Your Home Concierge

Now that we've experienced our first extreme cold snap of the winter and have had a dramatic warm up over a period of 24 hours, many of you may be experiencing "attic rain". This typically occurs when we see these significant temperature swings in the winter. This is a multi faceted issue and can have a combination of many contributing factors.......high humidity levels in your home during cold weather is a major reason in combination with less than adequate attic insulation ...and ventilation, gaps and punctures in the vapour barrier, poorly sealed exhaust fan and dryer exhaust ducting and a poorly sealed attic access. As an example, an attic access that is not weatherstripped can allow many litres of moisture to penetrate into the attic which then condenses and forms frost, only to melt and become "rain" when temperatures rise above the melting point. See more

Baby it’s cold outside, 2.0! Further to our earlier post, another way to help with condensation and ice build up on your windows is to not ‘suffocate’ your windows from air flow. Keep horizontal style blinds up 3 to 4 up from the window sill, leave draperies partially open and vertical style blinds ajar to allow for air movement. Stay warm!

Baby it's cold outside! During this cold snap just a reminder to turn your furnace humidistat down to 15% or 'low'. This will help to reduce the build up of condensation and ice on your windows. Be sure to use your bath fans during and after bathing or showering and your kitchen exhaust fan during cooking. This will help in removing excessive humidity which may lead to other problems in your home such as 'attic rain'. For those with hardwood floors, a temporary drop in the humidity level may lead to some 'gaps' between your boards, however this will correct itself once we can turn our humidistat back to normal levels when temperatures moderate.

It's that time of year again.....time to get your home's systems ready for the season ahead. We can provide a complete maintenance package to service your furnace, humidifier, fireplace and hot water tank as well as make sure your home is ready for W I N T E R !!!!