Recently I came across an article advice to prepare your house for winter.
Most of the items were do-it-yourselfers and wouldn’t cost a thing.
At the top of the list was to clean out gutters and downspouts. If these get clogged, it could cause leaks in the roof and/or ice dams. Next was an important safety tip – checking smoke alarms and replacing the batteries. All exterior pipes and hoses should be drained to prevent pipes from freezing. And before snow and ice arrive, branches near the house should be pruned back to prevent ice or snow from damaging the siding. Finally, there was a lengthy discussion about preparing your furnace / boiler for the winter. HVAC professionals often advise homeowners to turn on their heating systems before they actually need them, as many breakdowns occur during the first startup. Scheduling preventive maintenance was highly recommended to identify potential issues before they turn into costly problems. And if you heat your home with a furnace, hiring a professional to clean the ductwork properly is the best health-related measure you can take. After reading the article, I decided to call my HVAC contractor to schedule an appointment and to discuss the items in the article. Once he arrived, he changed the filter on my furnace and cleaned the ductwork. Next, he changed the battery on the thermostat and turned the furnace on. It started fine, but he double-checked the ignition components and assured me that they were in good working order. His service call to ensure that our HVAC system was ready for the winter set my mind at ease – all for a very reasonable fee.