Fall property maintenance: Have you tuned up your heating system yet?

Last week, we shared some tips on how you can inspect your roof to ensure that it’s ready for the start of the fall season. In today’s blog post, we’ll continue down our fall business property maintenance checklist and discuss another important task to consider when examining your property: tuning up your heating system.

A tune-up to your heating equipment in the fall is one of the top preventative steps you can take to avoid experiencing problems in the cooler months. Keeping your heating system well maintained can help you save money on your next electricity bill by reducing the amount of wasted electricity.

1. Your heating system is complex with multiple parts that require regular inspection. You can do these tasks yourself or you can hire a licensed heating specialist to inspect your heating system for you.
2. When inspecting your heating system, check for any visible leaks or loose joints.
3. If there are leaks, clean the surface of the leaks and seal them with duct mastic or foil tape. Once ducts are sealed, they need to be insulated.

Finally, inspect your thermostat and check to see that the heat anticipator is at the correct setting. Additionally, every home should always be equipped with an approved Carbon Monoxide Detector. A CO detector isn’t a substitute for the care and maintenance of your heating system, but it acts as a line of defence against CO exposure in your property and can warn you about failures of fossil-fuel burning appliances. If you don’t have a carbon monoxide detector, make sure you research and install an approved Carbon Monoxide Detector.

Performing a tune-up early on can give you the time needed to budget and prepare for repairs if needed, while giving you the peace of mind that employees, customers and guests won’t be bothered.

Stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ll be discussing the final task in our fall business property maintenance checklist: taking precautions against basement flooding.