I thought I was taking care of my HVAC unit.
It’s relatively new, at five years old.
I did everything right when I had it installed, hiring an HVAC technician who helped me choose from her supplier’s catalog. We weighed the pros and cons of several systems, and she measured my home to ensure we were choosing a system that was the right fit. I’ve been ordering maintenance for it twice a year since it’s started. Now, all of a sudden, I am hearing some disconcerting noises coming from the system – a brisk rattling and vibrating noise periodically; at other times,a loud banging noise. It scares me so much that I turn off the cooling system entirely. I thought it might be a major issue, so I called out an HVAC technician to see what the issue was. Long story short, there was nothing wrong with the unit itself, but the air duct was aging. It was falling apart. It had become disjointed in certain sites, and cracks were developing in others. I needed to get the entirety of my air ducts replaced. That cost a pretty penny, but it was less high-priced than actually replacing the unit itself! I was quite pleased with the contractor, because my unit ran actually quietly after the air duct was replaced. So if you ever hear unusual noises coming from your HVAC system, it may actually well be a concern with the air duct.