Avoid a Heating Repair With These Fall HVAC Maintenance Tips

Posted November 14, 2025

Have you had your home’s HVAC system serviced yet this fall? If not, you might be making a big mistake. You can typically have HVAC maintenance done by a heating and cooling company for under $200. It’ll be a small price to pay since it could help you avoid having to schedule a heating repair at any point this winter.

Outside of arranging to have a company service your HVAC system this fall, there are also a bunch of other steps you can take to keep your HVAC unit in great shape. We’ve compiled a long list of HVAC maintenance tips that will reduce your chances of having to tackle a heating repair in the wintertime.

Take a look at these fall HVAC maintenance tips below and make sure you put them to good use before the colder months of the year arrive.

Start by Replacing the Air Filter in Your HVAC System

Generally speaking, you aren’t going to want to spend too much time tinkering with your actual HVAC system unless you know what you’re doing. You should rely on a heating repair and maintenance company to work on the HVAC unit itself.

There is, however, one simple HVAC maintenance step that you can take to keep your heating system humming along. You can replace the air filter in it every three months or so, depending on the conditions in your specific home.

As long as you purchase the right air filter for your HVAC system, it should only take a minute or two to replace it. Just be sure that you write down the date when you replaced it so that you know when it’ll need to be replaced again this winter.

Inspect the Ductwork in Your Home and Seal Any Cracks in It

If the ductwork that runs throughout your home is on the newer side, you shouldn’t have to worry about there being any cracks in it. The company that put it into place should have sealed the ductwork up tight to enable it to carry warm air from your HVAC system to all the various parts of your home.

But as ductwork gets older, it isn’t all that uncommon for cracks to begin to form in it. You’ll want to work on sealing these cracks up so that your ductwork doesn’t force your HVAC unit to have to work harder than it should have to. This could lead to a need for a heating repair in the wintertime.

If you don’t feel comfortable sealing up the ductwork in your home (some of it can be difficult to access!), you can hire an HVAC company to assist you with it. But whatever the case, you shouldn’t continue to use ductwork that isn’t sealed and allow warm air to leak out every time you use your HVAC system.

Clean the Air Registers Throughout Your Home

The average home is going to end up with about 40 pounds of dust inside of it each year. This dust can get into every nook and crack within your home with at least some of it landing on your air registers.

You should walk around in your home before you fire up your heating system this fall and winter and see to it that your air registers are dust-free. By clearing dust off these air registers, you’ll ensure that your HVAC system doesn’t push the dust out when you turn it on and leave your whole family coughing because of it.

You’ll also ensure that dust isn’t able to make its way back into your HVAC system, where it could cause complications and force you to do heating repairs. It would be a good idea to pull out your vacuum cleaner and clean off each and every air register in your home prior to the start of winter.

Make Sure the Vent for Your HVAC System Is Clear

When you turn on your home’s HVAC system in the winter, it’s going to start producing carbon monoxide right away. But your HVAC unit will be designed to push this carbon monoxide up through a vent in your roof so that it doesn’t leak out into your home.

There is a chance that this vent might be clogged up with leaves, sticks, and all kinds of other debris. So you will want to make sure that it’s 100% clear before you begin using your HVAC system to heat your home in the winter.

If you suspect that it might be blocked, you should speak with an HVAC professional about this. They’ll be able to see to it that this vent is cleared so that you don’t have carbon monoxide building up in your home and causing big problems.

Test the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors Near Your HVAC System

You should have both a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector installed somewhere in the general vicinity of your HVAC system. If you don’t, you should make it your mission to install both of them ASAP.

If your HVAC unit ever catches on fire or if it starts to send carbon monoxide spewing out into the air surrounding it, it could do some serious damage to your home, and it could also put your family’s safety at risk.

It isn’t enough to just install a smoke detector and a carbon monoxide detector, either. You’ll also need to test them out before you begin using your HVAC system in the fall and winter. By pushing a button on each detector, you’ll be able to see whether or not they’re working like they’re supposed to.

Steer Clear of Cluttering Up the Area Surrounding Your HVAC System

Most people have their HVAC systems situated in basements, utility closets, etc. As a result, they will sometimes store things in the areas that surround their HVAC systems without thinking twice about it.

You should try to avoid doing this if you can. If you clutter up the area around your HVAC system, it’s going to make it very hard for you to access the system when you need to do it. It might also prevent your HVAC system from getting the air that it will need to continue to run.

You should try to keep anything in the vicinity of your HVAC unit at least three feet away from it. Otherwise, it might not be too long before you need to tackle a heating repair this winter. And before you can do it, you’ll have to spend time cleaning out the area around your HVAC unit anyway, so you might as well do it now.

Set the Thermostat for Your HVAC System to the Right Temperature

When this happens, you might be tempted to crank your heat up as high as you can get it to heat your home. But you should try not to do this unless you want to wreak havoc on your HVAC system.

The ideal temperature for your home is typically going to be somewhere in the 68-degree Fahrenheit range. If you go too much higher than that, it could lead to you putting a gigantic strain on your HVAC system.

Your best bet would be to get your hands on a smart thermostat that you can program accordingly. You will want to set it to the right temperature from the start of the winter and leave it at that temperature unless the weather takes a turn for the worst at some point.

Test Out Your HVAC System Long Before It Begins to Get Cold Out

You might be surprised to hear about how many homeowners don’t touch their heating systems until they need to turn them on in the winter. They don’t ever get around to testing their HVAC units out, and some of them realize that they aren’t working right once they fire them out.

You don’t ever want to find yourself in this situation. It could put you in a position where you have to scramble to find an HVAC company to come and perform a heating repair before you even get the opportunity to start your HVAC unit up.

You should, at the very least, test out your HVAC system on a milder day this fall to see how it works. If you sense that there is anything wrong with it, you will want to shut it down and have it repaired before you actually need to start using it day in and day out.

Consider Replacing Your HVAC System If Necessary

Is your home’s heating system 15, 20, or even 25 years old? If it is, you might want to start thinking about having it replaced if you haven’t already entertained this idea.

The average heating system is only going to last for between 15 and 25 years before it will begin to give out on you. Even if you do the proper HVAC maintenance every year, your HVAC unit isn’t going to last forever and continue to work as efficiently as it should.

Replacing your HVAC system is often going to cost a pretty penny. But you’ll be better off replacing it in the fall when you aren’t going to need it as opposed to pushing it to its limits in the winter and having it stop working at the worst time.

If you know that your heating system is on its last legs, you should plan to replace it in advance. It’ll enable you to put together the funds that you’ll need to have it replaced.

Find the Best HVAC Maintenance Company in Your Area

No matter how hard you might work to maintain your home’s HVAC system, there is no guarantee that you won’t still need to do a heating repair at some time this winter. It’s why you should search for an HVAC maintenance company and have them on speed dial just in case.

There are more than 120,000 heating and cooling companies operating throughout the U.S. at this time. Your goal should be to find one of the best HVAC companies in the business to lend a hand to you if you need it.

A great HVAC company will have the following qualities:

• Experienced
• Reputable
• Trustworthy
• Affordable

It’s worth establishing a good working relationship with an HVAC company. This way, you won’t have to worry about who you’re going to call if you need to arrange to have a heating repair done.

You also won’t have to worry about maintaining your entire heating system on your own each year. The company that you work with will be able to step in and take care of all your HVAC maintenance needs.

Reach Out to Us If You Need to Schedule a Heating Repair

Ideally, you won’t have to schedule a heating repair at any point this winter. But if the need for a heating repair should arise, you should know that you can count on our HVAC company to assist you.

When you call on us for help with your home’s HVAC system, we’ll work to make it out to your house fast. We’ll also work to fix your heating system as soon as we can so that you don’t have to live without it for very long.

Contact us today to schedule your appointment.

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