With fall here and a good taste of cooler temperatures over the last week or so, you may have already given into firing up the heat in your house.

John Harder, owner and operator of John's Plumbing and Heating in Schanzenfeld recommends now is a good time to have your furnace checked before winter is in full swing.

He says there's a number of things they can do to help your furnace operate well all winter long. "We can check the operation and the safety controls, there would be a cleaning, and we check everything to ensure everything is functioning properly."

Meantime, Harder says if you haven't already done so, he recommends disconnecting the power to your air conditioning unit and covering it with an approved cover. "If you put plastic around it, it can't breath, and it will actually start rusting the condenser from the inside out."

Harder says if you don't cover your air conditioner you're risking ice, snow, leaves, and other debris from getting inside the unit, and come spring time when you try to start it, that debris could jam the motor and burn it out.