Winter Weather Looms, a Financial Windfall For HVAC and Plumbing Pros

With cold weather arriving across a large portion of the United States in the coming weeks, many property owners are now tackling overdue maintenance to home furnaces and boiler systems, a sure way to keep local plumbing and heating and cooling experts busy.

"Winter will be here soon," said Bob Bridges, owner of the plumbing pros in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.

"It is time for homeowners to get their furnace or boiler tuned up before the worst of winter takes hold."

Plumbers make house calls year-round but there is no doubt they see business pick up in colder months when furnaces fail and boilers spring leaks. "We make more money in October through March than we do all year long the rest of the year," said Mike Londeree, plumbing manager at A1 Plumbing in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Most people wait too long before they call a plumber."

In addition to plumbing problems, heating and cooling equipment also require inspection and tune-ups. "Right now is the start of high demand for plumbing work," added Mr Briscoe. With cold weather arriving across a large portion of the United States in the coming weeks, many property owners are now tackling overdue maintenance to home furnaces and boiler systems, a sure way to keep local plumbers and heating and cooling pros busy. Maintaining a furnace, boiler or heat pump is critical to ensuring your home stays warm each winter. "Issues with plumbing equipment tend to be more serious," added Mr Londeree. "I've seen furnaces put out all sorts of smoke and flames, which can cause a major fire if not taken care of right away." It is important to know what work needs to be done before you call for service. Otherwise, plumbers may push additional services on customers that are not needed.

"One thing my company recommends is that each homeowner take the time to clean their furnace filter monthly or at least twice a year," said Mr Briscoe. "Many make excuses saying it does not do any good but what they don't realise is how much dust this saves them from having in their houses."

Most home heating systems also have a filter that needs to be cleaned or changed, depending on how often it is used.

"People forget to check this and they end up spending more money in the long run - the furnace can't work properly if it's clogged with dust," Mr Briscoe added. "If you ignore your plumbing equipment over time, then issues might become larger problems."

Of course, plumbing and heating systems are expensive investments for homeowners. Many people hesitate to do preventative maintenance simply because they do not want to pay for it. As a result, their plumbing equipment breaks down quickly when the weather turns cold or summer heat sets in. "Many think fixing something before it fails will cost them more than waiting until after the plumbing system starts having problems," said Mr Londeree.

"This is a mistake."

However, customers usually have a choice between two plumbing services: the repair of plumbing equipment after it becomes clogged or fails to operate and preventative maintenance before problems arise. Some plumbing firms offer a mixture of both services while others only do plumbing repairs after leaks occur. "We try to educate customers on why they should be proactive about taking care of their plumbing systems as opposed to waiting for something bad to happen," added Mr Londeree. Fixing things right away rather than putting them off can help property owners avoid costly home repairs as well as an inconvenience due to plumbing failures that happen when no plumber is available during regular working hours.