Repairing All Brands of Furnaces & A/C Units Since 1980
This year, Illinois’ winter has been fierce, making it imperative for homeowners to take the necessary precautions to ensure their HVAC systems can withstand the season. Regular preventative maintenance will assist your system in keeping up with the changes in season, especially before the temperature drop. Luckily, preparing your heating and air conditioning equipment for the cold weather doesn’t take too long and is easy to do on your own.
With the cold weather, you will want to start running the heaters. During this period, HVAC systems are likely to break down and pile up costly HVAC repairs. To avoid this, it is essential to take preparative steps to ensure that it runs at its optimal performance. By preparing your HVAC system, you are able to lower costs and avoid costly repairs.
As the snow begins to fall, you need to cover the outdoor A/C unit to protect it from the elements. The last thing you want coming out of winter is having to perform costly HVAC repairs to the A/C unit. To keep your unit in good shape, first clean off any fallen debris, such as sticks, leaves, lawn clippings, etc., with a garden hose. Once the unit has completely dried off, locate the electrical circuit to power down the system for the winter. This will prevent your air conditioner from starting up if there’s an unseasonably warm day during the colder season. You will then want to place the waterproof cover to keep excess moisture off but give the unit enough room to breathe to avoid mold from growing. After the snow falls, be sure to keep the unit cleaned off regularly.
Even while you are not using your furnace, it will collect dirt and dust. Before you power on your heating system, be sure to replace that dirty filter to avoid system failures. When a filter goes unchanged, the dirt is able to pass through into the system and cause damage. Moreover, using a dirty filter is very inefficient and can cause your bill to rise.
It is important to make sure that you are keeping up with how often you are changing your filter. It needs to be changed at least every 30 days, no more than 90. To make life a little easier for yourself, keep backups in your home to make sure you stay up to date on your filters.
Before winter arrives, you will need to contact professionals to perform an annual heating tune-up. Regular maintenance every year is an essential part of owning an HVAC system and will lower the risk of system failures. It may even be required by your manufacturer to keep your warranty active. Not only that, but professional heating maintenance helps:
Before it gets cold enough to use your furnace, be sure to start testing it at least three times to ensure that it is running correctly. It is not uncommon for furnaces to have problems starting while they aren’t being used, such as squirrels and other small animals getting stuck inside and dust buildup. Nothing is worse than the frigid weather coming through when your heater isn’t working. Turn on the furnace to ensure you are prepared and warm when winter hits.
Experts recommend servicing your heating unit at least once yearly, preferably in the early fall. Professionals at All Seasons Heating & Cooling will get your HVAC system in tip-top shape before winter to ensure it lasts.
We look forward to helping you too!