Spring Prep for Your Home's HVAC System
The end of winter's long, cold months brings with it trips to the beach, school vacations, and lazy weekend barbecues, but it also means that your home's heating system is about to go into hibernation. As with any other complicated part of your home's HVAC system, lack of use can potentially lead to problems down the line. Winter always rears its frosty head again, so keeping your heating system up to snuff through the warm seasons is important to save money and keep you comfortable once the sun sets on another summer.
Luckily, there are easy steps you can take during the spring to prepare for this period of downtime.
Extend Spring Cleaning to Your Furnace
A little TLC goes a long way, so one of the best things you can do for your home's HVAC system is to simply make your furnace a part of your spring cleaning routine. Be sure to shut down the power and gas to the furnace before beginning, then proceed to give the whole unit a thorough cleaning with a good microfiber cleaning cloth. Making your furnace look pretty won't help its operation, but keeping dust and debris clear of the vents in the casing will help to extend the life of your filters and blowers.
More importantly, if you can access the interior of the furnace you should do so and give this a thorough cleaning. Use a can of compressed air to blow dust and debris loose, and then vacuum up as much as possible. Your furnace is a workhorse, so don't worry about making it sparkle. Instead, focus on removing as much loose dirt as possible as this is what is likely to make its way into the filters and blowers.
Continue to Replace Filters
Although this isn't specific to the spring, you should have a regular schedule for replacing your HVAC filters and stick to it religiously. If your blower is in use, then your filters are likely picking up dirt that negatively affects their operation and can lead to failures down the line. If you fall off of this schedule, it is easy to leave a dirty filter in through the summer and find that your heating system isn't quite working as it should once winter starts. Although this is usually rectified by simply replacing the filter, a particularly dirty filter can actually cause damage to the blower or even the furnace.
Consider an Inspection
Spring and summer can actually be one of the best times to have elements of your home's heating system inspected by professionals. If problems are discovered, you will be under no pressure to have them immediately fixed. This means you can potentially have heating repairs done when it is more convenient or affordable for you. You can also usually save some money on inspections during off seasons as well since often HVAC contractors that specialize in heating will have less work during this time. Some contractors even offer special deals during the spring and summer.
