In Hampton Roads, many people arrive through the Navy, the shipyards, or the region’s employers, and quite a few are learning how a coastal climate impacts the home Air conditioning from April into October, salt air working on everything outdoors, hurricane season peaking in late summer, and a crawl space on the high water table with its own weather. This guide lays out the year by season, with the electrical and generator items alongside heating, cooling, and plumbing.
Spring: March through May
Spring is about readying the cooling system for a six-month shift, waking up the outdoor electrical, and preparing for summer storms.
- Book a cooling tune-up in March or April, before the first hot week fills every schedule in the region.
- Rinse the salt film and pollen off the outdoor coil with a gentle spray, and keep shrubs and pine straw two feet back.
- Change the filter and begin checking it monthly.
- Press the test and reset buttons on every outdoor GFCI outlet, and look at the outlet covers and the meter base for the green or white crust of corrosion.
- If your home has a standby generator, schedule its yearly service now rather than in August, and confirm it has been running its weekly self-test.
- Restart the irrigation, check the backflow preventer for drips, and glance at the water heater’s base for moisture.
Summer: June through September
Summer is about staying ahead of the cooling system and being ready for the outages that come with thunderstorms and tropical weather.
- Change the filter monthly while the system runs daily, and check the drain pan under the indoor unit monthly, since the condensate line clogs with algae over a wet season.
- Know where the breaker panel, the water shutoff, and the gas shutoff are before you need them in the dark.
- If you have a sump pump, lift the float or pour water into the pit to confirm it runs, and ask about a battery backup if it lacks one.
- Take a flashlight under the house once in summer and look for standing water, fallen insulation, rusted hangers, or a musty smell.
- If the house lacks whole-home surge protection, this is the season it earns its cost, since surges after storms take out electronics across the region.
Fall: October and November
Fall comes late here and stays mild, which makes it the easy window for getting two systems ready at once.
- Schedule the heating tune-up for October. On a heat pump the technician tests the auxiliary heat strips that only run on cold nights; on a gas furnace the visit includes a heat exchanger inspection for cracks that can leak carbon monoxide; on a boiler it covers the burner, the relief valve, and the circulator.
- Test the carbon monoxide detector and replace its battery, and replace the detector itself if it is past the date printed on the back.
- Disconnect and drain the hoses, cover the outdoor spigots and the outdoor shower, and shut down the irrigation system.
- Flush sediment from the water heater, or ask us to, and have any slow drain cleared before the holidays fill the house.
- Walk the house and retire any extension cord that has become permanent, and note which rooms seem to need another outlet.
Winter: December through February
Winter maintenance in Hampton Roads is about the handful of hard freezes and the nor’easters that cut power.
- The first winter you own the house, wrap any exposed pipe in the crawl space, the garage, or the attic with foam insulation, and you will not need to think about it again.
- When the forecast shows the 20s, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls, let a faucet drip at the far end of the house, and keep the thermostat at 55 or above even when you are away.
- Check the filter monthly, since the system is still running, only in the other direction.
- If the power goes out in a storm, remember that no furnace, heat pump, or boiler runs without electricity, and if your street loses power often, that is the winter argument for a standby generator.
- Walk the house with a notebook and record the age of every system, from the water heater label to the outdoor unit nameplate to the date inside the panel door.
Habits that run all year
A few things belong to no season: the filter on schedule, grease out of the kitchen drain, wipes out of the toilets, and the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors tested twice a year. Watch the water bill for a jump with no change in the household, which is the earliest sign of a hidden leak, and notice any outlet or switch plate that feels warm. Keep a folder of service receipts, because many equipment warranties require them.
What to leave to a professional
The filters, the hoses, the spigot covers, the thermostat settings, the detectors, and the looking belong to you. Refrigerant, gas, high voltage, the heat exchanger, the inside of a water heater, the panel, and the generator’s engine are ours, both for safety and because the tests that matter need equipment. The simplest way to keep the professional visits on the calendar is the Premium Home Care Agreement, which includes two heating and cooling visits a year, annual plumbing and electrical inspections, priority scheduling, and reduced rates on repairs, so a new homeowner only has to manage the first list.
Start with a baseline
Russell’s American Mechanical has served Hampton Roads since 1977 with heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, and generators under one roof, which for a new homeowner means one number to call for the whole house. A good first step is a maintenance visit that establishes the age and condition of the heating and cooling system, then a look at the plumbing and the panel. You can schedule online or through the website chat, or call us, and same-day appointments are available by phone when the day allows.