Checking Your HVAC System: What To Look Out For

When it comes to home maintenance tasks, you will typically have a lot on your plate, especially if you have a large property. You’ll need to check your roof, clear up your garden, unclog your drains and check your HVAC system. Your HVAC system is a very important part of your home and if you don’t spend time checking it regularly, you could find that it doesn’t perform as well as you might have hoped.

To help you keep your HVAC system in top condition, we have put together a guide of everything you should be looking out for when you check it.

Check For Leaks

The last thing you want is to find a leak in your HVAC system, as this could indicate a more serious problem. This is why you need to make sure that you are spending a reasonable amount of time checking your ductwork in order to locate any tears that might have occurred. It might take a while to go the whole way through your ductwork, but it will be worth it in the end. If you do find any tears, you will want to get in touch with a specialist who can come and repair the system. Allocate some time each month to check this, and you’ll thank yourself in the long run.

Changing The Air Filters

The HVAC filter that you have in place is what is going to keep the air clean – if you don’t change it regularly, you could find that your air quality drops. Most experts recommend that you check your air filters around every 6 months or so, but depending on your situation, you might need to change them more often. It is always useful to have a supply of air filters on hand to make changing them easier. For this reason, we recommend buying some quality filters, such as these MERV 11 air filtersMERV 13 air filters, in bulk and keeping these safe until you need to change yours. When buying filters, make sure that you choose a high-quality option that is compatible with your brand of unit

Listen for Unusual Sounds

If you have a high-quality HVAC system that is performing well, you should find that there is minimal noise coming from it. Over the years, you’ll learn to recognize the noise that your system makes and will be able to easily identify if there are any unusual noises. When checking your system, listen to it and note any issues with the sound. You might hear some banging or clanking and this can indicate that it needs to be looked at further. Don’t ignore any unusual sounds as these could indicate that there is a serious issue.

Strange Smells

In the same way that you will get used to the sound that your HVAC system makes, you will start to recognize the smell that it has. When you check your HVAC system, you should spend some time smelling various parts of it to see if there have been any changes. Often, your HVAC system will have a slight odor when it first gets turned on, as it will need to warm up, but this should go away relatively quickly. If the smell is still there and it has been running for a while, you might need to get it looked at by an expert.

Inspect Your Outdoor Unit If Your Have One

If you have an outdoor HVAC unit, you will want to make sure that you are looking out for any issues in the base pan or on the fan blades. You should spend some time inspecting the base pan to see if you can find any blocked drains. You will also want to check for any general wear and tear as this can worsen over time and result in you needing to replace your unit. If you can find some time to inspect this properly, you’ll be able to identify any issues quickly. An HVAC system doesn’t come cheap so you won’t want to neglect this.

Use This Guide

If you don’t typically spend a lot of time checking your HVAC system, this is something that you should consider doing sooner rather than later. If you can find the time to look at some of the things that we have discussed in this article, then you can identify any issues and get them solved by a professional if this is required. We would always recommend that you have a large supply of air filters so that you never need to wait around for them to arrive. Look out for everything that we have covered and this should prolong the life of your system.