system and driving up energy costs. Check your filter every 1-3 months, depending on usage. If the filter is no longer translucent, it’s time to change it. While it may seem counterintuitive, be sure not to upgrade your filter to a higher SEER level without talking to your HVAC professional...

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What Are The Most Common Indoor Air Pollutants?

April 1, 2024

We’re familiar with the images of factories with billowing smokestacks and smog hovering over traffic-jammed cities. But what about indoor air pollution? According to studies conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can have levels of pollutants between five and 100 times more than outdoor air. These high levels are of great concern since most of us spend about 90% of our time inside. The very young and the elderly often spend even more time indoors, and they are the very ones who are the most vulnerable to health problems caused by indoor air pollutants. Unfortunately, concentrations of air pollutants indoors have increased due to the use of synthetics in everyday household items, such as materials used in buildings and furniture, cleaners, personal care items, and more. Homes and other buildings that are constructed to be airtight and energy efficient have exacerbated the problem. It’s important to be aware of indoor air pollutants — what they are, how they affect your health, and how to increase your indoor air quality. What Indoor Air Pollutants Are Air pollutants consist of gases and unpurified matter and infuse the air with certain materials around the home. Moisture, heat, and poor ventilation...

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What Is The Best Leak Detection Method?

March 23, 2024

Plumbing leaks are a serious problem that has the potential to do lots of damage and/or lead to major mold issues. The issue is that most leaks can be extremely difficult to detect and locate since most of a home’s pipes are hidden. That is why plumbers use specialized equipment and advanced leak detection methods that make the process of locating the leak much easier and less time consuming, and this guide will explain what the most effective options for professional leak detection are. Thermal Imaging Some types of plumbing leaks will quickly result in certain telltale signs that make it fairly easy to determine exactly where the water is coming from. If there is visible evidence of a leak, such as yellow or brown stains on a sheetrock wall or ceiling or wet spots on the sheetrock, a plumber may be able to at least narrow down the possible location of the leak. However, you really don’t want to have to cut out more of the sheetrock than is absolutely necessary since more work will then need to be performed to redo everything once the leak has been fixed. This is why plumbers will often use a thermal imaging...

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Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning

March 13, 2024

Your home’s air ducts have an important job. This part of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system distributes warm or cool air throughout your home. Your ductwork circulates air that helps to reduce humidity and pollutants in your home so you’ll enjoy fresher, cleaner air. If you notice a decline in your home’s indoor air quality, it may be time to schedule an air duct cleaning service with in San Antonio. Explore the Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning Clean air ducts are important for maintaining your indoor air quality. Indoor and outdoor air contains particles like dust, dander, and pollen. As your HVAC system runs, the unit draws air into the ducts to recirculate through your home. This air contains pollutants such as dust, pollen, mold spores, bacteria, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). If you have pets in your home, your indoor air also contains pet hair and dander. These pollutants can accumulate in your ductwork. As your HVAC system blows heated or cooled air into your living space, the contaminants in your ductwork also enter your home. When your ducts become dirty, you may notice visible buildup inside the ducts or around the vents. If you or...

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What Is The Best Thing To Clean Your Drains With?

March 11, 2024

A slow, clogged or dirty drain could cause numerous problems for your home’s plumbing system. However, using the wrong products to remedy the problem can lead to additional damage or hazards to your health. Fortunately, the products that you do need are readily available and can be safely handled with gloves, goggles or other basic items. Why You Don’t Want to Use Chemical Cleaners It may be tempting to skip the natural remedies and go straight to chemical drain cleaners that promise quick results with little effort. However, there are a number of reasons why you don’t want to use chemical cleaners that you see at the grocery or hardware store. First, they aren’t any more effective than borax, baking soda or other natural materials that you can use. Therefore, you are risking serious damage to your drains with little or no added benefit. Next, one of the primary goals of cleaning out a drain is to improve indoor air quality. Pouring caustic chemicals may harm indoor air quality because they release fumes as they pass through a pipe or drain. In the event that a chemical cleaner can’t get rid of material in the drain, it will simply flow...

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How Often Should I Have My Cooling System Inspected?

February 14, 2024

When you’re a homeowner, you have a lot of different responsibilities on your plate. One that you never want to let slip your mind is to have your cooling system inspected. The ideal recommendation is to have this service performed by a licensed professional at least once a year. Springtime Is Best Just as it’s recommended that you get your heating system inspected in the fall before you need to use it, it’s also recommended that you get your cooling system inspected in the springtime before you need to use it. This will not only help to ensure that you get quick service, as summertime hours for HVAC technicians can be crazy, but it also ensures that you have time to fix any issues that may crop up with your system before you need to rely on it every day. What’s Included in a Cooling System Inspection? You can expect your cooling system inspection to take anywhere between one and three hours. Your chosen technician will go through your entire cooling system to give it a thorough inspection. They’ll check for basic functioning, clean up any dirty parts, test all the system’s safety mechanisms and provide you with an estimated...

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8 Ways Professionals Choose the Right-Size Heat Pump

January 10, 2024

Maximizing the efficiency of your heat pump relies on selecting the correct size. HVAC experts use a variety of techniques to pick the best-sized heat pump for a particular setting. Let’s explore eight of the main aspects that professionals consider. 1. Manual J Load Calculation To determine the exact HVAC requirements, experts employ the Manual J load calculation. This thorough procedure takes into account the home’s insulation, windows, and orientation, among other things. By following this procedure, professionals can guarantee that the heat pump you choose will be the perfect size for your home in terms of British Thermal Units (BTUs). 2. Climate Analysis A variety of local weather patterns impact choosing the right-size heat pump for a San Antonio home. In the summer, you need a system that can cool your home down quickly. In the winter, you need one that can heat your home fast when it becomes cold. Variations in humidity can affect choosing the right-size heat pump as well. HVAC experts in San Antonio take all of this into account and do thorough evaluations to help homeowners pick a heat pump size that is ideal for the city’s ever-changing environment. 3. Size and Layout of the...

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How Often Do Air Ducts Need to Be Cleaned?

December 14, 2023

Without functioning air ducts, there would be no way for warm or cold air to make its way throughout your home in an efficient manner. However, one of the potential drawbacks of typical ducts is that anything in them can also be circulated throughout your house. Therefore, without regular cleanings, you could face the prospect of breathing in dust, mold, or anything else that gets into your home’s duct system. Ducts Can Be Cleaned Whenever You’d Like While some trade organizations will say that you should clean air ducts every three to five years, this isn’t necessarily true for your home. If you have pets, live near a forest, or otherwise have experienced poor indoor air quality, you may want to have your ducts cleaned every year. The same may be true if you have allergies, asthma, or are otherwise sensitive to contaminated air. Cleaning ducts regularly may also make the air smell better, which is a positive if you like to host weekly dinner parties or have family members over for the holidays. At in San Antonio, we offer thorough and timely duct cleaning services to ensure that you and your family are comfortable throughout the year. We can...

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How Are Furnaces and Heat Pumps Different?

November 15, 2023

Here in San Antonio, TX, homeowners need reliable heating systems to get through the winter. Although we don’t get many sub-freezing days, you still don’t want to get caught without adequate heat. As a result, most homes here rely on a gas furnace to stay warm each winter. However, homeowners are increasingly looking to heat pumps as a replacement for their aging gas furnaces. Here’s how the two systems differ and how to choose between them. The Benefits of Furnaces and How They Work There are multiple good reasons why gas furnaces are so popular here in San Antonio. One of them is that they offer some of the most efficient heating you can get. That’s because the average gas furnace operates at 80% efficiency, while some models are up to 98.5% efficiency. On top of that, natural gas is plentiful and relatively inexpensive. That means gas furnaces are among the cheapest heating systems to operate. They’re also quite safe to operate, as gas furnaces feature robust safety systems and rely on mature technology. Gas furnaces are also relatively simple machines, too. They feature a gas valve that controls the flow of natural gas into their burners. There, the gas...

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5 Benefits of Having a Furnace Inspection Before Winter

October 19, 2023

Most homeowners assume that their furnaces will work reliably and keep them warm during the winter. They may be right if their heating systems aren’t that old and haven’t required too many repairs, but there are still some good reasons to have your furnace inspected at least once a year even if it’s been working reliably. Here are just five reasons to schedule an inspection before the winter season. 1. Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is deadly in large doses. A furnace that isn’t kept in good condition can leak carbon dioxide into your home and create a serious health hazard for your family. An HVAC technician can identify a furnace that is in danger of leaking carbon dioxide into your home and fix it, so be sure to schedule a tune-up before you have to turn on your furnace for the winter. Even if your furnace is seemingly safe, you should invest in at least one carbon monoxide detector for your home. 2. Keeping Your Furnace Working Efficiently Regular inspections and tune-ups will ensure your furnace works efficiently throughout the winter. A more efficient furnace will use less energy, which is better...

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