No matter your experience with homeownership, the more you know about your house’s HVAC system and how to properly take care of it can save you some serious money in between your professional routine HVAC maintenance work. It’s a great idea to set a day once every 60 to 90 days and designate it as “HVAC maintenance” day – overall, the following must-know HVAC maintenance tips for homeowners should take only 20-30 minutes to complete in total, depending on the size of your house.
Replace Filters Every 60 to 90 Days
This is an easy task that not only can help increase the indoor air quality of the home, but ensure that your HVAC system is the most energy efficient it can be as well. Purchasing a filter can be home at any local home/hobby store, but make sure you check the current filter to ensure you have the right size available. Typically, replacing an air filter is as simple as opening up the vent, pulling out the old, dusty filter and inserting the new one (make sure it’s correctly facing the indicated way).
It is recommended that you change your filters every 90 days, though homes that have a lot of children or pets may want to consider changing the air filter more frequently at every 60 days.
Check Consistent Air Duct Flow
When completing your routine HVAC maintenance, it’s a good idea to go around to each of the vents in your home to ensure proper air flow. A vent that is not producing air could indicate a blockage in the air duct, or some other issue that may need to be diagnosed and repaired by a professional.
Having blocked air ducts can increase the heating and cooling costs on your energy bills as it will cause your system to overwork itself unnecessarily in order to compensate for the blocked vents.
Check Clearance Around HVAC Systems
Whether you have HVAC systems located indoors or outdoors (or both!) it’s important to check the clearance to ensure that nothing is obstructing the air flow or causing a potential fire hazard. When checking your outdoor HVAC equipment, be sure that no plants or weeds are located too closely – you should pull those up to clear the area of any vegetation. When checking indoors, it’s important to ensure that there is no furniture or other obstacles are blocking the air flow from an A/C unit or a heater. If there are any errant water deposits nearby, that could cause a fire or damage to your equipment.
In addition to performing this important maintenance for your HVAC system periodically, it’s equally as important to have a professional evaluate and conduct preventative HVAC maintenance for your home. Give Max Air a call today to discuss your HVAC’s preventative maintenance needs and to schedule a single appointment or recurring service appointments with us today!
