Tag: maintenance

Spring Maintenance Tips for Your Edmonton Home

Springtime in Edmonton doesn’t usually carry a connotation of much more than slightly warmer temperatures and perhaps a greater increase in rainfall, but it’s a welcome sight after another harsh winter. With the arrival of spring, however mild it may be, comes some routine home maintenance you can perform just to ensure the things you might not have been able to attend to during winter receives some much-needed upkeep and attention.

There’s more to spring maintenance than just running a vacuum through the interior or throwing out your extra clothes. Your home has been exposed to the elements for a few months now, and that weather might have done a number on the roof and siding, for instance. The folks at Always Plumbing & Heating feel your pain, and we’re happy to run through a checklist of a few ways you can fix up your home in time for spring.

Exterior

  • Do a walk-around of the siding, and run a pressure-washer on any dirty spots you might encounter. Also, check any wood that might’ve been exposed over the winter for potential damage. Keep going around the perimeter of the house — does the deck or patio need to be repaired or treated?
  • When it’s safe, find a way to examine the shingles on your roof. Shingles may have been warped or damaged, or they might’ve been removed altogether.
  • Sticking close to the roof here – take a look at the gutters and downspouts. Remove any debris that could’ve gotten clogged there and run some water through it all to double-check its drainage capabilities.
  • Make sure your windows aren’t damaged. Are there holes, are they dirty, or are there broken or loose frames? Depending on where your home is located, the precipitation might’ve caused some serious harm.
  • Inspect the outdoor faucets and see if they’ve frozen or been damaged after being exposed to the cold weather and snow.

Landscaping

  • While you were hunkered down inside, curled up by the fire, the vegetation outside has had time to grow without interruption (for the most part). If trees or other plant life live in close proximity, they might’ve crept closer and need to be cut back – especially if they’re impeding the radiator or another critical piece of machinery.
  • It’s almost grass-cutting season! Give the lawnmower a fresh oil change and sharpen the blades if possible.

Interior

  • Are your smoke detectors’ batteries charged and operational? Routine testing is something homeowners forget fairly easily, and the importance of having functional smoke detectors can’t be understated.
  • Vacuum your refrigerator’s coils and clean them off. It’ll improve efficiency and keep it from going into overdrive to keep food cool.
  • Depending on how much work your HVAC unit went through to keep you comfortable over the last few months, there’s a chance it might need servicing. It deserves a reward after working so hard!
  • Of course, there’s still the stereotypical Spring Cleaning to take care of. With all the other tasks to take care of, regular old cleaning can get thrown to the wayside. It’s still important, though, and you’ll be glad you did it when the time comes.

This isn’t meant to be a one-size-fits-all list of things to do to your home. Every situation is different, and some homes’ features differ wildly from others. This was meant more to give you a basic idea of the types of things to be on the lookout for as we make the transition to a new season. Of course, should you run into any more serious problems, the professionals at Always Plumbing & Heating would love to help you out. We offer a variety of services to best suit your needs, so give us a call at 780-489-8118 (Edmonton) or 587-601-1253!

Benefits of an HVAC Maintenance Membership

The kids are tucked into bed, the dishes are in the dishwasher, and the house has been tidied up. As you crawl into bed and prepare for another day at work, your eyelids get heavier… and heavier, until they slam shut. As sheep begin to line up to jump over the fence, you’re jolted awake – CLUNK. The rising temperature, the sudden absence of cold air; it means one thing: the HVAC unit isn’t working. A call to the handyman should fix that – but they can’t get there until much later, and you’re behind in the priority line.

That’s a problem you don’t ever want to have to run into. It’s inconvenient and aggravating, but luckily, it’s avoidable. The answer? An HVAC maintenance membership. With one, you’ll enjoy a host of benefits you wouldn’t otherwise be able to have, and they can make a world of difference when you most need it. Always Plumbing & Heating offers a Diamond Maintenance Membership Club, which we’ll get into later. But first: what does a membership mean, and what does it offer?

HVAC Maintenance Memberships: A Primer

When you boil it down, a maintenance membership is essentially a contract you have with a single service company that will ensure your service comes from them, usually at a discounted price. You pay a fee for the membership, and you receive certain benefits that wouldn’t be available to a typical customer. Not every service provider offers one, but they’re fairly common.

  • Quicker service – Memberships allow you to request a technician at all hours, and you’ll jump to the front of the priority line. Some memberships give you access to same-day service, while others offer next-day visits. Either way, the wait time is whittled down significantly.
  • Fewer repairs – Most versions of these contracts entitle you to (at least) yearly HVAC tune-ups from your technician. They’ll perform a thorough inspection of your unit to ensure everything’s running smoothly – and if it isn’t, they’ll be able to identify and diagnose any problems before they become larger issues. It becomes less likely that you’ll need to shell out your paycheck to cover a costlier repair down the road.
  • More money in your pocket – This piggybacks off the previous point. When you don’t have to pay for as many repairs, all the money you would’ve spent on them ends up staying with you, as does the money you’d lose in an energy bill due to an inefficient system. Not to mention, any repairs or services you need outside of regular maintenance are usually offered at a discounted price.
  • Less hassle – All inspections of your HVAC unit will be scheduled by the service provider, so you don’t have to worry about remembering to schedule them yourself. You’ll usually be partnered with the same technician every time, too, so he’ll know the nuances of your unit and be able to tell when something’s gone awry.

HVAC maintenance memberships are an investment, there’s no doubt. You’ll have to decide if you want to pay for the cost up-front, and that’s not something that works for everyone. However, if you do take the plunge, there’s a good chance you might be kicking yourself for not enrolling in one earlier. Always Plumbing & Heating offers a maintenance membership, and we’re unique in that we offer two versions of our Diamond Maintenance Membership Club: the Lifetime and Premier levels. The Lifetime version offers more benefits than the Premier level, but at a higher fee.

To learn more about the differences between the plans — and to determine if either one is something you’d be interested in investing for you home — give us a call at 780-489-8118 (Edmonton) or 587-601-1253 (Fort McMurray) for the most reliable HVAC service in the area. Our highly qualified technicians get the job done right the first time, and everything comes with a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee!

Request Service

Close x

Fill out the service request form below and an Always Plumbing team member will be in touch to confirm your request.

Exit mobile version