Heater Maintenance Checklist

Getting your heater ready

Winter is knocking on the door, literally. Are you ready with pipes are wrapped, canned goods stocked up, and heater maintenance completed? If you’re asking yourself right now, “What is heater maintenance?”, then you’ve come to the right place! Cause that is what we’re going to talk about here today – heater maintenance – something that every homeowner should know about and follow through to completion. 

Heater maintenance is a preventive process that includes a professional cleaning, inspection, and tune-up of your heater system. It saves you from having to make that phone call in the middle of an ice-cold winter night and pay a higher rate for after hour service calls. 

Do professional heater and furnace maintenance service plans cost? Yes, but not near what an after-hours service call would! So, why get a heater maintenance agreement if it is going to cost? There are benefits to having a heater maintenance agreement that includes regular cleaning, inspection, and tune-ups: 

  • Money Saver: Heater maintenance agreement will keep your heat system running efficiently which will save you money on the monthly energy bills. Over a year’s time, that monthly savings will cover the cost of the heater maintenance agreement.

  • Warranty Maintained: A heat system warranty will typical state that regular maintenance, including cleaning and tune up, is required for the warranty to be honored. With a heater maintenance agreement, if anything breaks on the heater system, either the maintenance agreement will cover it, or your warranty will be honored by the manufacturer.

  • Minimize Unexpected Breakdowns: A heater maintenance agreement will catch minor issues before they become bigger problems and leave you in the cold one night. Regular heater maintenance means less chance of system failures or need to call for emergency service at an afterhours rate.

  • Extended Service Life: A heater system that is well-maintained with a heater maintenance service plan will give you a longer lifespan from your heater.

What is maintenance checklist?

A maintenance check list for heater maintenance appointment is an itemized list of tasks that the heater maintenance company and the furnace or heater manufacturer have created. This checklist is the important things that these experts know needs to be addressed each winter, and throughout the year to keep the furnace or heater in prime, safe operating condition. 

 What does furnace maintenance include?

You don’t want to wait much longer to establish a heater maintenance appointment – better now than after that first Northern hits, any day now!  Heater maintenance schedules are filling up for furnace and HVAC companies across the country, not just here in Maryland. 

What is included in furnace or heater maintenance visit? Every company is different, but we have a general furnace and Heater maintenance checklist that will give you a general idea what is included. 

  • Heat anticipator settings are checked

  • The blower, burners, and limits are tested

  • Burners are pulled, cleaned, and inspected

  • Hot surface igniter is tested

  • Pilot assembly, pilot orifice, and sensor are cleaned

  • Thermocouple checked and replaced if needed

  • Combustion chamber vacuumed

  • Heat exchangers are inspected

  • Combustion motor checked

  • Filter cleaned or changed

  • Blower motor and blower wheel checked, and excessive dust build up cleaned

  • Applicable parts lubed

  • Gas pressure, pressure switch checked

  • Flame signal checked

  • Thermostat tested for 15 minutes minimum

  • Condensate piping and pump checked and cleaned

  • Exterior wiped down

How long does furnace maintenance take? 

Depending on the make, model, and location of the unit, a furnace heater maintenance appointment for cleaning, inspection, and tune-up can take between one and two hours. It isn’t necessary to plan an entire day around your heater maintenance appointment, but what time it does require for you to be home will be worthwhile when winter arrives full force and your heater is working! 

How often should you do furnace maintenance?

A gas furnace or heater maintenance should be scheduled once a year minimum, twice a year after the fifth anniversary of your furnace or heater being installed. During the fall and again late spring, especially if you have a combined HVAC system with air conditioning and heating. Getting your heater ready

Winter is knocking on the door, literally. Are you ready with pipes are wrapped, canned goods stocked up, and heater maintenance completed? If you’re asking yourself right now, “What is heater maintenance?”, then you’ve come to the right place! Cause that is what we’re going to talk about here today – heater maintenance – something that every homeowner should know about and follow through to completion. 

Heater maintenance is a preventive process that includes a professional cleaning, inspection, and tune-up of your heater system. It saves you from having to make that phone call in the middle of an ice-cold winter night and pay a higher rate for after hour service calls. 

Do professional heater and furnace maintenance service plans cost? Yes, but not near what an after-hours service call would! So, why get a heater maintenance agreement if it is going to cost? There are benefits to having a heater maintenance agreement that includes regular cleaning, inspection, and tune-ups: 

  • Money Saver: Heater maintenance agreement will keep your heat system running efficiently which will save you money on the monthly energy bills. Over a year’s time, that monthly savings will cover the cost of the heater maintenance agreement.

  • Warranty Maintained: A heat system warranty will typical state that regular maintenance, including cleaning and tune up, is required for the warranty to be honored. With a heater maintenance agreement, if anything breaks on the heater system, either the maintenance agreement will cover it, or your warranty will be honored by the manufacturer.

  • Minimize Unexpected Breakdowns: A heater maintenance agreement will catch minor issues before they become bigger problems and leave you in the cold one night. Regular heater maintenance means less chance of system failures or need to call for emergency service at an afterhours rate.

  • Extended Service Life: A heater system that is well-maintained with a heater maintenance service plan will give you a longer lifespan from your heater.

What is maintenance checklist?

A maintenance check list for heater maintenance appointment is an itemized list of tasks that the heater maintenance company and the furnace or heater manufacturer have created. This checklist is the important things that these experts know needs to be addressed each winter, and throughout the year to keep the furnace or heater in prime, safe operating condition. 

 What does furnace maintenance include?

You don’t want to wait much longer to establish a heater maintenance appointment – better now than after that first Northern hits, any day now!  Heater maintenance schedules are filling up for furnace and HVAC companies across the country, not just here in Maryland. 

What is included in furnace or heater maintenance visit? Every company is different, but we have a general furnace and Heater maintenance checklist that will give you a general idea what is included. 

  • Heat anticipator settings are checked

  • The blower, burners, and limits are tested

  • Burners are pulled, cleaned, and inspected

  • Hot surface igniter is tested

  • Pilot assembly, pilot orifice, and sensor are cleaned

  • Thermocouple checked and replaced if needed

  • Combustion chamber vacuumed

  • Heat exchangers are inspected

  • Combustion motor checked

  • Filter cleaned or changed

  • Blower motor and blower wheel checked, and excessive dust build up cleaned

  • Applicable parts lubed

  • Gas pressure, pressure switch checked

  • Flame signal checked

  • Thermostat tested for 15 minutes minimum

  • Condensate piping and pump checked and cleaned

  • Exterior wiped down

How long does furnace maintenance take? 

Depending on the make, model, and location of the unit, a furnace heater maintenance appointment for cleaning, inspection, and tune-up can take between one and two hours. It isn’t necessary to plan an entire day around your heater maintenance appointment, but what time it does require for you to be home will be worthwhile when winter arrives full force and your heater is working! 

How often should you do furnace maintenance?

A gas furnace or heater maintenance should be scheduled once a year minimum, twice a year after the fifth anniversary of your furnace or heater being installed. During the fall and again late spring, especially if you have a combined HVAC system with air conditioning and heating. Getting your heater ready

Winter is knocking on the door, literally. Are you ready with pipes are wrapped, canned goods stocked up, and heater maintenance completed? If you’re asking yourself right now, “What is heater maintenance?”, then you’ve come to the right place! Cause that is what we’re going to talk about here today – heater maintenance – something that every homeowner should know about and follow through to completion. 

Heater maintenance is a preventive process that includes a professional cleaning, inspection, and tune-up of your heater system. It saves you from having to make that phone call in the middle of an ice-cold winter night and pay a higher rate for after hour service calls. 

Do professional heater and furnace maintenance service plans cost? Yes, but not near what an after-hours service call would! So, why get a heater maintenance agreement if it is going to cost? There are benefits to having a heater maintenance agreement that includes regular cleaning, inspection, and tune-ups: 

  • Money Saver: Heater maintenance agreement will keep your heat system running efficiently which will save you money on the monthly energy bills. Over a year’s time, that monthly savings will cover the cost of the heater maintenance agreement.

  • Warranty Maintained: A heat system warranty will typical state that regular maintenance, including cleaning and tune up, is required for the warranty to be honored. With a heater maintenance agreement, if anything breaks on the heater system, either the maintenance agreement will cover it, or your warranty will be honored by the manufacturer.

  • Minimize Unexpected Breakdowns: A heater maintenance agreement will catch minor issues before they become bigger problems and leave you in the cold one night. Regular heater maintenance means less chance of system failures or need to call for emergency service at an afterhours rate.

  • Extended Service Life: A heater system that is well-maintained with a heater maintenance service plan will give you a longer lifespan from your heater.

What is maintenance checklist?

A maintenance check list for heater maintenance appointment is an itemized list of tasks that the heater maintenance company and the furnace or heater manufacturer have created. This checklist is the important things that these experts know needs to be addressed each winter, and throughout the year to keep the furnace or heater in prime, safe operating condition. 

 What does furnace maintenance include?

You don’t want to wait much longer to establish a heater maintenance appointment – better now than after that first Northern hits, any day now!  Heater maintenance schedules are filling up for furnace and HVAC companies across the country, not just here in Maryland. 

What is included in furnace or heater maintenance visit? Every company is different, but we have a general furnace and Heater maintenance checklist that will give you a general idea what is included. 

  • Heat anticipator settings are checked

  • The blower, burners, and limits are tested

  • Burners are pulled, cleaned, and inspected

  • Hot surface igniter is tested

  • Pilot assembly, pilot orifice, and sensor are cleaned

  • Thermocouple checked and replaced if needed

  • Combustion chamber vacuumed

  • Heat exchangers are inspected

  • Combustion motor checked

  • Filter cleaned or changed

  • Blower motor and blower wheel checked, and excessive dust build up cleaned

  • Applicable parts lubed

  • Gas pressure, pressure switch checked

  • Flame signal checked

  • Thermostat tested for 15 minutes minimum

  • Condensate piping and pump checked and cleaned

  • Exterior wiped down

How long does furnace maintenance take? 

Depending on the make, model, and location of the unit, a furnace heater maintenance appointment for cleaning, inspection, and tune-up can take between one and two hours. It isn’t necessary to plan an entire day around your heater maintenance appointment, but what time it does require for you to be home will be worthwhile when winter arrives full force and your heater is working! 

How often should you do furnace maintenance?

A gas furnace or heater maintenance should be scheduled once a year minimum, twice a year after the fifth anniversary of your furnace or heater being installed. During the fall and again late spring, especially if you have a combined HVAC system with air conditioning and heating. 

How do I maintain my heating system? 

In addition to having a professional heater maintenance program, it is important to do your own maintenance in between those appointments.  The things you can do yourself include: 

  1. Clean or change the filter: The filter has a crucial job for the warm air to be delivered efficiently throughout your home.

  2. Check that the blower motor is functioning as it should. The furnace blower motor is what drives the fan to move the air from the heating element. If you hear any loud, strange noises, call your heating professional. With a heating maintenance agreement, that service call will be included. Any parts may be extra, but the service call will be included.

  3. Minimize heating loss from your home with adequate insulation in the attic and doors and windows sealed. The less cold air getting in the better your heating system will work.

  4. Keep the vents clean, opened, and unblocked. Dirty, closed, or blocked vents isn’t going to let the warmed air out into each roof, the heater will work harder, and that costs on your monthly energy bill.

  5. Make sure the exterior exhaust flue is clear if you have a gas furnace or heater.

  6. Keep any flammable objects away from the furnace or heater.

The initial cost of a heater maintenance agreement may seem like a waste, but as we mentioned in number 2 above, you’ll find times when you’re glad you have that agreement in place

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