Summer HVAC Prep: When to DIY and When to Hire a Pro

Are you one of those homeowners who takes pride in being able to do repairs around the house all by yourself?

A lot of us enjoy doing home maintenance on our own. Having the ability to identify and repair problems without relying on anyone else means saving money and time, plus you get the added benefit of developing a greater understanding of the systems that make your house a comfortable place to live.

And when it comes to comfort, it’s not a stretch to say that your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are the most important components to have in good working order.

With summer right around the corner—as you know, we’re already seeing some 80 degree days here in Windsor, Colorado—getting your HVAC up to snuff is especially important.

As any good DIY’er should ask, which HVAC repairs can you reliably and safely do yourself, and which ones do you really need to hire a professional for? So that you can make smarter decisions, that’s exactly the topic we’d like to explore in today’s post.

Let’s begin by taking a look at some of the things you can do yourself:

HVAC Maintenance in Colorado You Can Do Yourself

HVAC in Loveland, Fort Collins, and the whole Northern Colorado area really get put to the test with our cold winters and often surprisingly warm summers. Knowing how to perform a few basic tasks on your own should be very helpful to any homeowner.

Perhaps the biggest maintenance task you can do on your own is to clean or replace your air filters regularly. Make a note on your calendar to check it about once every 30 days or so; keeping it clean will not only improve the air quality in your home, most homeowners will also enjoy up to 15% in energy savings.

After this winter, it might not seem like you’ll have much use for your air conditioner in Greeley, Colorado, but trust us, the heat is right around the corner. Go ahead and take a look at the condensate drain channels about once a month as well.

At the very least it’s important to do this at the beginning of summer, because after a wet winter clogs are much more likely. Melting snow can carry debris into the drains, which will reduce the efficiency of your A/C. Run a stiff wire through the drain channel to get any blockages moving.

Finally, you may also wish to calibrate your thermostat once per year or so. This is an easy one—grab a cheap thermometer (you can get them for as little as $5 at most department stores), place it in a central location of your home for 10-15 minutes, and see if it matches up with your thermostat. If not, calibrate or reset your thermostat according to its written instructions.

HVAC Repairs & Maintenance That Require a Colorado Professional

As HVAC professionals, we have the ability to detect and troubleshoot the more advanced problems you may not be able to catch on your own. We don’t just bring experience to the table either—we’ve also invested in specialized diagnostic tools. That’s why you should always hire a professional to perform an affordable annual inspection on your HVAC system.

Another maintenance and/or repair task that you shouldn’t try to do on your own is anything concerning the electrical components of your HVAC system. If you don’t know what you’re doing, this can obviously be quite dangerous. Only a trained professional should ever clean, tighten, or replace electrical connections anywhere in the HVAC system.

You also shouldn’t attempt to DIY any pressurized system, e.g., hot water heaters, gas furnaces, and so on. This is another scenario that can be very dangerous for the inexperienced; at best you may damage your equipment, at worst you could risk your life.

Being able to repair and maintain components of your home on your own is great, but remember that it’s OK to throw in the towel when you don’t know what you’re doing—plenty of would-be DIY’ers have ended up causing permanent damage to their HVAC systems, thus increasing their costs exponentially. Knowing when to DIY and when to call a professional is all part of being a responsible homeowner.

And if you’re going to hire a professional…

When You Can’t DIY, Choose Best Buy Heating and Air Conditioning

Spearheaded by local Windsor resident and 40-year HVAC expert Mike Deshazo, the team at Best Buy Heating and Air is dedicated to your total satisfaction. We’ve earned our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau thanks to our core values of integrity and honesty.

Feel free to send us an email with your questions or comments, request a service, or give us a call at (970) 218-0414 at your earliest convenience.