Radon rises through the soil and seeps through cracks, holes and drain pipes in the foundation or basement of your home and office. It can be found all over the United States and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 out of every 15 homes in the country has high levels of radon.

Symptoms of radon gas poisoning are not as immediately apparent as those of other types of poisons. Odorless poisons like carbon monoxide are more immediate, whereas radon’s effects take place over a longer term. That’s why it’s important to have your home tested one to two times per year, as radon levels can vary from season to season.

Radon test kits are available at local home improvement stores. Homeowners can perform the test themselves and then simply mail in the samples to receive the results.
Correcting high radon levels is very simple and can be done by a local radon mitigation contractor — but finding the problem in time is the hard part.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

Check the gutters on your house. Make sure they are cleaned and will drain water properly. This will help prevent ice damming when we really get into the winter season.


Remove hoses from all outdoor faucets and make sure they are drained. Turn off the water supply to outdoor faucets if the water lines are not located in a heated space, or if you do not have frostproof faucets.


If you have storm windows, now’s a good time to get those up. Storm windows serve as an additional barrier against the cold winter winds and can help keep your heating bill lower.


Let’s head inside now and take care of a few more things…


Change the batteries in your smoke alarm. One should be located on each level of your home. Also…


Change the batteries in your carbon monoxide detector or replace them every two years. Some of these are battery operated, while others are plugged directly into the outlets. Check and see which kind you have. These should be located in bedrooms or living rooms. 


Change the filters in your furnace. It also would be a great idea to have a thorough cleaning or reconditioning done before we get into using it full swing.


Have a trained professional clean and maintain your fireplace chimney. Creosote can build up and become very dangerous unless cleaned on a regular basis.


Finally, if you do have water lines that run through an unconditioned space, plug in your heat tape. The last thing you’ll want is frozen or busted water pipes.

Just a little time and effort can save you lots of dollars by being prepared in advance.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

As it turns out, the adhesives used on standard plastic duct tape dries out quickly and ceases to hold.

Solution: The real stuff, which is called aluminum foil tape. This is a 2-mil aluminum foil duct tape with a paper release liner. It goes on easily and stays on the duct for the duration — even the lifetime of the ductwork in most cases.

Sealing both the supply and return ducts are beneficial for a few reasons. Sealing the supply ducts (the ducts that the air is forced through and then up into your home) is a great idea to keep the air flowing where it was intended to and not through unsealed cracks and seams, which makes some areas hotter or cooler than they should be. A good example of the latter is how cold it tends to be in your basement when you’re running your central air conditioning.

In many cases, ductwork is exposed openly in a crawl space of a home. We definitely don’t want to lose any heating or cooling there. That’s just money down the drain.

For return air ducting, it’s important for the furnace or air conditioning blower to “draw in” just as much air as it pushes out. This is what return air does. It draws the air in to give the blower something to blow. Leaking return ductwork can mean it’s drawing air in from places you may not want it to, such as crawl spaces, musty basements, laundry rooms or even bathrooms!

One other way to save money by sealing your ductwork is to use what’s called mastic adhesive. This is a type of a paste that is made especially for sticking to and sealing up the metal pipes and lines that your air flows through.

Simply use a mastic brush and paint it on over the areas where you feel the air leaking out from. Let it dry, and it’s as easy as that.

You can get both of these products at your local home improvement store, and whichever way you choose to keep the air in, you’ll be saving money and staying more comfortable all season long.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox 2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

Today, we’re going to look at a few ways to save a lot of money that otherwise would have gone down the drain.

•Take showers instead of baths. It saves on water and also the cost of heating it.
 •Fix broken or dripping faucets. A single faucet dripping hot water can waste as much as 200 gallons a month.
 •Use low-flow aerators. It helps to save water, but still makes it seem like you’re using just as much.


•Consider replacing your water heater at about the 10-year-old mark. The tank tends to build up a lot of calcium and deposits inside, which must be penetrated before the water can be heated — and that wastes energy.


•If you have a large family, you may want to consider an on-demand water heater. Not only is it more efficient, but 30 percent of the cost qualifies for a government tax credit.


•Set your water heater temperature to 120 degrees. A family of four, each showering for just five minutes, uses about 700 gallons of water each week. Lowering the temperature can make a big difference on your bills. 


•And finally, turn the temperature dial to the vacation setting if you are away from home for more than two days.

By using these simple suggestions, you’ll easily knock a hundred bucks a year off your energy bill — which is better for your wallet and for the environment.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

Even CO at low levels is extremely dangerous. Long-term exposure to low levels of CO can be very harmful, and can compound many pre-existing health conditions, such as heart and lung disease; anemia; diabetes; depression; and learning and concentration problems. One family member can be affected, while others may have no symptoms at all. Children and elderly family members are often the most severely affected.

Knowing where this deadly gas comes from and how to protect your family can prove extremely important in the battle to keep your family safe.

There are many sources of CO, and it’s caused from incomplete combustion of any fuel-burning appliance. Any fuel-burning appliance or engine can create CO.

The single most important thing you can do to protect your family is to install carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home, especially near the sleeping areas or bedrooms. It also is recommended to have at least one “low-level” CO detector in your home. The low-level detector should be installed in the main gathering area of the home.

Another important point to keep in mind is that the average sensor life of a CO detector is only two years. While you might push the test button and hear the alarm sound, it does not mean the sensor is working — it only means that the horn or buzzer works.

You should replace CO detectors every two years or have them tested by a professional with CO test gas every year. Another important factor in keeping your family safe would be to have your furnace and other fuel-burning. appliances professionally tuned up with a safety and CO inspection every year.

It’s a small price to pay. Your family’s safety and well-being are worth it. It’s certainly better than visiting a loved one in the hospital or, worse yet, attending a funeral.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

If you are a DTE and/or Michcon customer, you are eligible for up to $1,500 in rebates directly from them just by making your home more energy-efficient.

These rebates, along with the federal tax credits, could mean that you could add insulation to your walls or attic; replace your old inefficient windows and doors; seal and insulate your duct system and pipes; install programmable thermostats; and many more improvements for little or no cost at all.

In order to be eligible for the full rebate, you first must have an energy audit performed at your home by a certified energy auditor. You should make sure to select an auditor who uses a blower door and infrared camera to perform an audit.

Without the use of these tools, the auditor simply is guessing at a great deal of data. While it may be an educated guess, it is still just a guess. Through the use of these specialized instruments, your auditor will be able to determine where your energy leaks actually are and what can be done to improve them.

All you need to do is log into www.yourenergysavings.com. Select “rebates and offers,” then scroll down and click on “home energy audit/offers,” where the full explanation is there for you to read. There also is a list of auditors to choose from.

Additionally, rebates of up to $970 are available for replacing your old inefficient heating and air conditioning. These rebates are listed on the same Web site.

With the cost of energy on the rise, it only makes sense to do everything you can to make your home as energy efficient as possible. With the federal tax credits and the utility company rebates, it may never be more affordable to ensure that your family does its part to conserve energy and also to keep your money where it belongs: in your wallet.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a WJBK-TV Fox2 Detroit news contributor and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

There are various products for drain cleaning on the market. One of the best, in my opinion, is called Consume, made by the Spartan Chemical Co. Inc. While the exact formula is a secret, Consume is a composite of bacteria, enzymes and additives, all coming from natural sources. Here’s how it works.

These all natural ingredients come in a liquid form that remains dormant in its protective container until you apply the right amount of the solution into waste matter. The bacteria then come to life and starts searching for the clog that blocks your pipes.

Consume eats its way through the filth of drain lines, septic tanks, recreational vehicle holding tanks and grease traps without harming pipes, containers or any other inorganic material. People continually find new uses for this amazing substance. It works great, for instance, in removing odor from kitty litter boxes, as well as toilets and urinals.

Since Consume attacks only organic waste, it is completely safe and commonly used in hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and other places subject to stringent health inspections.

For a safe and healthy alternative to using caustic chemicals, contact your local plumbing contractor for more information.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a member of the Comfort Institute and president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

Well, I’ll tell you what, it’ll save you at least a couple hundred dollars a year, and even more for those with larger homes. Let me tell you what I mean…

A hybrid heat pump system has the ability to reverse itself to produce heat in the winter and still provides the cooling we need during the hot summer temperatures. To the naked eye, a heat pump simply looks like a central air conditioning unit, yet it does so much more. It’s really two units in one.

Now it doesn’t actually spin in the opposite direction. Instead, it pumps the refrigerant in the opposite direction, which means the coil inside your furnace that gets cold to provide cool air in the summer would get hot in the winter months to provide warm air. You’ll still need a gas furnace; the heat pump will provide only enough heat to heat your home when the outdoor temperature is near or above 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Below that, the system automatically shuts the heat pump off and turns the gas furnace on. Hybrid systems do this so seamlessly that you’ll never even know when it happens.

One thing to remember is that for a great portion of the heating season, the outdoor temperatures are above the 20-degree point.

A regular central air unit can only cool your home. A hybrid heat pump system can provide heat during the milder temperatures and then also cooling when it gets hot outside.

By using the heat pump to heat your home when temperatures are mild, you’ll save a great deal of money on your gas bills by using more affordable electric power at a reduced electric rate.

If you’re in the market for central air this coming season, ask your local contractor about a hybrid heat pump system as well. You’ll be glad you did.

Joel Wensley is a licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a member of the Comfort Institute and is also the president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

My opinion on duct cleaning? If you’re considering having your ductwork cleaned to reduce the dust and potential allergens in your home, forget about it! That’s the job of your furnace systems air cleaner or filter. Once dirt enters into your duct system, the only way it can get out of there is to get past your filter system. As long as you have your filters or better yet, high efficiency air cleaners in place, that problem is solved. What duct cleaning is good for is an overall healthy home approach to cleaner living.

After even as short a period as 10 years, your ductwork may become contaminated with particles of dust, pollen or other debris. If moisture is present, the potential for microbiological growth (e.g., mold) is increased and spores from such growth may be released into the home’s living space. Some of these contaminants may cause allergic reactions or other symptoms in people that can become an extreme health hazard.
You may want to consider having the air ducts in your home cleaned if:

• There is substantial visible mold growth inside hard surface (e.g., sheet metal) ducts or on other components of your heating and cooling system.
• Ducts are infested with vermin, e.g. (rodents or insects)
• Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles are actually released into the home from your supply registers due to an inefficient air cleaning system.

After your ductwork has been properly scrubbed clean, a sealing solution should be used to prevent any uncollected dust from reentering the air stream. In many cases, an anti-microbial sanitizing solution may be applied also.

Depending on your duct systems air filtration equipment, duct cleaning in many cases will promote a cleaner and healthier environment for both you and your family.
Joel Wensley is a licensed Mechanical Contractor in the state of Michigan, a member of the Comfort Institute and is also the President of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.

As it turns out, the adhesives used on standard plastic duct tape dries out quickly and ceases to hold.

Solution: The real stuff, which is called aluminum foil tape. This is a 2-mil aluminum foil duct tape with a paper release liner. It goes on easily and stays on the duct for the duration — even the lifetime of the ductwork in most cases.

Sealing both the supply and return ducts are beneficial for a few reasons. Sealing the supply ducts (the ducts that the air is forced through and then up into your home) is a great idea to keep the air flowing where it was intended to and not through unsealed cracks and seams, which makes some areas hotter or cooler than they should be. A good example of the latter is how cold it tends to be in your basement when you’re running your central air conditioning.

In many cases, ductwork is exposed openly in a crawl space of a home. We definitely don’t want to lose any heating or cooling there. That’s just money down the drain.

For return air ducting, it’s important for the furnace or air conditioning blower to “draw in” just as much air as it pushes out. This is what return air does. It draws the air in to give the blower something to blow. Leaking return ductwork can mean it’s drawing air in from places you may not want it to, such as crawl spaces, musty basements, laundry rooms or even bathrooms!

The vast majority of houses’ ducting systems lose as much as 23 percent of air into unwanted spaces. This can be a big waste of money and even harmful to your health.

Joel Wensley is licensed mechanical contractor in the state of Michigan, a member of the Comfort Institute and is also the president of Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Dearborn Heights.