How often each home service is due

• Heating system: a contractor check-up once a year, in fall. ENERGY STAR says contractors get busy once winter comes, so fall is the time to book.
• Cooling system: a contractor check-up once a year, in spring, before the summer rush.
• Chimney and heating equipment: cleaned and inspected by a professional every year, per the U.S. Fire Administration.
• Household septic system: inspected at least every three years. EPA says systems with electrical float switches, pumps or other mechanical parts should be inspected more often, generally once a year.
• Septic pumping: EPA puts household tanks at typically every three to five years. The inspector tells you when yours is due.

Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; USFA heating fire safety, checked October 11, 2026; EPA How to care for your septic system, checked October 11, 2026.

Each service is due one interval after the last time someone came, not on a fixed date. If the heating check-up was on October 14 last year, it's due around October 14 this year. If you skipped a year, it's due now.

1. Find the last visit date

   It's on the invoice, in the company's email or app, or on your service log. If you can't find one, treat the service as due now.

2. Add the interval

   One year for heating, cooling and the chimney. Up to three years for a household septic inspection, or one year if the system has pumps or float switches.

3. Book a few weeks early

   The home service log puts a book-by date about four weeks before each due date. That's our planning habit, not a published rule, and you can book earlier in busy seasons.

4. Write the new date down

   After the visit, the new date becomes the start of the next count. Write it on the log the same day.

ENERGY STAR suggests planning the heating and cooling check-ups around the spring and fall time changes. In 2026, daylight saving time started on March 8 and ends on November 1, so the cooling call goes in around early March and the heating call before November.

Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026; NIST, daylight saving time rules, checked October 12, 2026.

A septic inspection isn't yearly for most homes, which makes it the easiest one to forget. EPA says at least every three years for a typical household system. Pumping is separate: EPA says tanks are typically pumped every three to five years, and the inspector tells you when. Write the date they give you in the next due box, and keep the records of each visit, as EPA asks.

Source: EPA How to care for your septic system, checked October 11, 2026.

Carpet cleaning, window washing, pest visits on a contract, lawn service: these follow your contract or your own habit. Add them as your own rows with the number of months you want between visits, and the log counts them the same way.

• Tip 01

  Book in the quiet season

  ENERGY STAR notes that contractors get busy once summer and winter come. A spring cooling call and an early fall heating call are easier to get on the calendar.

  Source: ENERGY STAR maintenance checklist, checked October 15, 2026.

• Tip 02

  Put the chimney with the heating call

  Both are yearly and both belong before the heating season. Book them in the same week so one reminder covers both.

• Tip 03

  Ask if your septic system has a pump

  EPA moves systems with pumps, float switches or other mechanical parts to a yearly inspection. If you don't know which kind you have, ask the inspector and note it on the log.

  Source: EPA How to care for your septic system, checked October 11, 2026.

• Tip 04

  No date found? Start the clock now

  If there's no record of the last visit, book one and let that date start the count.

This page is one part of a bigger job. The system page puts the parts in order.

• SystemWho to call: household contacts and service history on one pageKeep one page of who you call for heating, cooling, chimney, septic and the rest, with each visit dated, its invoice number and the next date to book.9 steps · 3 parts · 1 page to printOpen the system

• Chapter 01Home service logTurn the last visit for your heating, cooling, chimney and septic service into the next due date and a book-by date, then print a log of who to call.Open the tool
• ProblemNo size printed on my air filter: how to find itThe print on the frame is gone or the slot is empty. Measure the opening, round to the nearest inch, and know when you need a custom size.Read the guide
• Practical noteWhat to change on move-in day: locks, garage opener and codesNew house, old keys. Here's the order to work in on move-in week: count what you got, change the locks, clear the garage opener, reset codes, then cut copies.Read the guide
• Chapter 01All records toolsPrintable home records with a calculator behind each one: appliance and warranty log, HVAC filter sizes and change dates.Open the chapter

• Heating and Cooling Maintenance Checklist, ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA and DOE). Checked October 15, 2026.
• Heating fire safety outreach materials, U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA). Checked October 11, 2026.
• How to Care for Your Septic System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Checked October 11, 2026.
• Daylight Saving Time Rules, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Checked October 12, 2026.

Every outside number on this page names its source and the date we checked it. See them all on the sources page. Spotted an error? Tell us.