If there’s any appliance the Comfort Bear doesn’t want to be without, it’s a water heater! Sure, I may have a lot of fur to keep me warm but let’s face it, chilly showers aren’t fun for anyone.

Plus, who wants to wash their dishes and clothes with artic water? Not the Comfort Bear, that’s for sure.

Unfortunately, many homeowners take their water heaters a bit for granted. Like the majority of their plumbing systems, water heaters are usually tucked away, out of sight in a corner of the garage or inside a storage closet. This means that when something goes wrong with it, it’s often missed until it’s too late.

It’s important to know the signs for when your water heater is in trouble, which we’ve highlighted below. Read on, and contact the Comfort Bear with any questions you might have!

The Comfort Bear, here! Are you as ready for winter as I am? I might not hibernate as much as my friends do—I need to be there for homeowners throughout Independence! But I’m all about making my home as comfortable and safe as possible. How about you?

If we’re in agreement, then boy does our team have a suggestion for you—get an inspection from our professionals! We’ll conduct a thorough one, checking for any pending repair needs and possible leaks you may have occurring. Most of all, though, when you contact our team versus a competitor, you’ll get plumbers who actually listen. We believe that what our customers have to say is much more important than the tools in the toolbox. That said, we’re the team to call when you suspect a problem. But we do also want to help you avoid plumbing problems, which is why we’ve provided the guide below.

Today’s furnace models are built with efficiency, performance, and safety in mind. No matter what heating system you have however, HVAC systems need to have regular attention to be at peak performance. Regular furnace maintenance is key to keeping your air filter changed, your blower motor blowing and your air flow flowing! If you want confidence that your heating system can meet the temp settings on your thermostat, then keep regular maintenance going with these maintenance tips and keep your system’s energy efficiency as high as possible this heating season; as well as the added bonus of lower energy bills!

Why is it so important to keep your furnace maintenance up on a regular maintenance schedule? What can you do to keep the various parts of your system running optimally, and increase the lifespan of your system? 

Here are a few things regular maintenance can help avoid and DIY tips to perform them:

Many homeowners don’t realize this, but the indoor air quality (IAQ) of their home can actually be worse than the fresh air of the outdoors. It’s hard to believe, when our outdoor air quality isn’t even that bad to begin with, relative to other parts of the country. But if you have a modern home, it means it was built “tightly” to allow for the best efficiency for your HVAC systems—and this type of construction also allows for allergens and other contaminants to stay trapped in your home.

This is great news for your energy bills, as your air conditioner and heater will operate more efficiently. But it’s not so great if anyone in your family is an allergy or asthma sufferer. With no air being able to escape your home, contaminants like dust, dirt, pollen and pet dander get trapped inside with you, and even the healthiest person can become ill—without the right indoor air quality products and services in place.

Remember that there is indoor air and outdoor air, and the rate that one displaces the other is called the air exchange rate, and can be taken into account when trying to keep outdoor air pollution out, as much as possible, via things like air intakes and exhaust fans that are part of a quality ventilation system.

Some indoor air pollutants aren’t from outdoor air pollution, but could be from tobacco smoke. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has a disclaimer about secondhand smoke and the damage it can cause. Regardless of the sources of indoor air pollution, the VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and the health effects they have, is something that every homeowner needs to consider.

Keep an eye out—your trusted HVAC contractor in the greater Kansas City metro area is soon going to be offering comprehensive plumbing services.

Starting in November, Climate Control Heating & Cooling will provide full service general residential plumbing services, including—but not limited to:

• Bathroom and Kitchen Plumbing
• Emergency Plumbing
• Repiping and Main Water Line Services
• Gas Piping
• Leak Detection and Repair
• Sump Pumps
• Drain Services
• Sewer Services
• Water Treatment
• A Stand-Alone Plumbing Maintenance Agreement!
  • May be purchased with or without our HVAC maintenance plan.

You can count on us to keep providing the same great water heater services too, with installation options ranging from the traditional tank water heater to tankless and heat pump models.

Stay tuned for future plumbing service additions, including trenchless technology and video pipe inspection.

Keep your plumbing system in good shape—contact Climate Control Heating & Cooling today to learn more about our expansive plumbing service offerings.

Everyone likes a clean home—it’s part of what it takes to stay so comfortable!

This means having a home that is free of dust, allergens, and other debris. But, did you know there’s one area of your home you probably don’t consider when it comes time to clean?

It’s the “V” part of your HVAC system—the ventilation system, or rather, your ductwork.

It seems like your ductwork is just a minor component to your entire HVAC system, right? Well, your air ducts are actually very important to the operation of both your air conditioner and forced-air heater air conditioning system, and you’d be surprised at the amount of dust and tiny vermin they see. If you want to keep both of these performing well, and keep your indoor air quality at the high level you deserve, you should have a professional perform air duct cleaning, including the heat exchangers, supply registers, return vents, grilles and all other HVAC ducts, as part of the NADCA standards that NADCA service providers can offer.

The short answer to this is, “it depends,” but read on!

Did your air conditioner give out after a long and hard summer? Or maybe your heater quit on you last winter and you’re ready to get a new one before the winter arrives.  

When it comes to replacing your AC unit, or your entire air conditioning system, there are different views of when the best time is to look at replacing or upgrading to a central air conditioning unit. Some say off season, such as during the cooler months in Autumn or winter months when the cooling systems are not in high demand because the outside has cool air, believing the new price for a new air conditioner can be lower during that time, while others say wait for HVAC companies and retailers to offer rebates to get the best prices on a new AC system.

“Ah, it feels SO nice in here!” THAT is what we want to both feel and hear from others when they come into our home, and when it comes to energy efficiency and getting homeowners the best options for a new air conditioner that fits their home and is humming like a finely tuned racing car, Climate Control is the HVAC company of choice for many satisfied customers in the Kansas City metro!

If you suspect your AC unit may not be up to the task of keeping you cool much longer (or as cool as you’d like it to be) let alone working next summer, it may be a good idea to consider replacing your HVAC system with a new system now. The Comfort Bear and Team are here to help you decide if it really is time to do so, or if you can maybe get by with another HVAC system repair vs replacing that old system. 

If your air conditioner and heating system is under 10 years old and hasn’t had a lot of repair needs in that time and has had regular tune-ups and regular maintenance as needed, it’s a different story, than one that’s over 15 years old and has had multiple issues like refrigerant leaks, compressors, condensers, adding freon every year, and so on. We’ll elaborate below, as we go through the reasons you may want to consider replacement of your old system with a new high-efficiency central air conditioner instead of continuing to go through AC repair after repair as well as higher energy bills:

The Comfort Bear is here to tell you to stop on by the Liberty Fall Festival this autumn! Established in 1934, the Liberty Fall Festival is back again this year with food, fun, and entertainment.

When:

Friday, Sept. 27th 11am – 9pm; all areas open

Saturday, Sept. 28th 9am – 9pm; all areas open

Sunday, Sept. 29th Noon – 4pm; carnival and adjacent areas only

Events:

Vendor Booths

Climate Control Heating & Cooling along with the Comfort Bear will be hosting a booth and a float in the parade! Stop by our booth for your chance to win a prize, including a free furnace tune-up or a free water heater!

Arts & Crafts
The festival features 175 quality Arts and Crafts booths including original designs in a variety of art such as: textiles, wearable art, hand-crafted ceramics, decorative and functional wood, jewelry, leather, photography, paintings, drawings, prints, and metal work.

Carnival
The Carnival will open at 5pm on Friday, September 27th.  Cost: 32 tickets for $25 or $1 each.  Wristbands will be available for $20 on Sunday only from Noon-4pm. The carnival is located in the parking lot at the intersection of Kansas & Missouri.

Food
Tasty food and beverages are sold throughout the festival to benefit local non-profit groups so enjoy the food and support a cause.

Parking
Parking at the Festival is free to the public and there are several public parking lots in the area and on-street parking is allowed. Limited handicapped parking is available.

If there’s anything homeowners know, it’s the importance of a fully functioning, efficiently operating air conditioner during a Kansas City summer. When you set your thermostat and turn on your air condition system you expect cool air to flow from your ductwork, but if instead you feel hot air, or hear squealing from your blower motor, or hear terrible noises from your outside unit, you know it may be time to call a HVAC technician to perform troubleshooting and get your air conditioning system back to blowing cool air.

An air conditioner in disrepair will only cost you more money than it should, and leave you and your family feeling hot air, and feeling pretty uncomfortable.