The end of summer is drawing near, so it’s time for homeowners to start thinking about fall maintenance. Investing a bit of time and energy into making sure your home is well prepared for the cooler weather can help ensure optimal home comfort, energy efficiency and safety throughout the fall and winter seasons. Key items that should be on your fall maintenance checklist include:
- Sealing air leaks – Inspecting the your home for air leaks and getting them sealed before the cool weather sets in can help make it easier for your HVAC system to keep your home comfortable and keep energy costs to a minimum. Look over your home’s foundation for cracks and apply caulk to the area where the foundation meets the siding, openings where pipes or wires enter the home, doors frames and window frames. If you use storm windows over the winter, it is time to get them installed. If you need help identifying problem areas, your HVAC contractor can do a home energy evaluation to pinpoint any areas that need attention.
- HVAC maintenance – Perhaps the most important item on any fall maintenance checklist is professional service for your HVAC system. Before the heating season begins, it is very important to have your system inspected, cleaned and maintained by a qualified HVAC technician. This seasonal service call is essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of your heating system throughout the fall and winter.
- Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors – If you have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in your home, test them and install fresh batteries if necessary before the heating season begins. If you don’t have them, you should, so ask your HVAC professional about installing them.
Other items that may require attention during fall maintenance include chimney inspection and cleaning, humidifier maintenance, and inspection of the roof for shingle damage or leaks. For more fall maintenance tips or any other home comfort questions, please feel free to contact Around the Clock Air Conditioning and Heating. We’ve been providing quality HVAC service and installation to customers in the Los Angeles area since 1967.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Los Angeles, North Hollywood and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about fall maintenance and other HVAC topics, downloadour free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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