HVAC maintenance is something that most homeowners leave to professionals. The majority of maintenance jobs do need to be handled by professionals who are licensed contractors. This is particularly true when it comes to major repairs, installations, and anything to do with the electrical or gas components within the system. You can contact companies like Pell City Heating & Cooling Inc for more information on major HVAC repairs. But between your regular professional services, you should definitely try to do your best to take on a few of the simpler maintenance jobs. This article focuses on DIY maintenance jobs that are perfect projects to handle between professional services.

Replace the Furnace Filter

One of the easiest but most essential DIY jobs is to replace your furnace filter. The furnace filter needs replacing about twice a year. It really depends on how often you run your furnace and air conditioning, how large your home is, and the specific filter that you install. Many filters will only have a three month lifespan. Most people only have professionals service their system once or twice a year. Of course, you can have professionals replace your filters during their servicing, but you also need to do it yourself between visits. To make the job easier, you should simply buy your filters in bulk. If you have three or four filters on hand, it'll be easier to quickly change them. The actual process is simple: you just pull the old filter out and put the new filter in. However, you should look inside your empty filter compartment and vacuum it out if it looks dusty.

Clean the Heat Exchanger

Cleaning the inside of your furnace cabinet is another easy job. Many people are a little intimidated to work inside their furnace cabinet, but there are some simple cleaning jobs that can be done that don't require adjusting with any of the electrical components. For instance, you can access the heat exchanger and clean the outside of the pipes very easily. This is a system of metal pipes that bend back and forth. If the outside of these pipes is dusty, it might slow down the transfer of heat. It will force the exchanger to use more electricity to push heat through the pipes.

Clean the Furnace Fan

You can also clean out your furnace fan, but you probably want to be extra careful in doing this, as you don't want the fan to turn on while you are working on it. Just having your thermostat set to the off opposition isn't necessarily a failsafe; you will also need to shut off the power to the furnace.

Over the years, doing some basic HVAC maintenance can ultimately save you some cash.