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Common Homeowner Mistakes To Avoid
For home repair and maintenance, what can seem easy, logical or uncomplicated, can sometimes be just the opposite. When it comes to your HVAC system, take note of these common mistakes. You’ll likely avoid more costly fixes in the future.
Mistakes To Avoid
“If I buy a bigger unit, my home will be easier to keep comfortable.”
This is probably one of the most common mistakes homeowners make. Choosing to purchase a unit from your local home improvement store, or insisting on a larger unit (assuming bigger must be better) can result in wasting a significant amount of energy, and that can cost dearly over the long term.
“How hard can it be? I’ll just follow the instructions.”
If you don’t have any experience at installing a furnace or air conditioner, it’s best to rely on the experience of an expert. Certified HVAC technicians understand how to properly calibrate and balance each element of the unit so it works safely and efficiently.
“Bob said the guy down the street did his for half that price.”
While it can pay off to shop around for the best price on other areas of home service repair, when it comes to fixing your HVAC, it’s best to go with a company you can trust. If the job isn’t done correctly the first time, you end up spending more to fix the mistakes of the cheaper company.
“Why would I pay someone to maintain something I can do myself?”
Neglecting to maintain your system can lead to costly repairs and inefficient performance. Regular maintenance, done by a professional, will prolong the life of your system and help it remain reliable when you need it most.
“Eh, let’s just pay to have it fixed. Hopefully it will last the rest of the season.”
To save money, many homeowners will choose to repair their heating or cooling unit when it should be replaced. In the long run, this short-term savings can end up costing you more with additional repairs and more frequent service. If you factor today’s more energy efficient units into the equation, the decision becomes even clearer. A new, energy efficient unit will equal greater savings both now and in the long term.
“Clean my air ducts? What difference could that make?”
Enlisting a professionally trained person to clean your air ducts helps to assure good air quality inside your home. If not sealed or cleaned properly, your air ducts can contribute to an unhealthy environment, especially for persons with allergies or asthma.
“I’ll just point the vent to the crawlspace. There’s no reason to cut another hole in the wall.”
Not exhausting bathroom, kitchen or dryer vents to the outside of your home can lead to serious moisture problems that contribute to mold and mildew. Your dryer vents should be exhausted outside. Dryer vents exhausted to inside spaces like the attic or crawl space can also contribute to lint build-up, which can be a very dangerous fire hazard.
“I wonder what is causing that odor. Thank goodness I have these candles and sprays.”
If you have an odor inside your home that won’t disappear, don’t try to hide with air fresheners and sprays. If you notice unusual odors, or the air seems stuffy and stale, it could be your air quality. Installing an air purifier can help your HVAC system deliver fresher, cleaner air.
“We didn’t run our furnace too much, it’s probably fine to leave the filter and use it again next year.”
It is important to change your system’s air filter often – every month for standard filters, and every three months for the HEPA variety. Clean air filters not only help keep your indoor air quality at a healthy level, they help your air conditioner and furnace run smoothly.
“I just can’t get comfortable. Time to turn up the thermostat again.”
you find you are adjusting the thermostat to make up for one room or area of your home always being too hot or too cold, you are likely wasting a great deal of money. Zoning your home might be a better solution, so you’re only controlling the comfort in the areas that matter to you most.
While it’s great to take on regular maintenance and repairs by fixing things yourself when you can, it can sometimes become more costly and complicated if not done correctly.
Do you have a need for repair? Do you have questions about your home HVAC system? Contact the pros at Metro Mechanical, Inc. or schedule a repair online today.