Don’t Neglect Fall Maintenance on Your Home’s Heating System
The seasonal change from summer to fall is an ideal time to take steps to prepare your home’s heating system for the long winter. Your AC’s turn at the plate is nearly over, and it won’t be long before your heating system steps up to bat.
Perform the following fall maintenance procedures in order to ensure safe, efficient and effective heating this winter. (Many of these steps should be replicated in the spring in order to prepare your cooling system for the summer.)
Step-by-step heater maintenance
- The first step is the easiest. Check the air filter in your furnace or heat pump, and if it looks clogged with dust and debris, remove it and install a fresh one.
Don’t make the mistake of purchasing the cheapest available flat-panel air filter. You get what you pay for, and the $2 or $3 you spend on a cheap filter will get you minimal filtration.
A good, mid-efficiency filter works fine for most forced-air systems. You shouldn’t have to spend more than $10 or $15, and it’s worth it when you consider the benefits:
- fewer contaminants blowing around in household air,
- less dirt and grit getting on sensitive HVAC components and
- a smoother-running system all round
However, avoid getting a super high-efficiency filter without consultation with your Cincinnati HVAC contractor; the dense media in a high-efficiency filter may impede system airflow.
- Clean the coils on your heat pump if that’s what you use to heat your home, both in the indoor evaporator and the outdoor condenser. Dirty coils hamper the essential heat-exchange process that’s at the heart of any heat pump or air-conditioning system.
Plus, mold and bacteria can grow in the inviting dark and damp around AC coils, which isn’t great for indoor air quality. Allowing the coils to remain dirty for lengthy periods can result in refrigerant leaks and an unwelcome AC repair cost.
(For details on how to clean the coils, go to an authoritative online source. If you have any doubts about your ability to complete this job, leave it to your preferred air conditioning repair company.)
- You’ll want to clean the condensate pan for the air conditioner as well, in order to prevent standing water that makes an inviting home for mold and mildew.
A common problem arises when the condensate drain that removes moisture from cooling coils gets clogged and backs up, which can damage floors, carpets, walls and personal belongings.
Sometimes the moisture can migrate across flooring, staining or damaging carpeting several feet away from the indoor unit of the cooling system.
Have a professional Cincinnati HVAC contractor perform seasonal maintenance on your system
While any homeowner handyperson can perform most or all of these chores, your best bet is to hire one of Cincinnati’s best HVAC companies to complete preseason preventive maintenance:
- During the autumn tune-up on your furnace or heat pump, the HVAC tech will check off numerous other maintenance steps that are essential to the safe and efficient operation of your heating system.
- If you neglect or forget to schedule preseason maintenance on your furnace or heat pump this fall, don’t despair. It’s the right choice even when it’s done later, after the cold weather has set in.
- When spring rolls around, most of these steps apply equally to your cooling system.
Consider joining a Maintenance Club that most of the best local heating & cooling contractors offer (Jansen has one).
These programs usually include discounts on maintenance, reminders that maintenance is needed, and other benefits.