You'll regret waiting until the dog days of summer or the dead of winter to discover that your heating and cooling system needs repairs. Instead, you should schedule regular maintenance check-ups each fall and spring.
Spring and fall are many people’s favorite seasons,
and for good reasons. As spring approaches, who isn’t glad to pack the parkas away for a few months? After winter’s monotonous drab deadness, you’re certain to welcome the colorful interruptions brought by the fresh green hues of life. Each year, you savor that moment when the sun kisses your arms with the first natural warmth you’ve felt for months. For all your savoring, though, you know the novelty of warmth will soon wear off: Summer is coming.
The humidity will become stifling, making you feel wearisome, lethargic. You want to go inside where it’s cool and you can catch your breath. Imagine going inside to what you hoped would be an air-conditioned paradise, only to find your indoor oasis nearly as muggy and sweltering as your back porch! You may call your HVAC guy, only to find out he’s all booked up until next Tuesday.
Clearly, waiting until the dog days of summer is not the time to have your cooling system checked. Instead, you should schedule a heating and cooling check up in the spring. When it’s time to reset your clock, just remember that it’s time to call your HVAC expert, too. What will he do? He’ll perform general maintenance on your heating and cooling system. He’ll probably examine electrical connections, lubricate some parts, look out for a plugged drain, and make sure all the controls are working.
For your cooling system, in particular, he’ll likely clean the air conditioning coils as well as the components of your blower. Your technician will also check and possibly adjust your AC’s refrigerant level. Once you have this done, your system will be ready for the summer heat.
Of course, eventually, the long-sought summer will have overstayed its welcome. You’ll then find your respite in the crisp, cool autumn breezes tousling your tresses. Your summer duds returned to storage, you’ll be cozy in your warm wool sweater as you look out at the variegated tree lines in a wistful reverie. Soon, though, that refreshing autumn breeze will turn to howling winds that carry with it icy rain. Just as the storm is at its peak, the dog will beg you to go out. In only moments, you’ll be damp and cold and grumpy, wanting only the reprieve of warmth inside. Will you be disappointed? That depends: Did you remember to have your heating system tuned up in the fall?
You really shouldn’t wait until the dead of winter. Instead, you should call your HVAC specialist in the fall to get your system checked out, for a second time, each year. In addition to the same general maintenance performed on your heating and cooling system in the spring, he will check heating-specific issues like your gas pressure, burner, and heat exchanger. He’ll also check gas or oil connections to make sure they aren’t fire hazards. These issues relate to both efficiency and safety. He’ll probably also recommend that you clean or change your air filters each month, if you don’t already.
So next time you reset your clocks to “spring ahead” or to “fall back,” you should also make a note to call to your neighborhood heating and cooling guy.
