Making a concerted effort to get your Spokane, WA home winter-ready can save you money on your home heating costs. It can also limit the risk of heating emergencies and improve your indoor air quality (IAQ). With the comfort and safety of your family at stake, here are the six HVAC maintenance tasks to complete right now.
1. Check and Change Your Furnace Filter
Starting the heating season with a dirty furnace filter will leave you with excess indoor humidity, rank, musty odors, and higher-than-average home energy bills. It could also cause your furnace to short cycle, overheat, or underperform.
Take your furnace filter out and hold it up to the overhead light. If light can pass through it, air can too. If it cannot, put a new one in and check for the correct filter orientation and sizing.
2. Clean Your HVAC Air Vents
You could have the same lint-like build-up that forms on your air filters on your air registers, vents, and grilles. Use a damp cloth to clean these features. If necessary, use your vacuum cleaner’s hose attachment to remove any accumulation first.
3. Schedule Furnace Tune-up Service
All furnaces require tune-up service at least once annually. Scheduling preventative furnace maintenance in the fall will stave off the need for mid-winter repairs and ensure furnace safety. It will also keep you compliant with the terms of your furnace manufacturer’s warranty.
4. Test Your Carbon Monoxide Alarms
If you have a fuel-combustion heater in your home, make sure that your carbon monoxide alarms are in good working order. Have these devices tested during your annual furnace tune-up and replace their batteries as needed.
5. Seal Up Air Leaks
Use caulk and weatherstripping to seal up leaks around your windows and doors. This will limit the amount of work that your furnace has to do and keep your heating bills in check.
6. Make Essential Efficiency Upgrades
Fall is a great time to beef up the insulation in your home. You can add more insulation and choose insulating materials with higher R-values. If you haven’t updated your windows in a while, doing so now will both cut your heating loss and minimize the risk of mid-winter window leaks.
Since 1955, residents of Spokane, WA have turned to us for superior furnace, boiler, and air conditioner service. We also provide water heaters, humidifiers, and advanced IAQ solutions. If you’re ready to prime your HVAC system for the coming cold season, contact NORCO Heating & Air Conditioning to get started.
