A new home’s HVAC maintenance schedule should also include regular inspections of the house’s exterior during the winter.
checking your house for that while you are away.” Smith says one of the common mistakes many homeowners make is to locate their cat’s litter box next to the furnace and water heater in the utility room. The problem is acidic material gets kicked up every time the litter box is used, which can eat away at both pieces of equipment. She recommends locating the litter box in a different area of the house or using an enclosed version, which may help mitigate some of the damage. Regular cleaning of your furnace and an annual flushing of the
water heater can also help. Another thing new homebuyers should be aware of is that a new furnace generally comes with a five-year warranty but that can be extended to 10 years at no addi- tional cost by registering the unit with the manufacturer. The home- owner can do it themselves online or ask the company that installed the unit to do it for them, but it must be registered within 60 days of the home being occupied. Even though your home may be new, Smith says its HVAC system should still be inspected and cleaned on a regular basis. Most
manufacturers recommend annual inspections, although an inspec- tion may only be required every two or three years if its filters are changed regularly and the unit is kept clean. “If equipment is starting to fail, like the motor is starting to get weak, there may be something we can do a little bit earlier to help prevent a bigger repair. It’s the same as with your car and getting the oil changed,” says Smith, adding that in some rare cases an HVAC unit’s warranty could be voided if the unit hasn’t been maintained properly.
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