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- By James Wisler
- Diamond Club
- [otfliker]
I think most of us recognize the importance of maintenance, and one of the items we commonly associate with maintenance is our car. Everyone who drives a car should know that it occasionally needs its oil changed (along with the oil filter). A properly-maintained car is going to continue to work well. But most of us don’t think about the systems in our homes that need maintenance. Our HVAC systems run all the time, constantly keeping our homes warm or cool. In our plumbing systems, the water heater is running 24/7. They will give out on us if we don’t take care of them.
The bottom line is, maintenance can prevent premature breakdowns. It’s never fun when our water heater goes out and gives us a cold shower. It’s also no picnic when our HVAC system goes out and our house becomes unbearably hot or cold. We want to be comfortable in our homes and we want the systems in our homes to work properly. If you can get someone to keep an eye on them every once in a while, it allows you to plan for a potential upgrade or replacement. Otherwise, a lot of times you’ll just need to replace the item whenever it breaks down. It’s much, much harder to make the best decision during those kinds of urgent emergencies. Just taking a proactive instead of a reactive approach can place us in a much better situation.
If your HVAC system is located in a dusty environment, in the laundry room, or a home with pets, it’s going to have to work much harder. The area doesn’t even have to be very dirty, either—it’s just that air is constantly moving in a high volume and any pet hair or dust will be sucked up into the unit. It’s kind of like putting your hand tightly over your mouth and trying to breathe. If the HVAC system is working hard in this manner, it’s probably going to break down much sooner, especially without someone keeping an eye on it during occasional maintenance. You can save money just by being proactive.
The Diamond Club program includes two HVAC checks a year (one for the heating system, one for the cooling system) and a plumbing check once a year at no additional charge over the membership. You do have to call in to get the plumbing check, if it’s something you want to have. (There’s not quite as much to maintain in the plumbing system, and some people get more value out of it than others.) If there’s any work that you choose to have done, or any cleaning/maintenance items that need to be performed, it would be an additional charge. However, we go over those charges before any work is done and you have the option to agree or decline.
Customers can call in and request a plumbing maintenance visit. We generally reach out to our customers to schedule the heating or air visit, depending on whether we’re in the heating or cooling season. This might also be a good reminder to change your air filters, too, However, sometimes filters might need to be changed more frequently than every 6 months, depending on the type of system you have, the type of environment, and the type of filter used. For any questions, contact us online or give us a call at 540-483-9382.