Sonny & Joy

Sonny & Joy are the owners/operators of Peace of Mind a company that has been serving Naples homeowners for the past 24+ years and during that time we are proud to say that we have achieved the reputation as one of the foremost companies that provide "homeminder" services. Our service consists of weekly internal & external inspections. During our first visit and all subsequent ones, we will enter your home and check that the proper temperature and humidity are being maintained in order to prevent mildew and other fungi and that no break-ins have taken place. While you're away..."We'll take care of your home as if it were our own" and if we discover any problems they will be reported to you immediately before they escalate into major catastrophes. For inquiries....Email us at POM950@GMail.com or phone us at 239-450-1699. 

Door Damage

 Recently we were checking units in a section of a community that was having their five (5) buildings painted. The paint project put extra work demands on us at POM because we not only had to move cars so car ports could be power washed prior to them starting to paint the buildings but we also had to facilitate access to no less than six (6) units who had paid extra to have their lanais painted. Although this sounds like an simple task it turned out to be more than we bargained for because the project began during a rainy period and the painting schedule was delayed first one day then another day then another each time we would unlock doors for the painters then lock them back up because of the delay then re-open and re-lock them several times until finally they finished and we thought we were through. Guess again! The following photos show no less than 5 units that had their storm doors damaged by the painters so now we had to notify property management so they in turn could withhold payment until the problems were resolved all of which took even more of our time and effort. We pride ourselves on "taking care of your home as if it was our own" and this was definitely an example of that proclamation.

Mis-communication Result

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Sometime in late June or early July we received a phone call from a client who wanted to find out if we were still in business and we assured him that we were. He seemed satisfied with our reply and said he'd get back to us when he finalized his departure date...he never did. As a result we never resumed our weekly condo checks because we assumed that with his lack of communication he must have made other home watch arrangements. In our business this happens all the time. We were taken back when we received a phone call from him on August 21 telling us that since he hadn't seen a "Peace of Mind" check clearing from his bank reconciliation he realized he had forgotten to call us to tell us he was leaving for the season. We immediately kicked in our service and went to check the unit. The attached photos show what we found. Yup, that's what mildew looks like and what we found on two couches. We immediately did a close inspection of the entire unit and fortunately the problem was limited to these two areas. We notified the owner of what we discovered and initiated an effort to prevent any further extension of the problem by adjusting the A/C and humidistat settings to the coolest settings. Needless to say he will have to deal with the problem when he returns but with POM checking the unit every week the problem won't worsen and I'm sure our client will remember to firm up his homewatch start dates prior to his leaving next year whether it's with POM or some other company.   

 

Best A/C Setting for Snowbirds

Here is a copy of the question from a "snowbird" and the response from FPL to a question posed by some who wanted to know what FPL suggests as the best A/C settings for snowbirds. Keep in mind that Peace of Mind Homeminders check our client's Florida home weekly and as such make A/C setting adjustments whenever we feel a unit is too cool, too hot or too humid. Most important we ask our clients to monitor their monthly electric bill to check for any major changes is Kwh useage and to notify us if they feel it's either too high or too low.






What are the best A/C settings for snowbirds?

By Energy Expert

Asked on: February 18, 2014 by Scott F., Englewood

I have my thermostat/humidistat set to 80/60 while away up north. I watch my usage via my energy dashboard, but wondered if these are the best settings to save energy and prevent issues?
There are definitely ideal settings that can help you maximize your savings while you’re away from your winter home in Florida, while preventing moisture and other issues in your home. You’re off to a good start!
The right setting for manual thermostatsOur research found that setting a manual thermostat to 80 degrees for homes and 77 for condos typically provides enough dehumidification to prevent mold. Since you also have a humidistat to control humidity, you have the flexibility to set the temperature higher at 88 degrees, while setting your humidistat’s relative humidity, or RH, to 58 percent. This will help you save even more energy while still keeping the indoor humidity in a safe range.
Increased control with programmable thermostatsFor customers with programmable thermostats without humidity control (without a built-in humidistat), FPL recommends programming thermostats at 72 degrees for just two hours each morning before sunrise and at 88 degrees the rest of the time. This will prevent mold by removing moisture from the air during the cooler hours when RH is highest and your A/C runs most efficiently.
Even more efficiency and mold preventionThe most energy-efficient way to help prevent mold from developing in vacant homes is to use stand-alone dehumidifiers. Use one dehumidifier for every 1,000 square feet and set the controls to 58 percent RH. Locate them by a sink or shower so water from the drainage tube can go down the drain.
Other tips for your homeAs an additional precaution, we recommend having your A/C ductwork checked for leaks by requesting an FPL duct test. Check for air leaks around doors and windows, too.  Both are good ways to minimize the amount of moisture getting into your home.
We’re happy to hear that you are finding the Energy Dashboard helpful in monitoring your usage while you’re not in Florida. We highly recommend that customers log into their online account to view their own personal dashboard, especially while they are away, to watch for any unusual changes in energy usage which could indicate an equipment malfunction.
Visit www.FPL.com/seasonal for more energy-saving tips while away from your home.

Storing Jugs Over Laundry Area

The following entry is a problem we discovered on several occasions while checking units. The first time we came across it, it was the result of a gallon plastic jug of soap detergent (TIDE), next time it was from a jug of fabric softener and this last time from a jug of bleach. All three clients had stored these jugs on a common wire shelf atop the washer/dryer area as shown in the left photo. Apparently when hefting the jug up onto the shelf, somehow a very tiny hole penetrated the plastic jug which over time caused the contents of these jugs to seep out then drip down the back of the washer/dryer or in this latest case atop the dryer. The soap and fabric softener were discovered only after they had seeped onto the floor and out the front side of the appliance. The bleach which is somewhat caustic, wasn't discovered until it had left it's mark on the lid of the dryer as shown in the right photo.

Broker Slider Door Glass

Although this problem doesn't occur too often we've come across it on several occasions and still are unable to determine the root cause. While checking a veranda unit in Countryside we discovered that the glass on one of the slider door panels had shattered. At first we thought it was caused by an errant golf ball but although it was facing the golf course it was located in a spot where that would be almost impossible. We immediately notified the owner and then set off to get the glass replaced. We contacted a window repair contractor, gave them access to measure the glass panel and ultimately to replace the broken pane of glass. Unfortunately the glass was a custom size and had to be special ordered which would take several days to procure so in the meantime we had to do something to prevent the elements from getting into the unit. The panel was 81x42 inches so we had a large area to cover which in itself poses a problem. Fortunately we were able to use a large sheet brown paper that painters use as a drop cloth by securing it to the walls with tape. Total cost to the owner was $325 for the pane of glass and $85 for them to cleanup the broken glass chards. Our efforts cost $0...all part of doing our job!

A/C Line Set Problems

This purpose of this posting is to describe what happens when the A/C to a unit stops cooling as a result of loss of coolant. Recently we encountered this problem in a 1st floor condo in Countryside. The owner had a service contract with a well known company so we contacted them and gave them access to the unit so they could troubleshoot the A/C. They determined that the line set that carries coolant from the outside compressor to the inside air handler was leaking allowing the coolant to escape. They isolated the problem by cutting each end of the two coolant lines, sealing them off at both ends (inside & outside) then installing a pressure gauge on one of the lines. After this was done they pressurized the lines until there was 400psi in the lines. They returned a day later to see if the pressure was being maintained and it wasn't...it had dropped to 235psi indicating that the line set would have to be replaced at a cost of $4500! Why so costly? Normally they would have to run the lines up the outside wall to above the third floor through the wall into the attic crawl space, then down through the 3rd floor unit, then the 2nd floor unit then and finally into the 1st floor unit. When the owner told us the price that the A/C company had given him, we suggested that he get a second opinion which he did and they in turn confirmed that the line set was defective however they gave him a price estimate that was 1/3 less than the first  estimate  given. Instead of running the lines the way the first company suggested they decided to run the lines in a ditch underground, along the
outside of the condo, then up the wall (see photo #1) then into the condo, across the bedroom ceiling (see photo #2), then re-connect them to the air handler (see photo #3) all of which could be done far less costly than the first estimate. He elected to go with the more economic estimate and ended up with a significant savings. This line set problem, although not a common every day occurrence, seems to be happening more often as buildings and A/C units get older. The moral of this posting is to "always get a second opinion" and don't rely on the first estimate. 
Meanwhile we just added a photo below of what the bedroom looks like after the A/C line set was enclosed. Great job huh?