Kokomo’s seasons ask a lot from a home. Winter sweeps in with single-digit nights and sneaky drafts, then summer rolls over the top with humidity that clings to drywall and ductwork. Most of the time, a well-kept furnace, air conditioner, and plumbing system should hum in the background. When they don’t, the first hints are small and easy to shrug off. That’s when repairs are cheapest and least disruptive. Let the small stuff snowball, and suddenly you’re fielding water on the basement floor or a furnace locked out during a cold snap.
After years of crawling into attics and checking heat exchangers in cramped basements, a few patterns repeat. Homeowners often wait one or two symptoms too long. If you recognize any of the seven signs below, it’s worth bringing in a pro from Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling before a nuisance turns into a breakdown. You don’t have to be a technician to spot early trouble, and in many cases, catching it early can shave 20 to 40 percent off the eventual fix.
Why waiting costs more than calling
Mechanical systems give you warning shots. A water heater pops and rumbles for months before it fails outright. A blower motor whines before it seizes. Refrigerant lines sweat over a few cooling cycles before they ice up. Fixes at the warning stage are usually limited to a component swap, a seal, a tune-up, or a cleaning. Once the issue spreads, you’re replacing boards, compressors, or sections of pipe. Add in emergency trip charges on a January weekend or after-hours calls in July, and the bill climbs fast. If you’ve been on the fence about calling, use the guideposts below as a practical way to decide.
Sign 1: Your furnace or AC runs longer but satisfies less
One of the clearest signals comes from the length of cycles. If your furnace or air conditioner takes longer and still leaves rooms uneven, the system has lost efficiency or capacity. I’ve seen this most often after three scenarios in Kokomo:
- Filters left in place for a season or more, clogging airflow and overheating the furnace or starving the AC coil. A coil or blower packed with dust, pet hair, and construction debris after a remodel. A refrigerant leak that leaves your AC short on charge, causing lukewarm air and longer runtimes.
Longer cycles drive up utility bills and wear out parts, especially blower motors and contactors. A technician from Summers can measure static pressure, temperature rise/drop, and refrigerant superheat/subcool to pinpoint the culprit. If it’s simply a dirty coil or blower, a deep cleaning restores performance and can knock 10 to 20 percent off those longer runtimes. If the refrigerant is low, addressing the leak matters more than topping off. The law requires proper handling of refrigerants, and most leaks originate at flare fittings, Schrader cores, or rub points that can be fixed without replacing the entire line set.
In winter, chronic long cycles can point to a failing draft inducer, weak flame signal on a gas furnace, or a heat exchanger fouled with soot. Any one of those merits a call, both for efficiency and safety.
Sign 2: Odd sounds from vents, the furnace, or the outdoor unit
Equipment gets noisy with age, but the type of noise tells you a lot. Sharp metal-on-metal screech from a furnace usually means a blower bearing or belt problem that can cascade into motor Additional reading failure. A low, rhythmic thunk from an outdoor AC unit often points to a compressor or fan blade hitting something it shouldn’t. Popping and pinging from ductwork is common during temperature swings, but if it coincides with poor airflow, you may have a collapsed flex run or a damper that’s slipped.
An example that shows up every July: a homeowner hears a buzzing from the condenser in back, especially during startup. Ninety percent of the time, that’s a weak capacitor. Replace it early, and the fan and compressor live to cool another summer. Wait, and the strain cooks windings. Swapping a capacitor is a quick fix for a pro. Changing a compressor is the opposite.
On the plumbing side, a hammering bang when you close a faucet points to water hammer and a lack of arrestors or air chambers. It’s not only annoying — the shock loosens fittings over time. Summers can add arrestors near dishwashers and washing machines and set pressure where it belongs, typically in the 50 to 60 psi range for most houses. If you’re seeing 80 psi or more, expect leaks at weak joints and faucet cartridges.
Sign 3: Short cycling or repeated resets
Short cycling means the system turns on and off quickly, never completing a full heating or cooling cycle. It’s hard on equipment and hard on comfort. On furnaces, I see this when a high-limit switch trips due to restricted airflow or a mismatched filter. If you swapped a filter and the problem started inside a week, the filter might be too restrictive for your blower’s speed and duct setup. High MERV is good for allergies, but there’s a sweet spot. A pro can match filter type to your system’s static pressure limits.
Air conditioners short cycle for different reasons. Dirty coils can cause low suction pressure and freeze-ups, leading to brief runs and long thaw periods. Oversized equipment is another culprit. In Kokomo, where humidity matters as much as temperature, an oversized AC cools the air but doesn’t run long enough to wring out moisture, leaving the house cool and clammy. Short cycles then follow in a frustrating loop. If your AC is consistently cutting out after two to four minutes, let Summers evaluate sizing, refrigerant charge, and thermostat placement. A misread from a thermostat placed in direct sun or above a register can mimic a more expensive problem.
If you’re walking to the basement to reset the furnace or water heater more than once, that’s a sign in its own right. Repeated resets often point to a safety lockout doing its job. Don’t defeat it. Call.
Sign 4: Musty or burning smells, especially at startup
A brief dusty smell the first time you fire the furnace in October is normal. Burning dust on the heat exchanger cooks off quickly. Anything beyond that deserves attention. A sharp electrical or ozone smell hints at a motor or control board heating up where it shouldn’t. A sour or musty odor from vents during cooling often comes from a wet evaporator coil and a condensate line that’s backed up or growing biofilm. When humidity spikes in Howard County summers, that slime forms faster and can plug traps in a matter of weeks.
I once traced a persistent musty odor in a ranch home off Dixon Road to a sagging section of flex duct under the crawl space. Condensate from a lightly sweating duct had pooled in insulation and fed mildew. The fix was simple: replace the run, seal connections, and balance airflow. The homeowners had been lighting candles for months and never guessed the cause lived fifty feet from the thermostat.
A gas smell or rotten-egg odor near your furnace or water heater is different. Don’t troubleshoot that. Move to fresh air and call immediately. Summers can test for leaks, verify combustion, and check draft on vented appliances with a combustion analyzer. Combustion byproducts should go outside. If they don’t, you’ll often see other clues like condensation on the draft hood, rust streaks, or nuisance pilot outages.
Sign 5: Water where it shouldn’t be — around heaters, AC, or fixtures
Small leaks announce themselves with rust at the base of a water heater, a damp furnace cabinet, or stains on a ceiling below a bathroom. These aren’t cosmetic problems. A water heater that starts weeping at the tank seam is near the end of its life, and no amount of tightening fixes a failing tank. You can buy yourself a few months by swapping the anode if the tank is otherwise sound and under ten years old, but once the jacket rusts out, replacement is your best gamble. The difference between a planned swap and a Saturday night emergency shows up in your stress level and in labor costs.
With air conditioners, water belongs in the condensate pan only briefly before it drains. If you see water around the furnace in cooling season, the common causes are a blocked trap, a broken drain line, or a pan that’s out of level. On horizontal attic systems, I’ve seen auxiliary pans save ceilings when the primary line clogs. If your float switch trips and shuts the system down, it did you a favor. Don’t bypass it. Have the line cleared and install a cleanout if you don’t have one. Summers techs carry wet-dry vacs, nitrogen, and bacteria-safe cleaners to restore proper drainage and reduce mold risk.
Elsewhere in the home, low, persistent moisture can point to a failing wax ring at a toilet, a pinhole copper leak, or a high-pressure issue that shows up as drips at relief valves. A quick pressure test and a look at your expansion tank can spare you drywall repair and warped subflooring.
Sign 6: Utility bills that jump without a weather reason
Bills wander up and down with Kokomo’s weather, but they shouldn’t leap by 30 percent in a shoulder season. A sudden spike often traces back to one of three inefficiencies:
- Heat loss from a stuck-open gas valve or overheating furnace cycling on safety limits. Gas usage climbs even when you don’t feel warmer. An air conditioner laboring with a dirty outdoor coil. The condenser can’t reject heat, so it runs longer at higher head pressure, pulling more amps. A water heater losing heat through sediment buildup. A layer of mineral at the bottom acts like an insulator, forcing the burner to run longer to reach the same tank temperature.
I’ve looked at electric bills that told the story before the equipment did. A homeowner on the west side called after seeing an extra 400 to 600 kWh each month compared to the prior year. The culprit ended up being a heat strip stage in an aging heat pump that was running more often than necessary because the outdoor unit was low on refrigerant. A correct charge and a defrost board check brought usage back inline.
Summers technicians can pull amp draws, compare against nameplate, and verify combustion efficiency so you’re not left guessing. If the big appliances test well, it may be time to scope out duct leaks. Leaky ducts in an attic or crawl can waste 20 to 30 percent of your heating and cooling energy, especially at high fan speeds.
Sign 7: Aging equipment coupled with reliability or comfort complaints
Age alone isn’t a reason to replace. I’ve seen furnaces in Kokomo run past 20 years with annual service and clean ductwork. But when age combines with any of the problems above, the calculus changes. If your furnace is 15 years old and the heat exchanger is pitted, or your AC is 12 years old and the compressor draws are creeping up while comfort slides, you’re at the point where repair dollars begin to chase diminishing returns.
There’s also the refrigerant question. Systems that still run R-22 are increasingly expensive to repair, and even R-410A is in transition. When components fail on older equipment, your money may go further in a new, correctly sized, sealed, and commissioned system. Summers can do a load calculation rather than swapping like-for-like, a step that matters more than most homeowners realize. Sizing based on square feet alone misses insulation levels, window orientation, and infiltration — all of which vary across neighborhoods from Forest Park to the newer builds north of town.
If you decide to keep an older system running, commit to maintenance. A thorough tune-up isn’t a coupon special with a quick filter change. It’s a checklist that includes combustion analysis, static pressure, temperature split, condensate flow, coil inspection, blower wheel cleaning, electrical tightening and testing, and a look at duct connections and leakage. Done annually, that buy you seasons of stable operation and early warnings when parts drift out of spec.
When plumbing problems mirror HVAC symptoms
It’s tempting to view plumbing and HVAC as separate, but in a house they dance together. High indoor humidity from an oversized AC increases condensation on cold water lines and ducts, feeding mold in basements and crawl spaces. A failing water heater can drive up gas usage and cut shower comfort, which some folks mistakenly blame on the furnace because both share venting and gas supply. If you see multiple small annoyances at once — longer AC cycles, musty odors, a water bill that’s up 10 percent — it’s smart to have a trained eye look across systems rather than in silos.
Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling has an advantage here because their techs are used to crossing those boundaries. If a sump pump can’t keep up during a summer storm, your dehumidifier and AC will fight a losing battle in the days after. One visit can tie those threads together.
The safety signals you shouldn’t ignore
Comfort and efficiency matter, but a few signs jump the line because they touch safety:
- A carbon monoxide alarm that chirps or signals above 9 ppm. Even if it resets, call. CO issues can be intermittent and wind dependent. Flame rollout around a furnace burner or scorch marks on the cabinet. That’s a red stop sign. Scalding hot water at taps after a child or elderly person is burned. Your water heater mixing valve may be out of calibration or missing. Target 120°F at the tap for safety. A breaker that trips repeatedly when the AC starts. This can be a compressor issue or a wiring problem. Don’t keep resetting. Active gas smell or hissing near a gas line or appliance. Evacuate, then call.
If any of these occur, treat them as immediate. Summers techs carry combustion analyzers, manometers, and leak detection gear for a reason. The right tools and training reduce risk quickly.
What you can check before you pick up the phone
There are a handful of homeowner checks that don’t risk damage and can save you a service call. If you try these and the problem remains, you’ve at least narrowed the field and can describe the situation clearly when you call.
- Verify filter condition and orientation. If it looks like a gray carpet, swap it. Confirm the arrow points toward the furnace. Check the thermostat’s mode and setpoint. Replace batteries if the screen flickers or goes blank. Inspect the outdoor unit for debris. Gently rinse the coil with a hose from the inside out if cottonwood or grass clippings clog fins. Don’t bend them. Look at the condensate line. If the trap is dry after months of inactivity, pour a cup of water into the drain pan to prime it. If the line overflows, stop and call. Confirm breaker and switch positions. Many furnaces have a service switch that looks like a light switch near the unit.
If any of these steps restore normal operation, great. If not, you’ve eliminated the obvious. A quick explanation like “filter replaced, thermostat batteries new, outdoor coil rinsed, still short cycling” helps a technician plan the call and arrive with likely parts.
How a pro visit typically unfolds
People often wonder what they’re paying for beyond the part. A good service call has structure. Expect a brief conversation about symptoms, then readings that create a baseline. On cooling, that’s usually a temperature split across the coil, static pressure, refrigerant pressures and temperatures to calculate superheat and subcool, and electrical checks of capacitors and contactors. On heating, it’s combustion analysis, draft verification, flame sensor microamps, blower amps, and safety switch tests. Plumbing calls follow a similar pattern: water pressure measured at a hose bib and indoor fixture, temperature at the tap, inspection of visible lines and fixtures, and targeted tests for suspected leaks.
One Kokomo family I worked with last February had recurring lockouts on a two-stage furnace. The board showed pressure switch errors. Rather than replacing the switch outright, we measured draft, inspected the intake and exhaust runs, and found a small birds’ nest in the intake elbow outside. Clearing that nest restored full draft, and the error vanished. The invoice was light, and the furnace kept running. That’s the difference between taking readings and guessing.
The bottom line: trust your senses and act on patterns
You don’t need to memorize component names to know when a system is drifting. Pay attention to patterns: longer cycles, uneven rooms, new noises, odd odors, unexplained moisture, rising bills. If two or more show up at once, move the call up your to-do list. Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling serves Kokomo every day, so they bring a local eye to common failures in our climate and housing stock. They’ve seen how cottonwood season coats coils, how crawl spaces condensate after heavy rains, and how older ductwork kinks in tight joist bays.
If you’re seeing any of the seven signs, or if you just want a seasoned tech to run the numbers and give you honest options, reach out.
Contact Us
Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling
Address: 1609 Rank Pkwy Ct, Kokomo, IN 46901, United States
Phone: (765) 252-0727
Website: https://summersphc.com/kokomo/
Whether you need a quick fix, a second opinion, or a plan for replacement before the next weather swing, a conversation now beats scrambling later. A well-tuned home feels quiet, steady, and boring in the best way. If yours doesn’t, the signs are already pointing you toward help.