Prepare Your OK Home for Cooler Weather With These Fall Home Maintenance Tips

With the days rapidly growing cooler and shorter in Broken Arrow, now is the perfect time to get some work done around the house while it is still warm enough to let the fresh air in. The following fall home maintenance tips can help you get a good start on this year's preparations before the bitter cold of winter sets in:

Fall Home Maintenance Tips

• Have the heating system checked: The fall is the perfect time to have your heating system inspected and maintained by a certified HVAC technician, which will help keep the system running efficiently throughout the winter and allow the technician to find and prevent serious problems before they happen. Regular maintenance helps extend the life of your HVAC system and reduce your heating bills.

• Replace the air filter: Check the heating system's air filter in the fall and winter once a month, and replace it when necessary. This will help keep your system running efficiently and prevent excess wear and tear.

• Seal air leaks: Use weather stripping around doors and windows to prevent drafts, and use caulk or sprayed-foam insulation to fill gaps around pipes, electric wires, exhaust vents and other openings in the exterior walls. Make sure that your ceilings, walls, floors and attic have the proper amount of insulation, and that it is properly installed and in good condition.

• Get rid of dust: Use a vacuum to eliminate as much dust as possible while you can still keep the windows open. Pay special attention to the heating registers, cold air returns, filter housings, fans, stove hoods and exhaust vents. If you have any tasks that generate heavy chemical fumes, such as painting, oven cleaning or carpet cleaning, do them now before it is too cold to open the windows.

• Replace batteries: Replace the batteries in your thermostat, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and verify that they are working correctly.

For other convenient fall home maintenance tips, talk to our home heating experts at Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing today. We serve Broken Arrow, the Tulsa metropolitan area and the surrounding communities.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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Five Steps To Maintain Ducts And Keep Them Contaminant-Free

While duct cleaning is the most thorough way to remedy contaminated ductwork, you can perform simple duct maintenance to minimize contamination and help ensure that the air you breathe is as clean as possible. Here are the top five ways to maintain your air ducts and prevent dirt from entering the system.

1. Give the filters some attention. Never go without filters, and ensure that no gaps exist to allow unfiltered air to enter your system. Your heating and cooling systems most likely have a filter efficiency recommendation that you should heed. Change your air conditioning filter regularly throughout the seasons . If your filters become clogged faster due to pets or smoking, change the filters more regularly.

2. Have your heating and cooling systems maintained by a professional. As an added duct maintenance effort, ask the service provider to clean the cooling coils and drain pans.

3. Seal off ductwork during renovation projects. Construction within the walls of your home produces a great deal of dust, so it’s important to seal off the ductwork in the areas that the construction is taking place. Also refrain from operating your HVAC system until all the dust has been cleaned up.

4. Dust and vacuum your home regularly. Vacuum first with a cleaner featuring a HEPA filter. A little while later, after the dust has settled from the activity, clean the horizontal surfaces in your home to help remove dust that could later be sucked into your ductwork.

5. Run your humidifier as recommended by the manufacturer. Whole-home humidification is useful for maintaining a comfortable interior during the dry winter, but it should be operated correctly for proper duct maintenance.

These five tips are important for maintaining a contaminant-free duct system and keeping the air you breathe in your home as clean as possible. For more duct maintenance tips, please contact Air Assurancetoday.Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). Air Assurance services Tulsa, Broken Arrow and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our current promotions and get started today!