New Years Resolutions For Your Home

We hope as you ring in the New Year and start setting New Year’s resolutions, that you keep your home in mind. If you need a drain cleared, a leaky faucet repaired, or even need someone to change out some light fixtures, Ideal is the place to call. Perhaps your heating system is acting up – Ideal can solve that too! Ideal is your one-stop-shop for all your home repair needs.

Maybe one of your New Year’s goals is to finally remodel that kitchen or bathroom you’ve been dreaming of. Don’t put it off any longer. Now is the time to get started on your home improvement dreams.

Call Ideal today to get moving on those New Year’s goals.

Again, we wish you (and your home!) health, prosperity and good fortune in the upcoming year.

Sincerely,
Don & Melissa Teemsma, & Your Ideal Service Team

Get Wired In! – Tips from Ideal’s Electrical Division

As the weather gets colder, many people utilize space heaters as a source of warmth and comfort. While space heaters can be a nice way to warm up, you may run into some trouble with your home’s electrical load. Have you ever wondered why your space heater trips the circuit breaker?

When you plug in multiple devices to the same circuit and use them simultaneously, the electrical usage can exceed the capacity of the electrical wiring. This is dangerous because the overload will cause overheating, which can then cause the wire insulation to melt, ignite and start an electrical fire. This is even more of a risk in homes that have aluminum wiring. Most homes have copper wiring which provides a safer conduit for power. In an Ideal situation, before an electrical overload causes any damage, your home’s main electrical will shut down power by tripping a circuit breaker. If you trip a breaker and are unsure why, we recommend you have it looked at by a professional to avoid a serious problem.

Dedicated Circuits vs. General Purpose Circuits:
Dedicated circuits are utilized in parts of the home that demand a high amount of electricity, like your dishwasher, refrigerator and microwave.
General purpose circuits serve multiple outlets and are generally used for appliances and items like a toaster, blender or cell phone charger.

However, even using two counter appliances, like a toaster and electric skillet, could be enough to trip the circuit.

The Solution: To help avoid overloading your circuit, only plug your space heater into a 20 amp dedicated outlet.

Remember:
*You should NEVER plug a portable heater (or any other large appliances) into an extension cord. These high current appliances generate heat in the cord and can cause it to overheat, melt or ignite.

*Also make sure your smoke detectors are working a replace the batteries annually.