Last week, I went on a ridealong with a Corley HVAC expert (he’s been in the business for decades) to see how home maintenance works from the other side. We usually let technicians handle the problem on their own, then thank them at the end – but what insight do they have that could help us on the daily?

A huge tip, in the words of one of the day’s customers: “don’t let the little problems become big problems.” Hearing a weird rattle that won’t go away? Your heating takes longer than normal to kick in? That’s when you call for backup, not after the whole thing breaks down.

Here are a couple things you can easily do to get a leg up on any issues:

Wash off your outdoor air unit on the regular. (They work on air exchange, and no air can flow if it’s coated in dirt.)
Change your filter. One of those things you know you should do, but sometimes slack on – but when the filter is clogged, it strains the whole system.
Don’t store things near equipment. Keep things free + clear to operate smoothly.
Get regular maintenance checks, so a professional who knows what to look for can let you know if something catches their eye. (Otherwise, you won’t know there’s a problem until it’s July 4 and your house is 105° because the AC died).

And speaking of maintenance checks (which I saw go down in detail – they’re not missing anything), you might want to think about the platinum Service Partner program. You get a 20% discount on repairs, no dispatch charges, and maintenance checks in spring + fall for those harsher months ahead. For the peace of mind, it’s a pretty sweet deal.

One last thing I noticed during my ridealong: everyone we talked to said that Corley has always looked out for them. From the shoe covers we put on at the front door to always knocking instead of ringing the doorbell (it might upset a pet or wake up a child), it’s pretty obvious they consider their customers first in everything they do.