You know, as a homeowner that maintenance is essential. Whether it’s making sure to keep your home clean and tidy to prevent it from looking cruddy and disheveled, to pulling weeds from your front and back yards. Some people aren’t real crazy about doing that kind of maintenance, but it comes with the territory of homeownership.
I’m going to take a guess that you probably haven’t considered the maintenance on your heating and cooling units, or even on your water heater. These are a few of the larger items that need regular care and maintenance, and there are even some smaller items that will need your attention too.
Preventative HVAC Maintenance
Generally, for the heating and cooling units, they should have preventive maintenance performed once a year when each one is being turned on. In the spring or summer, you’ll want to check your cooling units to see if there’s anything that needs attention to keep you from sweating buckets when the temperatures are climbing. For evaporative coolers (aka swamp coolers), you’ll want to check everything, such as the belt, the pump, the copper tubing, the scale eliminator, the bearings, the motor…you get where I’m going with this.
For air conditioners, checking the filters is a start in the right direction. If you live in an area that sees a lot of cottonwood fuzz in the spring, then your AC may have been plugged up with that fuzz. Even if your AC is putting out cool air, you’ll want to check and make sure the filter is clean. If you had a new AC installed, or are planning to, ask the technician what you can do to help care for your unit between seasonal visits in the spring and fall. Afterall, ACs are an investment for your home.
Your heating units will require maintenance as well. Whether it’s checking the filter on your furnace, or the general condition of your boiler. Possibly the most essential aspect of having the maintenance done on your heating unit is a carbon monoxide test to ensure the safety of yourself and your loved ones.
Water Heater Maintenance
What kind of maintenance could a water heater require? Believe it or not, it’s recommended to flush your water heater, whether it’s tanked or tankless, once a year. This will help to flush out water that might have been sitting for a while, and to better gauge whether or not anything needs to be replaced, such as the anode rod in tanked water heaters.
The maintenance of tankless water heaters is slightly different. These require a different type of flush, and a certified technician will need to help you with this. That kind of flush may come with a higher price tag, but you’ll be happier once it’s done. One more thing scratched off your to-do list, right?
Appropriately Taking Care Of Your Drains
Let’s talk about your drains. By now, you should be aware that not everything should be going down your disposal. It’s meant to break up your food, nothing else. Also, if you’re pouring hot grease, or any grease, down your kitchen drain, stop that immediately! The smell of having to unclog your kitchen drain from the grease after it’s hardened is enough to make you stop.
How To Maintain Your Toilet
How about the porcelain throne? If you’re flushing anything down your toilet other than toilet paper and human waste (you know what I’m talking about), then you need to knock that off right away. Toddlers are notorious for flushing toys and other items down the toilet because it’s fun to watch it go away. But it’s not fun to retrieve it, whether you do it or choose to have a professional come in and fish it out.
We can also thank COVID-19 for the famous toilet paper hunt of 2020. Remember how many people were buying it like it was going out of style, and others were having to resort to using paper towels or other items until they could find some Charmin? Well, sending anything other than toilet paper down your toilet is actually detrimental to your system. This can cause a back-up, and then nothing can make its way to the sewer system.
Contact Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling For Help!
Whatever your home needs for maintenance, the skillful technicians with Albuquerque Plumbing Heating & Cooling are ready to help you in maintaining a healthy and happy home. Just contact us and schedule whatever service or services you need! How amazing is that?