EDUCATION IN THE KITCHEN
If you have a boiler, you have one of the most complex heating systems a home can have. Every part of the boiler needs to be in perfect working order to keep your house warm. A boiler relies on water, and when you have water, you have the possibility of corrosion. Forgetting about your boiler can lead to damage far costlier to fix than any other type of heating system. There are two steps every homeowner can take to ensure their boiler doesn’t let them down in the dead of winter or during a cold snap. 1. Annual inspection. After a quiet summer or mild autumn, your boiler needs serious TLC before you ask it to perform during the winter months. Our patented annual Lewis MacLean inspections will diagnose any costly problems looming on the heating horizon and ensure your boiler is operating at peak efficiency so you aren’t wasting money in monthly utility bills. 2. Regular maintenance. A boiler requires ongoing maintenance. That means it needs to be fl ushed on a regular basis to reduce the chance of costly corrosion. A boiler also contains more moving parts than other heating systems, requiring more diligent maintenance. If you’re worried about your boiler this winter or you don’t remember the last time it was inspected, bring in one of our 24-hour residential heating technicians to inspect your boiler. It’s the smartest thing you can do for your heating system. Inspection and regular maintenance will also extend the life of your boiler by sidestepping expensive repairs that damage your overall heating system. If you have one of our Maintenance Plans, we’ll take care of all the details of your regular inspection for you. Or, if you don’t have a Plan yet, call us today for more info on the great, money-saving perks that come with one. 2 STEPS TO GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HOME’S BOILER
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably wracking your brain for the
perfect recipe to bake for your loved one. There’s nothing wrong with store-bought chocolate, but there’s no topping the personal touch of some homemade baked goods. If you have kids,
baking alongside them can be just as rewarding as enjoying the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus, baking is a hands-on opportunity where your child can learn all sorts of important concepts. Here is a short list of some of the educational lessons hiding in your kitchen. Math Baking is a numbers game. Just take a look at any recipe, and you’ll recognize the importance of math in building a beautiful cake. Having children measure out ingredients helps them learn about fractions and ratios. You can also test your kids by doubling or halving a recipe for multiplication and division practice. With older kids, practice unit conversions by asking, for example, how many pints are in half a gallon. Following Directions Not unlike computer science, baking requires a strict order of operations. The wet and dry ingredients often need to be mixed separately and then folded together. It only takes one deviation from the instructions for a pastry to go from delicious to disgusting. Spending time in the kitchen, then, is a great way for kids to learn the importance of reading directions carefully and comprehending what they’ve just read. Cultural Understanding Cuisine is a fundamental part of every culture. Introducing your child to dishes from around the world will expand their horizons. Want your child to be a less picky eater? Involving them in the cooking process is the surest way to get them excited about trying new fl avors and ingredients. Nutrition Now, you might not think that baking cookies will encourage greater nutritional awareness, but hear us out. Sugar is often buried within packaged foods. When you bake something at home, a child gets to see, firsthand, just how much sugar goes into certain sweets. Meanwhile, cooking savory dishes also allows them to learn what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet.
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