Christmas is a great season for gathering with the family and friends, but it’s also a season when things can sometimes go awry. That’s because we don’t put safety first. And to get some ideas on how we can do that, where it matters most with your lights and everything, we go to Bolden Brothers, electrician, Dan. Dan, good morning.

Christmas Home Safety Tips:

So Dan, you’ve been with Bolden Brothers a while.

Yeah, a couple of years.

So you’ve seen some Christmases come and go in your day, I’m sure? And some ideas we have for keeping it safety, some suggestions, obviously, the first thing is the tree.

Right, if you’re going to buy a tree, if you’re going to get a fire-resistant artificial tree, that’s great. If not, get the freshest tree you can. One that has green needles, hard to pull off. They bend instead of break. And you want to get a good fresh tree, not something that’s dry and ready to catch fire.

And those will be harder to find as we get closer into Christmas, too. You may have to go from one lot to another. And of course, you want to keep that tree watered. One way you can keep your tree fresher, and less last longer is to spritz your tree. And that is to take a spray bottle with water and spritz the branches to keep the needles moist, just so you know. And when you do that, obviously you’re going to want to turn off the lights while you’re doing that.

Right.

So let’s go outside now. Let’s talk about the outside part of Christmas. I know that outdoor lights belong outdoors, and indoor lights belong indoors. Can you explain why that is?

Well, things are rated for different areas, and the things that are rated for outdoors can handle the humidity, the rain, the snow, all of that. If it’s rated for indoors, it’s not set up to handle any of that. The water will get in there and shut everything down, and there’s potential for electric shock there.

Technically we could use outdoor lights inside?

Yes.

Okay. So it just can’t go the other way. Now, a lot of times I see people using these hooks that they put up on their house. Is there any danger to that?

You know what, if you’re going to use the hooks, something that’s insulated, something that isn’t metal just to your wire because if there’s ever a nick in the wire, and then the metal touches it, there’s potential there for you to get hurt.

If you’re going to go totally Griswold here and try to literally light up the house, probably a good idea to check those lights before you put them up, too.

Yeah, check them all, make sure everything works, which takes time, and it’s a pain to do that, but it better to do it before you put it up and things don’t work.

Chances are, those lights aren’t going to go where there’s a plug waiting, so we’re going to wind up using some extension cords. I’m sure you have some thoughts on keeping an extension cord safe.

Yeah, there are a few different things you can do. Wherever the extension cord plugs into the lights, you want to keep that off the ground and protected from water. Use a brick or a rock. Don’t use Aunt Susie’s fruitcake.

It might be the best use of it, but okay.

Do you know what I mean? It’s tempting. It’s tempting to do that, but you use the fruitcake, and then the squirrels get it, and then you’ve got a different problem.

Chances are that fruit cake could be a conductor too, so you don’t want to use it for that reason.

Right, right. They do also have a protector for wherever you go from light to light, the plugin adapter, there’s something that protects that and seals it off. You can use one of those, those work really well to seal it off from water. Anything, where a connection is made, is the potential for water to get into.

And you want to keep that wrapped up, and dry, and off the ground.

Yeah, and then everything that you plug into should be GFI protected.

If I’m going to plug this in, how do I know that plug is a GFI-protected plug?

Typically, there’s a push-button on it, a trip and reset button. Some of them are on a GFI circuit, and they might not have the button on it, but they’re on a GFI circuit. Typically, it’ll say trip and reset, and there’s a button you can push.

Is it possible that I’ve got a GFI plug over at one end, and there were other plugs run off that same GFI on the outside?

Yes. Yes.

So if we’re going to make sure a plug is GFI safe, is there a way we can trip the GFI to see if those other plugs go out?

There is a type of plug tripper. That’s one way to go about it. Plugin the GFI tester, but if you don’t have a GFI tester, you could push the trip button on your GFIs, and turn off the plugs, and see if those are still on. If they’re still on, then they’re not GFI protected.

And you shouldn’t use them for your Christmas lights?

Right.

Now, what about how many lights we can put on a circuit?

A lot of the individual lights will tell you how much you can put on. With the addition of LED the past several years, there’s a lot more that you can put on. Each cord, or if it’s a newer cord, should tell you. If it’s not LED, a lot of times they say three strands will do, but it all depends on your house, and the wiring, and what size the circuit is that goes to it.

Let’s talk about that for a second. How do we know we have too many lights on a circuit?

Well, typically-

The breaker goes, but I mean-

The breaker…

But before that?

The extension cord could start getting warm. I would say after you’ve had the lights plugged in for a little while, check it. Just feel the extension cord. Is it getting hot? Is it just getting slightly warm? A little bit warm is okay, but if it starting to get hot, then you’re overloading it.

We don’t want that. Now, it makes sense to not have your lights on when you leave the house. But what about all night?

Well, it’s similar. It’s a similar situation. When you’re not home, you’re not able to monitor what’s going on with your lights. Make sure that everything is working properly and is safe. And it’s similar when you’re asleep, you’re not able to monitor as well. Not like you’re sitting there watching over it, but it’s something to wear, something could happen, and you’re not able to know what’s going on.

We have a neighbor that has these super bright LED lights on during the Christmas season, and we have to close all the drapes on that side of the house at night in order to get any sleep because they leave them on all night. So turn them off to be a good neighbor too. So anyway, let’s fast forward here a minute, Dan, and say the holiday season is over. How about when we take these lights down and put them away? Do you have any suggestions on how to handle them properly then?

Put them away neatly. It’ll save you trouble in the future, but also seal it off if there’s some type of sealable container, mice, rodents, different things like to get into things and chew on it. If that happens, then it’s something that you might not see until next year. And then you plug it in, and there’s a safety issue there. So you want to have it sealed off.

So to sum it up, Dan, you want us to buy an artificial tree. If we do that, make sure it’s fire-resistant, or if we buy a real one, make sure it’s fresh. Use indoor lights indoors, and outdoor lights outdoors. Don’t use metal hooks. Use insulated hooks. Check your lights before you put them up. Watch your extension cord. Warm’s okay, hot is bad, so don’t overload your circuits, and it’s best to use a GFI circuit for your lights, and turn them off when you’re not home or you’re going to bed. Does that sound about right?

That sounds about right.

Well, thanks a lot, Dan. I appreciate your help. Of course, you can find lots more useful help for all kinds of electrical applications here at boldenbrothers.com

The holiday season, it means family and friends coming to visit. What you may not think about though is how all that entertaining puts your kitchen to the test, specifically your garbage disposal. Thanksgiving, believe it or not, is the busiest day of the year for Boulden Brothers Plumbers because of, you guessed it, disposal problems. To help you avoid holiday heartache with your disposal, we’re joined by Tim Boulden.

How to take care of your garbage disposal:

I understand you have some disposal do’s and don’ts to share.

We do. There are certain things that can be done that can reduce the chance of having a disposal problem.

Well, before we get to those, let’s first talk about, to understand disposal problems, let’s start at the source and talk about how a disposal works.

A disposal is a pretty simple device. There is an electrical motor and then there are grinders in the disposal that grind up the food small enough so that it can be flushed out with running water.

It’s a pretty straightforward devices. There’s a can underneath the sink, and you put stuff in, it grinds up, and goes away.

That’s exactly right.

All right. So, where do things go amiss? Where do things go off the tracks when somebody is using one?

What shouldn’t go down a garbage disposal?

There’s quite a few do-not-do’s with garbage disposals. The main one is don’t put anything other than food down there.

Like what would you put down that’s not food?

Well, you want to make sure that your knives, and forks, and spoons don’t slip in there by mistake, of course, but glass, or plastic, or paper products are bad for your disposal.

So, don’t put wrappers or things like that down the disposal.

Nope. Just the food, and the food should be put down in smaller pieces and small amounts at a time.

So, don’t try to shove the whole turkey down the disposal.

No. That’s right.

Break it up. So, are there certain foods that maybe we want to avoid in the disposal?

What foods should not go down a garbage disposal?

Potatoes and potato skins are really bad. They can almost make like a cement in your garbage disposal, but corn husks, celery, onion skins, or even egg shells, you want to stay away from all of those.

I can imagine that the corn in particular would create kind of a stringy kind of thing. I had never thought about the potato skins could create that kind of cement just mix down there.

That’s right. Celery’s the same way.

And celery too. Okay.

And onions. Yup. Any fibrous foods.

Fibrous food, stay away from those. All right. And then what else?

Grease. So, a big no-no. Don’t make your bacon in the morning and pour it down the garbage disposal, for a couple of reasons. It can cause it to clog up, but also can cause odor problems in your disposal.

Okay. What other problems can happen to a disposal on Thanksgiving or pretty much any morning?

The main thing is you want to run water through it after it stops grinding the food, so it’s properly flushing the food out of the garbage disposal.

Okay. So, once we put something through, we want to go ahead and run water, let it clear out the disposal. So, run it until it … I guess it’ll make a sound that’s different. Mine speeds up a little when it’s empty.

That’s exactly right. Once it’s done the grinding portion of the job, keep the water running. I leave it on and make sure that it evacuates everything from the disposal.

The thing about disposals is sometimes even the best laid plans, it can get kind of stinky, it’ll have kind of an odor to it. Is there anything we can do to prevent that?

There are a couple of things. Putting slice of the lemons down there can help, but also if you make ice cubes with a mixture of half vinegar and half water, that’s really good to clean out your garbage disposal and keep the blade sharp.

Doing these things will enable you to have Thanksgiving without a visit from a Boulden Brothers plumber, though we’re happy to come out.

Always happy to be there.

Okay, and we’ll be available if you are. So, any other tips we can share, Tim, on the disposal?

The only last one is it’s good to run hot, soapy water through it regularly just to make sure you keep it clean.

It makes perfect sense. You want to keep something clean to keep it working well, right?

That’s exactly right.

Tim, thanks a lot for your help, and I hope this will help listeners avoid Thanksgiving and holiday weekend heartache through the season.

Great. Thanks, Charlie.

You can learn more about disposal care and plumbing in general. There are a lot of helpful videos for you waiting here on the Boulden Brothers website, bouldenbrothers.com.

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Buddies make everything better. A good buddy keeps you safe and that’s exactly the idea behind Boulden Brothers Buddies Club, helping keep your home safe and comfy year-round. Tim Boulden is here. I guess he and Mike are the head buddies in The Buddies Club. Tim, why does The Buddies Club make sense? I mean, can’t we just call for service when we want it?

Transcript:

Certainly. The biggest advantage to the club membership is what we call our front-of-the-line priority. So if someone calls in that’s a club member, they are going to be put in front of the line of everybody that’s not a club member, and unfortunately, in the heating and air conditioning business, most people have a problem when it’s very hot or very cold and so when you’re calling for service, it’s likely that a lot of other people are as well.

And I guess you guys call those demand calls, right? Somebody calls then they need service right now and you should get it too. I mean, who wants to be hot, but I guess a Buddies Club Member, they’re pushed ahead of those people.

Right yeah, the Buddies Club Members have pushed ahead of all the people that are not Buddies Club Members. So the only person you would be behind would be maybe a Buddies Club Member that called in before you.

What does the Buddies Club cover?

Well, it’s designed for your convenience to save you money, but mostly it’s to extend the life of your equipment. So it has an annual and an air conditioning Bouldenzation that is our very thorough multi-point tuneup. We also do a water heater rejuvenation every other year. That’s where we’ll drain your water heater and give it a proper inspection and tuneup and then every third year, we will do an electrical panel rejuvenation. So we will go in and make sure that all the connections in the panel are tight and looking good. As well as when we’re out there, we’ll do a complete electrical safety inspection.

That sounds like it could save some money.

It certainly will. Over the life of your systems, it will save you a lot of money.

What benefits do club members get besides that? I mean, it’s great that you come out and do those tune-ups and the Bouldenzations. What else do they get?

Tim Boulden: They also get discounts of off repairs and when it’s time to replace your equipment whether it’s your heating and air conditioning system, your water heater or your electrical panel, there are discounts for new equipment as well.

So you take care of people even when their equipment is beyond taking care of?

That’s exactly right. We do believe that having the Boulden Buddies Club will extend the life of your equipment, but it can’t extend it forever.

So how long does a Boulden Buddies Club Membership last?

We have two ways for people to join. One is with an annual subscription or the other is monthly. We just ask that when you have joined monthly, you stay a member for one year. After that, you can cancel at any time.

So that’s fair enough. You get in, you get the priority service, Bouldenzations, discounts, it’s just what you’d expect from a buddy. I suspect Tim, that’s why you call it the Buddies Club.

That’s exactly right.

Tim, thanks for explaining all to us.

Thanks, Charlie.

Learn more about the Boulden Brothers Buddies Club. Visit bouldenbrothers.com/club.

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Summertime and your AC is working, and so is the rest of your electrical system. That’s why summer is a common time for problems with aging electrical panels. So how can you be sure yours is ready for its summer workout? Tim Boulden is here to help explain why this is an important time of year for a panel inspection.

Transcript:

Tim, why do we even need to think about inspecting our panel?

Most people think that an electrical panel is a lifetime appliance. Unfortunately, that’s not the case because it is what distributes all the electricity throughout the home. So it’s a very important appliance obviously to take care of for many safety reasons that most people are aware of.

I know the EPA says that our electrical consumption doubles every 20 years so an aging panel, I guess, would definitely be something to worry about if you have an old one. What are some warning signs we should look at in our panel?

I think what people will notice first when a panel started to age is when they have circuit breakers that are regularly tripping. Now, this could be caused by a couple of things. It could be because there are too many circuits running into one breaker or it can be the fact that the breaker’s starting to age.

So a breaker actually wears over time?

It does. The breaker is designed to trip if there is a problem because the electricity’s surging through it. So over time, the breakers will fail. The difficulty is sometimes if they will fail and won’t come back on. The other problem is though sometimes they will fail and it won’t trip like it’s supposed to if there’s an electrical problem.

That’s a good reason to get an inspection right there.

It is. It’s also for safety. If people are working, doing minor electrical problems around their house, they should never turn off a breaker and assume power is off to that circuit because if the breaker has failed, power could still be going to that area. So they want to make sure that they also test the area to make sure the power’s been turned off.

Sure, like use a lamp or something you plug into an outlet I guess, be one way you can go to figure that out.

Little power tester.

Yeah, and then I guess that’s one reason you’d call for someone to come check your panels. What are some other service options we can look at for our electrical service, specifically with the panel?

One of the ways we think that you’re best at protecting your home and your family is to be a Boulden Brothers Club Member because we’re going to come out every third year and rejuvenate your panel. And what we mean by rejuvenating is we’re going to take out every breaker and make sure that all the connected wires or the wires that are connected to the breakers are tight. Because what happens over time is the wires expand and contract as the power’s going through them and not, they can cause the screws and the breaker to loosen. And any time you have a loose connection that’s when you have a chance for an arc or a problem in your system.

That would probably be the point when you’re looking at a possible replacement.

It could be. A panel, if properly maintained, should be a 15, 20 plus year appliance, but if it’s not properly maintained or if it’s been grossly undersized, it may not last that long.

That’s a great case for making sure that you service your panel regularly.

I think so, and it’s the one area of the home that most people that are comfortable with home improvement products should be very leery, and should be very careful because you need to know what you’re doing if you’re going to be actively working in the panel.

Yeah. I think electricity and gas are the two things you shouldn’t try to work on yourself.

I would agree.

Right. You can learn more about how Boulden Brothers qualified electricians can help you keep the power going in the summer and all year here at Bouldenbrothers.com

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Just like a flat tire happens when you need it at least, AC systems tend to break down on the hottest day of the year. Could this be the year you beat it to the punch with a replacement AC system? Tim Bolden is here to talk about exactly that.

Transcript:

Hey Tim, what are some common warning signs a system needs replacement?

Well, it could be unusual noises. Sounds that you have not heard coming from your system. But more likely it’s your system will no longer keep up. It will no longer keep your house warm or cool, or you start to see an increase in your electrical bills when you know you’re using it in a way you have similar in the past.

That’s a lot you just talked about there. So when you’re talking about, let’s start first with those noises, when you’re saying it’s noisier, you’re talking about the condenser outside the house with the AC system, right?

It certainly could be. It could be your compressor, it could be your fan motor outdoors, or there could be a problem with a blower motor inside. Either way, inside or out, those components ultimately will fail.

Yeah. There was a time at my house, Tim, when my fan motor outside, the condenser outside of the house, was so loud a service guy working next door at my neighbor’s house came by and asked me, “Have you ever thought about replacing your system?”

It doesn’t surprise me. Unfortunately, I know you take good care of your system, but a lot of homeowners wait for a problem before they call a company like Bolden Brothers.

And so you also talked about the idea that it isn’t, your AC specifically, let’s talk about that first, isn’t cooling like it used to. So you’ll set the thermostat and you’re saying that an aging system won’t deliver the cold as well?

Yes. Say it’s an 85-degree day and your system in the past would be able to keep your house comfortable. It may not be able to keep it comfortable anymore or it may be able to cool it off, but it’s very humid inside.

So if it’s not keeping up as cold as it used to, is it possible a Bolden-ization can bring that system back?

Possibly. It’s always good to have your system regularly maintained and it may be a minor issue. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to tell until you get out and diagnose the problem.

Yeah. I guess there comes a time when every system has served its last. And I hear a lot of people talk about that they have an old, R22 system and I guess those are really starting to age out for the newer R410A systems.

That’s exactly right. We see fewer and fewer R22 systems every year. Which a good thing because it’s becoming incredibly expensive to add refrigerant if the system needs it.

That was probably going to be the nail in the coffin for an old system. If your R22 system has a refrigerant leak, it’s definitely time to look at a replacement.

That’s for sure.

I guess the best advice, Tim, is to check it now and chuck it before your old AC leaves you hot and far from dry.

That’s exactly right because I don’t know if other people will have luck like me, but mine doesn’t fail when it’s 75 degrees. It fails when it’s 95 degrees.

Because it’s working super hard.

That’s exactly right.

Tim, thanks a lot.

Thanks, Charlie.

Find out more about system replacements in the AC section here at boldenbrothers.com

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Episode Transcript:

• Tim, who is a fit for Boulden Brothers?
• Well, let me answer that a little bit differently. I think it’s very important for our clients to know that if we’re not going to send a technician to our house, we’re not going to send it in anybody’s house. The bar that we’ve set is to make sure that they are good enough to go to my mother’s or my grandmother’s house or my house, and if they’re not, we’re not going to send them anywhere. It takes a special person and obviously they have to have the same care commitment and concern for our clients that all of our techs have had, but they also need to be able to pass all the background tests that we think are important, namely, a criminal background check and a drug screen to make sure that they are the type of people that we’re comfortable sending into anyone’s home.
• What kind of skills does somebody need to be on the Boulden Brothers team? I mean, and I’m not just talking about necessarily the technical skills, but I mean what kind of mindset do you need to be successful?
• We think the most important thing to be successful at Boulden Brothers is your attitude. When you have the same caring heart and commitment to our clients that we have, you’re going to be successful. We have people that come in with lots of experience that have those traits and are very successful. We also have people that have that positive attitude that don’t yet have those skills. With our comprehensive training program, we will make sure that they are ready and prepared to take care of any problem that you’ll be having in your home.
• Let’s say I decided that this sounds like a good opportunity for me. What can I expect when I come to apply?
• First of all, you’ll usually talk to Carol, and she’s wonderful. She’s our team-builder and she explains the opportunities that are available at Boulden Brothers. Then, it’s a rigorous onboarding process if we think that you’ll be a good fit for our team as well as all the training that I spoke about earlier.
• Rigorous, you’re not talking Navy Seal rigorous, right?
• Nothing underwater.
• Okay, fair enough. All right. Then you did mention that you’re going to have to pass a background check. I assume one of those things, you need a clean driving record.
• We do need a clean driving record because a lot of their time is spent driving between calls, so we want to make sure that if you’re not our client, you’re still safe if there’s a Boulden Brothers tech around.
• Once you pass the background check, once you seem to have the qualities of the kind of person that fits on the Boulden Brothers team and you’re hired, what is possible, Tim, for somebody joining the Boulden Brothers team? How far can they go?
• We want that decision to be made by people that are coming onto the team. If it’s ultimately their goal to own their own HVAC plumbing or electric business, we would like to help them get their license. If it is to be able to spend more time with their family or to take a family vacation or buy a new car, all those are great goals that we’ve helped people achieve. We think that that’s important for the new people on our team to know that whatever your goals are, whatever’s ever important to you is going to be important to us as well.
• You expect your team members to be focused on the customer. Meanwhile, you’re focused on the team members, helping them accomplish what’s important to them.
• That’s exactly right. If the team is happy to be working with us, they’re going to be happy when they get into the home. If they’re not, if they’re miserable with the place that they’re having to go to work, it’s really hard to be cheerful and also sharing the care and commitment that we have while they’re in the home.
• I imagine it makes itself pretty clear pretty quick when somebody comes along who’s not a fit.
• It does, and it also is why our people stay with us for so long, because when they are a fit, they find a home.
• Do I need a lot of experience, Tim? We touched on it briefly earlier, but if I’m somebody who’s relatively good with my hands and I’ve never once touched an electrical or plumbing or HVAC system, is it possible to start by coming to work at Boulden Brothers?
• It sure is. We can get the people the technical experience, the customer service experience, help people purchase the tools that are necessary. If someone has desire to get into the trades, they should be giving us a call.
• It can be a great job, a super career, possibly even a pathway to owning your own business. It’s up to you to decide what you want to accomplish. Fair enough, Tim? Does that sound about right?
• That’s exactly right.
• Sounds like a great opportunity. Tim, thanks for filling us in.
• Thanks, Charlie.
• Learn more about the career opportunities here at Boulden Brothers by visiting the careers section.