Fall Maintenance Tasks to Prepare Your HVAC for Winter

With colorful leaves, pumpkin spice and mild weather, fall is an exciting season and welcome time of year. It's also the perfect time to prepare your HVAC system for winter weather.

Performing key maintenance tasks may prove to be more difficult in cold weather, and you don't want to end up with a breakdown in the middle of winter. Here are some fall maintenance and preparation tasks you should do.

It can be easy to forget to do any maintenance to your condensing unit during summer months, as you're enjoying time with family and friends and making the most out of summer. Fall is the perfect time to perform these cleaning tasks:

Remove landscaping that has grown too close to the unit. This includes grass, flowers, bushes and weeds.

There should be at least one foot between any landscaping and the unit itself.

Spray down the exterior of the unit with a garden hose to remove debris such as grass clippings, cottonwood, dust and dirt. Do not use a pressure washer, as you can bend the fins.

Shut off the power and open up the lid on the unit. Clean out any debris that may have fallen inside.

Spray down the unit inside and out to help remove any more debris on the fins or coils. Be sure to not spray the unit's motor directly.

Inspect the fins of the unit for damage and bend them back into place with a butter knife or a fin tool.

Cover the unit with a tarp during the fall and winter months to prevent leaves and other debris from getting inside.

These cleaning and maintenance tasks do not take too long to perform and can be done by any homeowner.

The vents inside your home can accumulate all kinds of debris during any time of year. Clean these vents to remove dust, pet hair and other debris. You can remove the vent covers and soak them in a mild detergent and water. Wipe them with a sponge, cloth or soft-bristle scrub brush to prevent scratching them.

While you have the vent covers off, use your vacuum cleaner to get inside the vents themselves and remove as much dust and debris as possible. This helps prevent any debris from getting blown into the air, and it can improve your air quality.

Be sure to change your air filter every other month or every month if anyone in your home has breathing problems or is sensitive to pollutants. Replace your air filter with one that is of the same size as the original filter.

Prior to the winter season, it's important to have your furnace inspected by a professional HVAC technician. A professional technician has the know-how and tools to perform an inspection, clean your system and make any necessary repairs prior to the winter season.

A tune-up and inspection can help prevent unnecessary breakdowns during the winter season that could leave you and your family in the cold. Also, scheduling a professional tune-up in the fall means that you can schedule an appointment easier than when the busy season begins.

Fall is a great time to perform maintenance tasks to your condensing unit to prep it for the long winter, and it's also a great time to prepare your furnace before the cold weather hits. You want to be sure everything is in working order before you're stuck in the cold. Contact Haskins Heating & Cooling to schedule an appointment for an experienced HVAC technician to tune up and inspect your system.