Furnace repair can sometimes be a pricey ordeal, not to mention an inconvenience. Good care and maintenance for your furnace will help keep repair costs down. Here are some
Do Get Your Furnace Inspected Yearly
Fall is the perfect time to have your furnace inspected, to make sure it is working properly for the cold season. Without regular inspection, your furnace can cause carbon monoxide to spread throughout your home, or it will simply overwork itself and break down. Yearly inspection can be as low as $100 for a visit, so make sure to get it checked regularly.
Do Replace Filters Once a Month
The air filters on your furnace are meant to accumulate dust regularly, but this means that they'll get clogged quickly. Every 30 days is the recommended time frame to switch out your filter for a new one. This will keep dust from accumulating in the furnace fan, so it can run smoothly.
Do Check for Anything Blocking Intake and Output
Furniture, rugs, drapery, or other household items may block the air intake and output to your furnace, causing it to work twice as hard. Make sure your vents are clear to avoid this, as well as unnecessary dust accumulation on the vents.
Don't Neglect to Clean the Blower, Pulleys, and Belts
Just as your furnace filter accumulates dust and debris, so will other parts of your furnace. This can be cleaned by vacuuming out dust, as well as using a damp cloth for belts and other parts. You may need to remove the panel covering the furnace in order to access these parts.
Don't Leave Your Thermostat to ON
Leaving the fan setting of your thermostat to ON will cause the furnace blower to constantly run, even if it's not heating the air. This does you no good, and overworks your thermostat's blower. Keep the setting of your thermostat fan to AUTO. This will make it so the fan only blows warm air, so it doesn't get overworked.
Don't Ignore an Overheated Furnace
A furnace that overheats will first start blowing cold air instead of hot and then stop blowing any air at all. This can happen repeatedly with a furnace. Once temperatures return to normal, the furnace tries to resume normal functions. Ignoring this issue will cause your furnace's heat exchanger to break, which can be an expensive repair.
What's the solution to overheating? Regularly replacing the air filter can help prevent this issue. If the problem persists, have the furnace serviced right away by contacting a heating repair professional.