The last thing you want is to have a gas furnace that doesn't efficiently heat your home during the chilly days of the winter. But this is not always the case, as the unit can fail for one reason or another. A common furnace problem, particularly with older gas furnaces, is a pilot light that's unstable. Different things may cause this problem, and here are a few you should know.

If you're having problems with your heating and air conditioning unit, then you could be wondering whether or not you should have it repaired. This can be hard for you to determine on your own, so you will probably need to enlist a professional to get some advice. If you're wondering how a professional will determine whether or not your HVAC unit should be repaired — or if you should think about completely replacing it instead — then you should consider the following steps that they will probably take.

It's a sinking feeling to walk into your kitchen in time to see one of your teens pouring grease down the drain. Even worse, you may find out this has been a normal practice for your teen ever since they took on the responsibility of cleaning up after meals. Grease is one of the worst things to go down your drain. Even if it's hot when it first goes in, the grease cools off and sticks to the drain to eventually coat the walls and cause a clog.

Imagine you've just bought a brand new house and it's everything you ever wanted. You couldn't be happier with the beautiful design and the cozy comfort of the place. The cobblestone driveway is complete perfection, and all your furniture fits in perfectly. But then one day, when winter comes, something goes wrong with your heating system. Although nothing major happened to it yet, this is definitely not what you'd want to leave unattended for too long.

Modern furnaces have numerous safety features to ensure that failures don't put your house, your family, or the furnace itself in danger. These safeties typically rely on sensors (sometimes called switches) that prove safe operating conditions to the control board. For example, the draft pressure switch will prove that the draft inducer can pull exhaust gases from the combustion chamber. The flame rollout switch is another critical safety feature. This switch detects when flames "

While it can be easy to take for granted, your refrigerator is an essential part of your daily experience. This critical appliance preserves your food and keeps your beverages cool. For these reasons, you're sure to take note when your refrigerator breaks down. Within hours, the food contained within your fridge can spoil, and beverages can turn lukewarm and unappealing. Needless to say, your quality of life would take a sudden turn for the worse.

Your furnace is a surprisingly long-lived appliance, with some models lasting up to two decades or even longer. The best way to keep your furnace operating in peak condition is to keep up with maintenance and schedule annual service visits, but it's also easy to neglect or fall behind on these steps. When that happens, you may find your furnace running poorly or inefficiently. If this sounds familiar, does that mean it's time to put your old furnace out to pasture?

Your air conditioner has different components that ensure it runs efficiently. Among the parts that can significantly ruin the performance of your air conditioner is a weak capacitor. While it's easy to resolve some AC problems on your own, a failing capacitor needs the assistance of an experienced air conditioning repair professional. But how will you determine if your air conditioner has a failing capacitor?  Below are a few signs you should watch out for.

Your air conditioner has a part called a contactor that's responsible for turning the compressor on and off so your AC turns on and cools your home and then shuts down. The contactor is controlled by your thermostat, and if something goes wrong with the contactor, your AC won't operate properly. Your AC may not start, or it may not shut down. Here's how the contactor works and how an air conditioning repair technician may handle replacing or repairing it when the contactor malfunctions.

Many people are more familiar with forced-air heating systems than boilers. Because of this, they often overlook important signs that their boilers need to be repaired until disaster strikes. Whether you are a pro when it comes to boilers or this is your first time handling them, these are important signs you should consider bringing in a residential boiler repair service to inspect your unit. Your Boiler is Going Bump in the Night