Dean Custom Air Blog Preparing Your Home For Fall

September 23rd, 2014 marks this year's Autumnal Equinox. Along with this comes not only pumpkins and costume ideas, but a distinct chill in the air that signifies the end of a hot summer. And it is a sweet transition into the cold of winter. Here are some things to think about this Fall.Tuning Up Your Heating SystemTest it first. Before you get a technician out, it's a good idea to fire it up so that you can at least have a preliminary understanding of its operation. If anything sounds unusual, you can try a bit of troubleshooting and diagnosing before you get your technician out.With good luck, it will still be a little while before the truly cold days set in. As we transition into a mild autumn, now is the perfect time to perform some highly recommended seasonal maintenance on your heating unit.The goal here is essentially to clean and restore the many moving parts that keep you cozy throughout winter. Getting a technician out to tune up your heating system is easy and inexpensive - it certainly costs less than a season's worth of costly bills, resulting from an inefficient furnace. It also cuts down on the number of pollutants entering your home.Changing Your FiltersThe 2014 summer was one of the hottest recorded summers in history - which most likely means your AC unit, and thus your air filters, were racking up quite a bit of mileage. Replacing these is another essential aspect of cold preparation. This is something you can do yourself, easily and on the cheap.Ideally, it's recommended that you change your filters (or at least examine them) every month. You may find that certain months are harsher than others on your filter. At any rate, you'll definitely want a fresh one in your home to keep the air clean as you rev up the heating engine.Vents & FireplacesEvery year when the cold rolls back around, it seems in many places to be accompanied by that musky smell of burning dust. Of course, if you run your heater, and then air out your home for long enough, this issue fixes itself.However, you can avoid this entirely by making sure your ventilation ducts are clean from the get-go. Performing this task will also, of course, aid in the efficiency of your heating system.And finally, what is a cold winter without a cozy fire? For those of you with the luxury of a fireplace, take an evening to make sure your flue is operating properly.Our goal is to educate citizens of the Lowcountry on how their heating and cooling units operate, and ultimately how they can stay the most comfortable for the least coin. We specialize in tuning heating systems to their maximum operation. To find out more about how Dean helps to keep warm, please call or contact us today.