Holiday Fails

This is a truly a wonderful time of the year. It is a time when you open your home to family and friends, both near and far, often for the first time. Anyone who entertains knows it is also a time when anything that can go wrong…just might. Here a few tips that we’ve learned over the years from our Bosgraaf Homes Service Team and our valued Trade Partners to help you seamlessly celebrate the season in your brand new home:

HEATING:

• Your guests have arrived en masse to celebrate…and your heat goes out! Most of the time we find that this happens because:
  • 1. the filter is clogged and needs changing.
  • 2. the filter was changed and put in backwards.
  • 3. the kids playing hide and seek in the basement accidently turned the furnace “off” at the switch. Easy fixes for all!

• Uncle Bob is way too hot in the lower level bedroom and Aunt Betty is way too cold in the upstairs bedroom. Be sure to balance your system carefully by closing supply vents in rooms that don’t need as much help and open the vents fully in rooms that are further from the furnace.

For more trouble shooting go to: www.trane.com or www.carrier.com for helpful tips and videos.

WINDOWS:

• Cousin Jimmy points out that the windows of his drafty old house are never “sweaty”. Remind him that your home is super tight and has fully foamed walls so the “sweat” is just the humidity in the home settling on the coolest surfaces it can find. Turn down your humidifier down a bit and remind Cousin Jimmy to keep the exhaust fan in the bathroom running for at least 15 minutes after his super-hot shower.

• Also, make sure windows are seated properly in their tracks and that both locks are securely fastened.

WATER HEATER:

• Gramma gets up at the crack of dawn and finds there is NO hot water! Check and reset the GFI outlet at the hot water heater. We have found that 9 times out of 10 this is the culprit. If we have super high winds, it’s also possible that the pilot went out in the night. Follow trouble shooting on the front of the unit to get that pilot re-lit pronto.

• For more trouble shooting go to: www.bradfordwhite.com for helpful tips and videos

APPLIANCES:

• Anything at all that could derail your dinner party plans can be found here: https://www.geappliances.com/ge/videos/support-troubleshooting-fix.htm. Find an array of videos to get you back on track fast. Out of ice…click the link above. Oven not getting up to temp…click on the link above. There is usually a super easy answer for everything.

FIREPLACE:

• The mantle décor is Pinterest worthy, your guests are on the way, you flip the switch on your fireplace for the first time of the year and BEHOLD…nothing happens! Remove the screen by gently lifting up on it and make sure that the gas is in the on position (in line with the gas line). If it is indeed turned on, you may need to “bleed the lines” to clear any air build up. That requires turning the fireplace on at the switch for 20 seconds, then off, then on for 20 seconds then off and repeat until it ignites properly. We have found that this works 10 out of 10 times.

Homeownership is a beautiful thing and knowing how to navigate your home in any situation will help you sail through the Holidays this year and ever.