How to Deal With Basement Moisture in Your Charleston Home

Moisture is common in any new home, but too much moisture can lead to mold and a host of other problems. Here’s how to prevent that.

Today our Warranty Manager Shaun Sterba is here to talk about your new home and the moisture levels in your basement.

Depending on when your home was built, there are certain times of the year that your home will have a slightly higher moisture content. Generally, the first year living in any new home will see elevated moisture levels whether your basement is finished or unfinished. This has a lot to do with all the building products that go into the home which elevate the moisture content.

During the rainy season or high-humidity days of summer, there will be higher levels of moisture in your basement.

The air conditioner will take some of it away, but you also might have to supplement it using a dehumidifier to remove that warm, moist air that will collect and give off a damp feel or musty odor.

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It’s really important to control the moisture in your basement.

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In my own house, I use a hydrometer to check my moisture levels in the basement. Basically, you need something that is going to give you a moisture content reading. It allows me to check the moisture levels outside and in my basement at the same time. Any time your moisture is about 50% or 55%, you'll probably want to run a dehumidifier. There are a variety of devices that can do this for you and can be relatively inexpensive. 
 
It’s really important to control your moisture, especially if you’re storing things down there. Rubber totes will protect your items much better than cardboard, which is more susceptible to mold.

If you have any further questions for Shaun or anyone else on our team, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Tips and Tricks for Keeping Your Furnace Clean & Functional

Today I’m here to provide you with some tips on how to properly maintain your furnace.

You should always check your furnace’s filter once a month. To do that, switch your unit off, remove the magnetic strip, and pull out the filter. Check to make sure that it’s clean; if it’s dirty, replace it so that your unit can function at peak performance.

When you replace the filter, be sure to align the arrow on the filter (marked “Air Flow”) with the ones on your unit so that you know you’re putting it in correctly.

You should also pay attention to the dampers on the ducts that lead to individual areas of your home. If you have a ranch home, these will go to individual rooms on the main floor. If you have a two-story home, there are trunk lines that go up to the second floor and the main floor—both have dampers on them.

It’s very important to adjust the dampers for the season based on your comfort level so that you’re not cooking yourself out upstairs or freezing yourself out on the main floor.

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You should always check your furnace’s filter once a month.

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On the furnace unit displayed in the video above, we have a whole-house humidifier. You may have seen these installed in homes during your walk-throughs. These units keep the humidity levels in your home at a comfortable level per your tastes, but are usually kept between 35% and 45% humidity. It’s critical to monitor the humidity of your house—you can’t set the humidistat once and leave it there. Keep a barometer in your house so that you can see what your readings are and adjust accordingly.

During the winter, make sure that your damper on the humidifier is on; that way, the air flows into the unit. In the summer, flip it off to block the air flow. If you remove the cover, you can see the media inside—since both air and water flow over this, it’s possible for it to become clogged by the minerals in the water. Do your best to keep them clean, but if they must be replaced, you can find them at any local home-improvement store.

If you have any questions about maintaining your furnace throughout the year, please look for additional videos within this blog page.

Everything You Need to Know About Your Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors can be tricky. Here’s how to properly test and monitor them.

Today I want to talk to you about our smoke detectors/carbon monoxide detector combos. You’ll notice that these units are in place in the ceilings of our homes. Typically, there will be one carbon monoxide detector per floor and the smoke detectors are typically in all of the main living areas and bedrooms. They're all hardwired so that if one goes off, all of them are going to go off.

There’s also a battery backup that’s revealed by a hinged compartment on the side. This is in case any of the wirings get cuts or burns.

We recommend testing each of your units once a month by holding the button for about three seconds. It will then beep for about 10 seconds. When you hear three long chirps, it’s testing the smoke detector and the four short chirps signify that the carbon monoxide detector is on and working.

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We recommend testing each of your units once a month.

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Once a year, you should change out the batteries in your battery backup. If you start to hear a single beep every few minutes, that just means that your battery needs to be replaced. Certain batteries last longer than others, but it’s up to you what you want to do.

The detectors twist and pull down from the ceiling. The wiring harness is hardwired and plugs back into the unit. You can plug in a new detector via that harness if need be.

If you have any questions for me about your smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.