Home Winter Preparation: 4 Preventive HVAC Maintenance Steps

Even with the few almost-twenty-degree days still hanging around, it’s impossible to pretend otherwise: winter is on its way.

It’s early November. The leaves in your yard are raked, your home’s gutters are cleared, you drained your exterior water hose, got that loose shingle on the roof taken care of and you already bought the good, pet-friendly salt from the hardware store—yes, this year, you thought to stock up before the first big storm! Looking at it from the outside, you’re more than ready for the harsh Canadian weather.

But what about the inside of your home? We are all spending more time inside our homes now that the second wave of COVID is upon us. The arrival of colder months will only add to the list of reasons to stay in and be where you and the whole family feel safe and comfortable.

Don’t leave it to chance. Because your HVAC system is about to work overtime to keep you and your family comfortable this winter, there are a few things you can do to ensure everything runs smoothly.

1. Change the furnace filters.

Although these also help keep your home’s air quality top-notch, the filter’s main purpose is to protect the blower fan (part of the furnace) from dirt or dust that could cause problems if they got in. If the filter doesn’t get changed, it can get clogged with debris that eventually keeps air from passing through at all, causing the furnace to overheat and lower its energy efficiency.

That situation might not sound ideal, but thankfully it’s as easy to prevent as making sure you change your furnace filters whenever needed. For furnaces that use disposable 1-inch filters, we recommend changing them every 2-3 months. If yours needs 4 or 5-inch pleated filters, once or twice a year will do the trick.

If you aren't sure what filter your furnace needs, give us a call. We are always happy to help!

2. Get your humidifier ready.

Since our winters run so dry, turning on the humidifier helps add moisture back in the air––goodbye dry skin! To make sure your central humidifier is ready to go, you first have to open the dampers by setting the by-pass to the “winter” or “on” position.

The humidifier pad, also known as the water panel, should also be changed. Since this is where the air that gets circulated through your home picks up moisture, you’ll want to make sure you change it every year. By doing this, you'll avoid particle build-up on the humidifier pad due to minerals found in water and help with efficiency.

Once all of that is done, don’t forget to set the humidistat. For optimal comfort, we suggest setting it between 35-40%. Humidity, stat!

3. Open up the registers.

When you turn on your furnace, you should open the registers in the basement and throughout the rest of the home. You might have closed some of them for the summer, so take the time to do a walk through all over the house to make sure your registers and vents are open. During the colder winter days, you’ll definitely be glad you did this. Warm air travels through the house more effectively when these are open. No cold feet for you!

4. Be prepared.

When winter finally decides to unpack its bags and unleash its white flurry on us, we won’t want to be worrying about any HVAC issues or the furnace not working properly. Avoid a stressful situation: do the preventive maintenance your house needs now to keep you comfortable this winter.

But life gets busy, so don’t think twice about asking for help.

Whether to help you prepare your house for the winter by doing the things on this list or to go the extra mile by ensuring your furnace is running safely, AtlasCare is here for you.

We’re only a phone call away. Get in touch with AtlasCare by calling (647) 692-2978 or booking your service online today.