Warming Up To Heater Maintenance: Keep Your Heater In Good Shape All Year
If you're a homeowner who's been looking forward to the return of warmer weather, you're not alone. Being able to reduce heating needs and return to more moderate energy usage is always nice, not to mention it's a lot easier on the household budget. However, that doesn't mean you can totally forget about your heater. You do need to ensure it stays in good shape, even as the need to use it diminishes. Keeping the heater ready for use at all times helps you stay healthy regardless of the temperature in your home.
Last-Minute Issues
The most obvious reason to keep your heater in good shape is to avoid costly last-minute repairs when colder weather comes back later in the year. If you think anything is starting to go wrong with your heating system now, get it checked out and resolved. If you let the heater sit for months, unused, with that potential problem lurking in the background, then when you start the heater up again in the fall, you could find the problem exacerbated by the sudden activity. Of course, if you wait that long and then find you have to get the heater repaired immediately, repair costs will most likely be higher than they would be if you took care of things when there was no urgency.
Surprise Cold Snaps
Some regions continue to experience the odd cold snap or two well into spring, so letting the heater go dormant and unfixed now will be a problem. If a sudden plunge in temperatures occurs, you'd be setting your family and yourself up for an uncomfortable time. Granted, if the problem is minor, you might not have too much of an issue if you use the heater once. But the more you use the heater when the cold snap occurs, the bigger the chance that the heater will break down when you need it.
Unwelcome Congestion
Cold air can make breathing problems worse, especially if you have chest congestion. Warm air, especially steam, can help loosen phlegm and make it easier to breathe. If you are having respiratory issues that respond better to heat, you don't want to keep your place too cold. If the weather is warm enough for air conditioning, you could simply leave the air conditioner off and let your home warm up naturally. But if the weather is still somewhat on the cool side, a boost from the heater could really help you.
Maintaining your heater during warmer months is very simple: Get any problems you know about fixed now, and get the heater inspected well before the beginning of fall. Keep vent openings free of dust -- an extension wand on a vacuum comes in handy here -- and change HVAC filters as scheduled. Those duties do not take a lot of time, so they're easy to handle. If you have further questions about how best to maintain your heating system through months when you're not really using it on a regular basis, please contact local heating contractors like Coral Home Comfort.
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