We see a lot of requests for heating repair in Tampa—more than you may think. In Tampa, we don’t use our heaters all too often, but when we feel the need to turn the dial higher and kick the heater on, we want to know it’ll be there for us.
Having constant heater repair requests gets in the way of that surety, and we don’t want that for you. Instead of calling your heater repairman once per year, like clockwork, let’s tell you how a lot of these problems start so you can be proactive and stop them before they surface as real problems.
Upkeep Annual Maintenance at All Costs
Annual maintenance sounds like a chore because when that appointment finally comes around, you reason with yourself that since the heater is still working, the maintenance is unnecessary. This could be due to the inconvenience of the appointment or budgeting constraints, but make no mistake: this is a priority.
What happens during a maintenance appointment isn’t just a tune-up, although those are important. This is when your technician lubricates working metal parts, circuitry, safety controls, the heat exchanger (if you have a combustion-based furnace), and more.
But this also serves as a point of inspection. This lets trained technicians look for upcoming issues based on material and component degradation that’s happened since the last visit. Once they find these flaws in your system, they can recommend switching out old components with new ones to prevent a breakdown on the horizon.
Change Your Air Filters Every 30–90 Days
One of the biggest things that you can personally do for your heater is switch out your air filter. While common practice is to switch it out with a new filter every 30–90 days, and it does depend on use, you should opt for the former. Clean air is essential to your heater functioning properly.
To know how often you should switch it out, go and look at your heater filter right now. If it’s dirty, switch it out and set a 30-day reminder. Look at it then, and see just how much dust it’s captured. Base your air filter replacement period off of this, but be sure to set reminders so you don’t forget.
Don’t Clutter Anywhere Near Vents or Air Intake Areas
Simply put, having too many items around your heater can interfere with its ability to pull in air. If you usually store decorations or seasonal items in boxes near your heater, as many do, it’s continuously obstructing how much air your heater pulls in, which strains the system and can even make it take longer for each heating cycle it goes through. This can lead to money being wasted on your utility bills each month depending on how cluttered it is, or bigger repairs down the line due to unnecessary strain on the system.
Keep Maintenance on the Menu
Your annual maintenance appointment should be a top priority, so when it comes around, you aren’t tempted to call it off in the name of saving a few bucks in the present, because it will lead to more costly repairs in the not-so-distant future.
Contact us today to schedule your heating repairs and annual maintenance as soon as possible.