HVAC systems are fairly expensive. As such, it’s important to get as much use out of them as possible. After all, the more use your HVAC system provides to you, the less you’ll have to spend on HVAC-related costs over the years.
This is where the importance of HVAC maintenance and HVAC repairing shows up. Through HVAC repairs and HVAC maintenance, you can help prolong your unit’s lifespan, ensuring that you get as much benefit out of it as possible.
Wondering what HVAC maintenance entails? Then read on. This is your essential guide.
Replace the Air Filter
The most important part of HVAC maintenance is replacing the air filter. This filter is vital because it prevents dust and debris from making their way into the HVAC system. The more dust and debris make their way in, the more strain your HVAC system will take on.
Unfortunately, air filters get dirty too and, when they do, they aren’t able to perform their function as needed. As such, if you want your HVAC system to run as efficiently as possible, you need to swap out your air filter every few months.
Every 3 months is the recommended amount. Note, though, that if you have furry pets in your home, you might want to increase this to every month or two.
Straighten the AC Fins
On the outside of your air conditioner condenser are a series of metal strips. These strips are known as fins, and they’re integral to the AC’s overall functionality.
Over time, however, these strips become bent and misshapen. When this occurs, the AC isn’t able to function to the best of its capabilities. For this reason, you need to regularly straighten your AC fins.
Every 6 months or so, take a knife and run it between each fin. This should open them up adequately, allowing for optimal operation.
Clean the Ducts
As was noted above, dust and debris will make their way into your HVAC system over time. Unfortunately, a good amount of this dust and debris will come to rest in your HVAC system.
This is a problem for several reasons.
For one, it causes air quality issues (you don’t want dust in your air, after all). For two, it blocks the flow of forced air, creating temperature variations from room to room. In addition, it puts unnecessary strain on the HVAC system, causing it to use more energy and reducing its overall lifespan.
This is why you need to clean your ducts out every few years, say, 3 to 5 years apart if you can do this on your own, fine.
That said, it requires a lot of disassembling and reassembling, not to mention the right tools. Therefore, it might be wiser to hand it off to a professional HVAC specialist.
Keep the Condenser Area Clear
Your AC condenser exists outside of your home. As such, it’s regularly exposed to everything from tree branches to grass clippings to trash and more. Over time, these entities can cause problems, especially if they make their way into the condenser.
For this reason, you must keep your condenser area clear. Trim up trees and hedges so that nothing is overhanging your condenser. In addition, make sure that there are at least 5 feet of clearance on all of the condenser’s sides.
If something falls into your condenser, it could cause mechanical and structural damage. That would cost you thousands of dollars to repair.
Clean Your Furnace
If you use a furnace, you need to clean it every year or so. If you don’t, soot and other debris will cause the furnace to back up, impairing its functionality.
There are quite a few aspects involved in cleaning a furnace.
For one, you need to clean its combustion chamber. For two, you need to inspect and clean its flue pipe. In addition, you should replace its oil filter.
Against, these things should be done every year. Waiting any longer will put undue strain on your furnace, costing you more money on energy bills.
Scrub Your Condenser Coils
Inside of your air conditioner condenser is a set of components known as condenser coils. These are vital to the air conditioner’s functionality and must remain clean to do their job.
Unfortunately, they don’t stay clean. Over time, they become overrun with miscellaneous residue. For this reason, once a year or so, you need to scrub your condenser coils.
Grab a hard thistle brush and some coil cleaner and give them a proper cleaning. This will enable them to communicate with the other components in your condenser, allowing your air conditioner to run without disturbance.
Have Your HVAC System Inspected
The last piece of advice we’re going to offer you is to have your HVAC system inspected by a professional. This is done to ensure that all of its components are still in proper working order.
See, there are many things about HVAC systems that the average homeowner isn’t going to notice. In fact, some homeowners don’t even know the HVAC meaning. So, if an HVAC system is never being looked over by a professional, it could be struggling through all sorts of problems.
Schedule an inspection appointment every year so that you can catch possible problems and avoid future catastrophes.
Make HVAC Repairing and Maintenance a Priority
Make no mistakes: HVAC repairing and maintenance should be a priority. Repairing and maintaining your HVAC system regularly allows it to function as efficiently as possible. This allows for minimal energy usage and an optimal HVAC lifespan.
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