9 Top Essential HVAC Preventative Maintenance Checklist Items

No fall HVAC preventative maintenance checklist should miss 9 specific items. If landlords ignore these items now, it could lead to more expenses or even fire hazards later. Read below to learn more.

Main Takeaways

• For your HVAC maintenance checklist, you should clean the vents, ducts, and coils, test all parts’ functionality, replace or clean your filters, seal leaks, clean the HVAC exterior, transition to heat before winter, lubricate the blower motor and clean its bearings, and check your carbon monoxide detectors.

Table of Contents

• What Should Be on Your HVAC Preventative Maintenance Checklist
• Which Kinds of Maintenance Should You Leave to the Professionals?

What Should Be on Your HVAC Preventative Maintenance Checklist

On your fall HVAC preventative maintenance checklist, you should always include specific basics. Rental property management companies in Northern Virginia recommend you:

Clean Certain Unit Parts

If dust and debris gather in your:

• vents
• ducts
• coils (except for commercial HVAC coils, which pros should handle)
• Drain lines

It can cause problems. At best, they can force your HVAC to generate more air to push through them, which costs you more money. At worst, the debris could pose a fire hazard, and the drain lines could leak water.

So, these items should be on your fall HVAC maintenance checklist. You should clear out your HVAC’s air vents, ducts, and coils to prevent these outcomes. As another tip, make sure your tenants’ furniture or items don’t cover the vents. This could impact your unit’s energy efficiency.

It goes without saying, but you should consult a professional if issues like drain line clogs get too severe. Also, turn your HVAC off before working on it. You don’t want to break something or electrocute yourself.

Dust Off Your HVAC Unit’s Exterior

As the seasons pass, debris and leaves can accumulate on your HVAC unit’s exterior. Not only can this inhibit your unit’s airflow, but it can also conceal unit damage that needs attention. So, brush the debris away and examine the unit’s condition for any changes you should make. To boot, this makes your property more presentable and marketable, so it’s a win-win.

The average fall preventative maintenance HVAC checklist may ignore this. As such, you should prioritize it, so you don’t forget.

Make Sure All Unit Parts are Working Correctly

Before you switch from air conditioning to heat, check all parts of your HVAC system, such as your furnace and unit insulation. This way, you can get ahead of any issues before they worsen.

Replace or Clean Your Filters

Routinely, you must replace or clean your air filters. As a rule of thumb, you should replace them every three months. This is an essential component of fall property maintenance, in general. However, you may need to do this more often if the rental has pets or many people.

Seal Any Leaks

Even the smallest cracks or holes in your property can impact your HVAC’s ability to deliver consistent airflow. So, be sure to seal tiny crevices on the windows, doors, walls, or other structures. For extra insurance, you could apply weatherstripping on your doorways.

Get Your Thermostat Ready

Give your unit time to adjust to winter by switching to heat now. When doing this, you could set the temperature slightly higher than the room. This way, the unit won’t be overwhelmed by a sudden, full-on transition when the air is freezing cold.

Furthermore, if the heat doesn’t turn on, and the batteries and electricals are working, a contractor should fix your unit.

Take Care of the Blower Motor

To do this, turn off the unit’s power and clean the blower motor bearings’ caps. Then, review the unit manual to find out what kind of lubrication the motor needs, and provide it. For best results, you may want to hire a professional contractor.

Make Sure Your Carbon Monoxide (and Other) Detectors Are Working

HVACs can generate excess carbon monoxide. If this goes unchecked, it could be lethal to your tenants. Prevent disasters by ensuring your carbon monoxide detector is working correctly. Be sure to put this on your fall preventative maintenance HVAC checklist, because you could pay the price if you don’t.

Also, while you’re at it, check your other detectors, too. You can kill two birds with one stone.

Which Kinds of Maintenance Should You Leave to the Professionals?

It may be tempting to try and complete your entire fall HVAC maintenance checklist yourself. Still, it could be dangerous to do more intensive, electronic-related items alone. And these items are ones you shouldn’t ignore, either, such as:

The Electronic Igniter: Most HVAC systems today have electronic igniters. They are integral to your HVAC’s heat—the heat won’t work without it, period. Even worse, if they don’t function properly, it can pose a fire hazard or gas leak. So, be sure to get your electronic igniter checked for any potential problems.

The Unit Heat Exchanger: The unit’s heat exchanger transfers heat to your unit. However, its efficiency can be impeded if there is too much debris in it, and sometimes a cleaning won’t completely remove it all. When that happens, you might need to get it vacuumed. Pros best know how to vacuum it without damaging its delicate fins.

Clogged Drain Lines: If you find your drain lines are clogged, they may be too severe for you to handle yourself. Also, the clog may be a sign of a broader problem. In that case, simply clearing it would be like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. Either way, a professional might be needed to properly deal with the clog’s causes and effects.

If problems like this persist, you should stop your DIY efforts and call a trusted contractor.

Let BMG Northern Virginia Take Care of Your Preventative Maintenance HVAC Checklist

By taking care of some routine fall HVAC maintenance checklist items, like leaks and vent cleaning, you can make sure that it’s in tip-top shape. You can prevent dangerous problems, like fire hazards, from happening. And you can better ensure that your tenants stay satisfied throughout the winter season.

However, if keeping up with tenant demands gets to be too much, you don’t have to juggle it all yourself. Instead, you can let professional property managers like us handle the handiwork. We can stay on top of the smaller repairs and coordinate contractors for the bigger ones. And that’s not all we do. On your behalf, we can also deal with:

• Tenant customer service
• Legal compliance
• Property marketing
• Rent collection
• Lease renewals
• Tenant screening
• Accounting
• Inspections

…and more, so you don’t have to. Call us today to take these burdens off your plate!