It is a really awful hot season right now. Wherever you are in the world, there is a high chance that you have either your heating system or your air conditioning cranked up. Here in Canada, we are having a pretty warm summer.
So, that means that it is more important than ever to have these systems working at their top potential. When something goes wrong, it can even be dangerous. As you can see here, https://europepmc.org/article/med/13214462, people absolutely have the potential to get sick from overheating.
All of this is to say that proper maintenance is incredibly important for our HVAC systems. The question becomes, then – how are we meant to keep them in tip-top shape? Some sources online might point you to do-it-yourself projects, and that is not always going to be a terrible thing. However, professionals better handle certain things.
What Can We Accomplish on Our Own?
First, let us discuss some of the maintenance types of tasks that we can perform on our own at home. A big one is to do our best to keep vents clean and clear of dust. When you’re vacuuming or dusting, make sure to hit the openings of the vents if you have central aircon or heating.
Another thing that you can at least keep an eye on is whether your thermostat is responsive to the changes that you input. Pay attention to the temperature of the air that is coming out of your HVAC as well. If it is warm when you have the AC on or cold when you turn the heat on, that could be indicative of an issue.
Really, the main tasks that we can get done on our own at home are to perform regular cleaning as well as to gauge whether or not something is broken. Unfortunately, the more that we use these things, the more likely they are to get run down and break. That is why we would like to cover what you may want to bring experts on.
When Should We Get a Contractor Involved?
As far as when to get a heating and cooling company involved goes, admittedly, we would tend to recommend an approach of “better safe than sorry.” After all, not having AC or heat can be a grave issue, especially now that we are approaching fall and winter at last here in Canada. There are some red flags to be on the lookout for.
The biggest one there is if you are noticing moisture buildup or water dripping from your system at any point. That can be indicative of bigger underlying problems, after all. So, if you notice that, it may be a great idea to call in a professional to ascertain how serious the situation is.
Weird rattling noises are also something that you should probably be concerned about in this context. Essentially, if you notice anything is “off,” so to speak, with your HVAC system, and you are not quite certain what the problem is, try getting a contractor to help. Sometimes, you can even just call your company and describe the problem to get some troubleshooting done.
Another part of maintaining a heating and cooling system is to have annual appointments. Looking at this page, we can see that the hot weather doesn’t seem to be going anywhere during the summer months. That means that we will need to ensure that our ACs are working from year to year.
Preventative maintenance is one method of doing this and will likely cost you less in the long term as well. That is because emergency calls tend to be more expensive than these routine types of check-ins. While it may seem excessive to bring in a contractor once a year, it is mostly to make sure that issues are caught as early on as possible.
At the end of the day, our primary concern is the safety and comfort of everyone living in our homes. If this means that we need to crank up the air conditioning to cope with the higher temperatures or to blast the heater in the winter, then so be it. It is reasonable to expect that these systems will work, then, when we turn them on.
