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7 Money-Saving Tips Every Homeowner Needs to Know
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| 1. Give your air conditioner some fresh air
Have you ever tried running really fast with a rag over your mouth? I haven’t either, but that’s what most people are expecting their AC units to do.
Many AC units are surrounded by shrubbery that can restrict the airflow needed to make the systems run optimally. Take a few minutes today or this weekend and look around your AC’s outdoor unit:
Provide at least 1’ of clearance all around the units.
Trim any bushes that are touching the units
Remove any leaves and dirt around the unit
Remove any other obstructions like that rotting pingpong table leaning up against it
If there is significant mud or dirt inside the unit have it professionally serviced
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| 2. Replace air filters
Replace your HVAC filters at least every 6 months, preferably every 3. Clogged, dirty filters block airflow and reduce your system’s efficiency. In the worst case scenario, a wrongly sized filter or dirty filter can cause your system to burn out, requiring replacement.
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3. Child proof your outlets – even if you don’t have kids
Electrical outlet boxes typically don’t have any insulation behind them, creating what is basically a hole in your wall. On a windy day take some incense or a match and put it in front of an outlet (one without a plug in it of course) and see if you can see air movement. In my situation I noticed this during the winter when I felt a cold breeze coming through the outlets.
The simple solution? Install socket sealers to improve energy efficiency. All you have to do is remove your outlet cover with a screwdriver, put on the outlet sealer, and put the cover back on. Easy!
The second step is to put in those plastic child-proof outlet plugs.
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| 4. Repair leaky ductwork
Over time the joints and seals in ductwork can dry out and deteriorate due to temperature fluctuations in crawl spaces, basements, and attics.
Hire a HVAC service tech to check out the ductwork.
If you are a do-it-yourselfer, use a flashlight and shine the beam on the ducts where they connect to other ducts or registers. What you are looking for are areas where there isn’t any dust – a sure sign there is a leak in the area.
You can also do the incense test while the system is running too. Move the incense around each duct joint looking for air movement.
To repair the system yourself check out youtube by searching for ‘how to patch ductwork’.
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| 5. Insulate leaky kitchen and bathroom sinks
If you have a sink, toilet, cable or phone line in an external wall, chances are they are uninsulated around behind the wall. Warm and cool air is escaping from these exterior openings.
This one is a bit trickier to determine if you have an air leak. You can use a thermal leak detector to determine if there is a temperature difference by comparing the area near the hole and then the hole itself. If there is a big difference you might want to fix that leak.
Buy some expanding foam insulation and spray it into every crevice in exterior walls.
Around the bathroom sinks in the house spray where the sink drain goes into the wall. Also where the water lines came out.
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| 6. Remove gaps under your doors
There is probably a hole under your door and you don’t even know it.
Most homeowners don’t even think about the bottom of their doors, and instead focus on the sides and top. But the bottom of the door sees just as much action each day as the sides and top, and it’s got that rubber gasket which is prone to deteriorating faster because it has more exposure to dirt and moisture.
You can use the incense test on this area of your home too. Run it near the bottom of any exterior doors on a windy day to see if there is air movement.
To fix you’ll need to replace your door sweep. Take pictures and measurements of your existing door sweep before heading to the home improvement store.
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| 7. Get a heating and cooling service contract
Hire a professional HVAC maintenance company to ready your AC unit for the summer and your furnace for the winter. There is no better way to insure this investment, and you they usually give you discounts on parts if anything breaks.
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