Touchstone Heating & Air Inc Blog | Air Conditioning and Heating Tips

Top Signs you Need Mid-Season Heating Repair

February 21st, 2022

Winter has never been a walk-in-the-park experience, especially for people without adequate heating facilities. And for those who own a heater, the last thing you need during the winter months is to turn on your heater one evening and realize it has broken down or is on the verge of “kicking the bucket.”

Heater malfunction is common in homes and corporate offices because many users fail to notice warning signs that indicate a possible heater failure. You don’t have to wait for the winter storms to howl before fixing the heating issues. So below are some of the signs that indicate a mid-season heater repair may be imminent.

How Long Will My Furnace Last?

February 7th, 2022

Nothing lasts forever, and the same goes for the furnace in your house. Sure, it won’t see as much use in Florida as, say, in colder states like New York, Maine, or Rhode Island. Regardless, you still want to get the most out of your furnace even if it isn’t seeing much use.

In this article, we’ll go over how long you can expect your furnace to last, some issues that can shorten its lifespan, and when it’s time to get a new one.

Allergy Season Will Soon be Here: Here’s How We Can Help

January 24th, 2022

Struggling with allergies? Making improvements to the air quality at home can help. We’ll explain the dangers you may be facing with your indoor air quality, as well as ways we can help you improve the situation.

Allergens

Allergens are substances that trigger allergic reactions. Allergens can be found in the air in an indoor environment. Furniture and floors also absorb allergens. Can you guess what’s in your air? It’s like a mix of bacteria, dust, mold, pollen, and volatile organic compounds—all of which are allergy triggers.

At-home allergy and asthma management begins with the air we breathe at home. Pollen and mold can trigger symptoms when people suffer from allergies. But dust and pet hair can cause the air in your home to be very poor. There is a possibility that the air quality inside your home is worse than outside. According to the EPA, indoor air pollution levels can often exceed 2 to 5 times the levels found outdoors, which is the opposite of what most people believe. Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental health risks in the country. Most people in the US spend 90% of their time indoors, between work, home, and visiting different places. If you’re worried about air quality at home or need air conditioning in Macclenny, FL, we’re here for you.

Allergy Season

With allergy season fast approaching, it is absolutely essential to keep the indoor air quality up to mark, especially since many children have been home-bound during the school year. The allergy season typically begins in the spring and lasts until fall. However, different allergens appear at different times of the year. In the springtime, tree pollen is the most common allergen, followed by weeds and grasses. May is the worst for allergy sufferers because trees, grass, and weeds all pump out allergens at the same time. This marks the beginning of peak allergy season, which lasts through July. Children and adults alike should avoid being exposed to allergens as much as possible. Avoid being outside when there is a high pollen count.

Getting Control of Your Indoor Air Quality

It’s more important now than ever to maintain healthy indoor air quality. Getting rid of allergens and irritants from your home is the best way to improve your air quality. Lowering humidity also minimizes mold and dust mite growth. A central air conditioner reduces humidity, too. You can now schedule an indoor air quality test with our team at Touchstone and we’ll help you find solutions that will make the upcoming allergy season more bearable.

We offer help installing air filters, air purifiers, and UV germicidal lights, all of which target specific allergens. We’ll find the right combination of indoor air quality devices to give your house the healthiest air possible.

Whether you need help with your indoor air quality or want to start your journey towards cleaner and healthier indoor air, our team of indoor air quality experts is standing by to help.

Call Touchstone Heating & Air Inc 24/7 for exceptional customer service!

Amateur AC Repair Errors We Often See

January 10th, 2022

Please don’t attempt to make repairs to your air conditioning system on your own if you’re not a trained HVAC technician. And don’t let amateurs take on AC repairs either. It’s that simple: the modern central air conditioner is a complex piece of refrigeration technology that requires years of training and special tools to repair.

If you have a malfunctioning cooling system in your home, the best way to deal with it is to call us to schedule AC repair in Alachua, FL. We’re responsive professionals with more than two decades of history fixing all types of air conditioning problems.

We can use our experience repairing ACs to explain why amateur tampering can go so wrong. We’ve often inspected air conditioners and discovered mistakes made from some non-professional attempts to fix them. If your current AC was already in your house when you moved in, you may not even realize your cooling system has these “amateur patches,” and they can lead to trouble later. Here are a few of the more common botched repair errors we see.

Undersized and Oversized: Why a New AC Must Be Right in the Middle

December 27th, 2021

air-conditioning-condenser-against-white-background

It’s in the middle of summer, and the sun is convincingly scorching as you look at it through the window from the comfort of your house. It’s unfortunate if your AC breaks down during this period, leaving you with no options but to cool yourself with a fan and bucket-loads of ice.

But this is a temporary solution. You need a permanent fix, and you can only achieve this once you understand why your AC keeps breaking down.

AC malfunction is a shared problem for most Americans. Fortunately, the problem is easy to solve, as it’s usually associated with installing the wrong-sized AC in your home.

Touchstone takes pride in customer satisfaction and services that include AC replacement in Lake City, FL.

Here are some other reasons why having the wrong sized AC is a problem.

Why Is Your Heat Pump Not Doing the “Heating” Part of Its Job?

December 13th, 2021

We love heat pumps here in Florida. They work as powerful air conditioning systems that can keep back the worst of the summer heat. When the few cold days of winter arrive, heat pumps can then shift with little effort into working as energy-efficient heating systems. Compared to using an electric furnace for the short winters, a heat pump is a great way to save on heating costs.

But if you’re reading this post, it’s probably because your home’s heat pump is supposed to be warming your house, and … it isn’t. You may need to call us for heat pump/AC repair in Macclenny, FL (heat pumps work essentially like air conditioners) from our expert technicians to get your heat pump to do both parts of its job. Or there may be a simple explanation. We’ll look into the possibilities below.

Can My Air Conditioner Rust?

November 15th, 2021

Anything made of ferrous metal can potentially rust, and that includes your air conditioning system. Is this a common occurrence that you should worry about? And how would rust start to develop on an AC in the first place? We’ll get into that below, as well as help you know when you should call our team for AC repair in Lake City, FL.

Failed Capacitors in Your AC: What’s Wrong, How to Fix It

November 1st, 2021

After a long summer and fall of hard work keeping your home cool, your air conditioning system may start to run into trouble due to wear and tear. This is one of the hazards of living in a place with such a warm climate where ACs don’t get a long break during the winter. We have to be extra vigilant of how our air conditioning systems operate to catch potential trouble they may have between their regular maintenance visits in the spring.

One common trouble that ACs encounter after working through hot weather is with capacitors. Failed capacitors will bring an air conditioner to a halt. Below we’re going to talk more about capacitors, how to tell if they are failing/have failed, and what to do about it.

If the AC’s Compressor Fails, Do I Need to Get a New AC?

October 18th, 2021

You may have heard that a failed compressor in a central air conditioning system means the whole system needs to be replaced. Compressors are critical for an AC’s operation—they’re responsible for circulating refrigerant and putting it under pressure so it can move heat out of the home and cool the air. Compressors are also large and powerful components that are expensive to replace. Since compressors often fail in older AC’s, it makes sense to replace the AC rather than pay just to replace the compressor.

However, a failed compressor doesn’t automatically mean a central air conditioner must be replaced. Not in all situations. Below we’ll look at four different outcomes for a failed compressor. This can help you make the choice about whether to have an AC replacement or an air conditioning repair in Lake City, FL, but please consult with our HVAC professionals to help you make the final decision.

What Are the Most Debilitating AC Malfunctions?

October 4th, 2021

A busted AC is no fun in Florida heat. In fact, it can be dangerous if you have household members susceptible to heatstroke. This is why we take air conditioning repair in Alachua, FL seriously. When an air conditioning system isn’t working, people need expert help right away—and we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to get cooling systems back to work.

We have more than two decades of history working on air conditioning systems, so it’s fair to say that we’ve seen it all. In this post, we’ll look at the AC malfunctions that cause the worst problems, i.e. ones that cause an AC to stop working entirely. We recommend calling us when your air conditioner is struggling, because we can help head off an even larger problem. But when you’ve got an AC that won’t work at all because of one of these problems, you’ll know you need to call us!