{"id":551,"date":"2019-04-08T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/?p=551"},"modified":"2025-09-11T07:08:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:08:21","slug":"busting-myths-about-hvac-maintenance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/air-conditioning-service\/busting-myths-about-hvac-maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Busting Myths About HVAC Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/iStock-831242144_800x534-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"tools\" class=\"wp-image-552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/iStock-831242144_800x534-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/iStock-831242144_800x534-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/iStock-831242144_800x534.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What common myths about AC maintenance should homeowners stop believing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Myth:<\/strong> You only need to change air filters once a year.<br><strong>Truth:<\/strong> Change filters every 1\u20133\u202fmonths, more often if you have pets, dust, or allergies, to maintain airflow, efficiency, and indoor air quality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Myth:<\/strong> Annual maintenance isn\u2019t necessary.<br><strong>Truth:<\/strong> Skipping regular tune\u2011ups can lead to inefficiency, costly breakdowns, shorter system life, and voided warranties. Annual\/pre\u2011season service catches problems early.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Myth:<\/strong> Closing vents in unused rooms saves energy.<br><strong>Truth:<\/strong> Blocking airflow disrupts system balance, increases duct pressure, and can cause leaks or coil issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Myth:<\/strong> Cranking the thermostat heats or cools faster.<br><strong>Truth:<\/strong> HVAC systems run at a fixed rate, setting extreme temps only wastes energy and strains the equipment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Myth:<\/strong> Duct tape is fine for sealing HVAC ducts.<br><strong>Truth:<\/strong> Use mastic or foil-backed HVAC tape instead. Duct tape degrades over time and allows leaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>HVAC maintenance is one of the most controversial topics out there in the HVAC industry. Why? Mostly because those who own HVAC systems understand the idea of striving for efficiency: paying the least amount of money for the most amount of output from your system. Likewise, these same people might see maintenance as an unnecessary expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, we have to disagree. If your goal is efficiency, maintenance is exactly the kind of thing that you need! We\u2019ll explain why that is by breaking some of the common myths around maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Myth: Repairs Replace the Need for Maintenance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is one of the worst myths that still widely persists to this day. People are naturally skeptical about paying extra for things they don\u2019t need, so we understand that some people are hesitant about having maintenance checks performed. However, waiting for a repair issue to occur is a far worse outcome than getting an annual maintenance check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, HVAC systems don\u2019t just break down overnight. The cause of a serious repair issue is usually due to a small problem that has gradually gotten worse. Often, maintenance is the very thing that can prevent this. For example, if your AC develops a refrigerant leak, it won\u2019t cause many issues at first. After several days and weeks, however, it can drastically reduce your AC\u2019s efficiency and damage the compressor (and that\u2019s not cheap to replace). An issue like this can easily be prevented with maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Myth: HVAC Maintenance Is a DIY Job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if your idea of DIY maintenance means clearing the brush off the outdoor unit and changing the air filter, DIY doesn\u2019t even begin to cover the necessary inspection points of your typical maintenance check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A thorough maintenance check doesn\u2019t just mean tightening a few loose screws. Rather, many of the checks require the knowledge of qualified HVAC technician from the very start. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Calibrating and leveling thermostat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Testing the volts and amps of fan motors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lubricating and inspecting bearings in the blower<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inspecting safety devices<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gas line inspection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are just a handful of the task your HVAC technician will perform during a maintenance check. As you can see, some of them require specific technical knowledge or equipment to perform. Plus, buying the equipment and tools to do your own maintenance check really wouldn\u2019t be worth the expense unless you were a contractor yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Myth: Handyman HVAC Work Saves Money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So if you\u2019re not able to do HVAC maintenance yourself, why not hire a handyman to do it for cheap?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bottom line is that you need a licensed and certified technician to work on our HVAC system and no one else. And that\u2019s not just something we\u2019re saying to scare you\u2014many HVAC systems\u2019 warranties are built on policies stating that they can only be maintained and repaired by qualified technicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manufacturers do make mistakes, and if your system is damaged due to a defect, you can be reimbursed. Of course, you\u2019d only be able to find out if you make sure to have your system inspected by a professional of <a href=\"\/service-areas\/orange-ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HVAC in Orange, CA.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Don\u2019t let anyone touch that HVAC system unless they\u2019re a certified professional! <a href=\"\/contact\/send-message\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Contact RKM Heating and Air Conditioning today<\/a> to schedule a service.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If your goal is efficiency, maintenance is exactly the kind of thing that you need!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[38,124,125],"class_list":["post-551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning-service","tag-ac-maintenance","tag-hvac-maintenance","tag-orange"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1484,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions\/1484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rkmair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}