Winter arrived much earlier than expected this year.
One day, the weather was mild and sunny.
The next day, the temperature plummeted and it started snowing. I was suddenly in a big hurry to winterize the pool pump and the lawn mower. I needed to put away the patio furniture, pool toys and barbecue grill and locate the snow shovels, ice scrapers and winter gear. Although I attempted to schedle professional maintenance for the furnace, all of the nearby HVAC contractors were swamped. I has to wait nearly a month to get an appointment. With the outdoor temperature dropping below freezing, there was no choice but to run the heating system. I noticed that it was making more noise than usual. There was an unpleasant, musty smell flowing from the vents. I raised the thermostat setting several times and still the house felt chilly. The furnace seemed to run non stop but couldn’t keep up with demand. Before we made it to the maintenance appointment, the heating system quit entirely. It failed during the middle of the night on a weekend. I ended up calling for emergency repair and paying overtime fees. It cost me a small fortune for a very minor repair. The malfunction definitely could have been avoided with regular upkeep. I am now determined the have the furnace serviced very early in the fall. I don’t trust the weather. I want to be sure all components are working at their best before it’s necessary to operate the heating system. I hope to avoid future, needless and costly repairs.