If you’re a homeowner, you know that the passage of the seasons is going to make different demands on your home throughout the year. Winter may or may not bring snow, but it will mean cooler temperatures and more precipitation of some kind.
That’s why as summer draws to a close and the kids get ready for another year of school, you should also be looking at your home, and start thinking about the end of the season. There are going to be things you should consider for the arrival of fall, and eventually winter, and many of these preparations are things you can do yourself.
Outdoor Maintenance
One of the biggest changes that are going to come with the arrival of fall is the lowering of the temperature and an increase in rain, which may eventually lead to snow. This is also going to be the season when the leaves will start dropping from your trees if you have any on your property, which can have a big effect on outdoor fixtures.
If you have central air conditioning, this likely means you have a condenser unit situated somewhere outside your home. Once you know you’re not going to be using it anymore, think about taking steps to protect it from leaves.
Please note, this does not mean you should buy a cover to put on top of your condenser for the fall, winter and spring seasons. Completely covering a condenser in such a manner could hurt your condenser and even make it more appealing to rodents looking for a new home.
Instead, if you want to save yourself a little time, think about putting some temporary cover only on the top of your condenser to prevent leaves from falling in. Don’t worry about keeping moisture out, or protecting your condenser against the elements. It’s built to withstand them, and it needs good airflow. Just concentrate on keeping leaves out.
Indoor Maintenance
For the inside of your home, it’s also important to make some preparations for the changes in the season. People with a furnace that uses central air conditioning have been exposing the filter in their furnace to an entire season of use.
You should think about changing it now as the season transitions. If you want to ensure optimum furnace and air conditioning efficiency, you can even switch out to a new filter as often as once a month.
If you own a humidifier, you may also want to replace the filter now, or even clean it out parts of your humidifier to get rid of scale, rust, and hard water deposits. This will ensure that you avoid the dry, itchy winter air.
Get the Professionals
For some of the other parts of your home, such as the ventilation ducts, or more in-depth inspection of the overall condition of your HVAC system, think about hiring professionals.
They can quickly look at the more technical aspects of your system, such as the furnace itself, and efficiently do some cleaning on harder to reach areas, such as the ducts for routine maintenance.
Just make sure that if you go the professional route, you do a careful search of the Seattle, WA and only get experienced companies like Gene Johnson Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Electrical. That way you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing this only has to be done once for the year because it’s being done the right way.
