We’re not out winter yet, although spring is starting to peek up over the edge of the calendar. Soon it’ll be time to schedule your routine air conditioning maintenance to prepare the system for the higher temperatures of the summer.
Speaking of maintenance… there are a few tasks you still need to attend to in order to get your heater through the rest of the late winter and early spring cold. We don’t mean professional maintenance—that’s something you took care of during the fall (at least, we hope you did). We mean taking care to change the air filter on the furnace or heat pump that keeps your house warm. This filter prevents dust and debris that come through the return air ducts from getting inside the cabinet and causing damage to the internal components. The build-up of particles in the filter will eventually create clogging that can cause problems for the heater.
The filter must be changed (or cleaned) once a month
It only takes a month of operation during the winter for the heater’s filter to become congested with debris. Changing it will prevent a restriction of airflow that can create issues such as a furnace overheating and shutting down, extra strain on the air handler that will lead to increased utility bills, and contaminants getting through into the inside of the heating cabinet. Replace the filter with a fresh one once a month (or clean the filter if it’s a permanent one). To help remind yourself to take care of this, make changing the filter part of another monthly routine, such as paying a particular bill.
Even if the filter doesn’t appear to have debris trapped in it, you still need to change it each month: there are many tiny allergens that can become trapped in the fibers of the filter that are hard to see but will start to affect your indoor air quality.
If you need help with your heating at the end of winter, call up the professionals at Red Rock Mechanical LLC. We serve the Plattsburgh, NY area and Northwest Vermont.
