Frequent checks and balances of house appliances is a compulsory action that is to be taken by the house owner but there are some things that need to be given an in-depth analysis. To maintain your furnace, you can either yourself work on the project but if there are uncalled-for occurrences that make it difficult for you to handle on your own, then this blog post can be used as a guide to maintaining your furnace.
What is a Furnace & How Does it Work?
In order to truly understand the need to maintain a household furnace, it is vital to understand the importance of this appliance and the basic functionality it has to further understand how to maintain your furnace. While an HVAC is solely purposed to deliver cool refreshing air in the sizzling summer season, a furnace’s main job is to distribute comfortably heated air throughout the house. This process is done by a heating component which is the heart of the whole apparatus and the heat it generates is delivered through special vents throughout the house. These vents are specially designed and are of a specific material that prevents them from being deformed by excessive amounts of heat.
Now that we have learned the basic functionality of a furnace, it would be a lot easier for us to understand how to maintain your furnace. To answer the question “How often should you maintain your furnace?” there is a simple response that it should be treated just like how we change our car engine oil. A furnace has a greater life span as compared to an oil change of a car. Furnace maintenance companies recommend their customers a maintenance check once each year. However, most furnaces have a tendency to last up to 3-5 years without any service and maintenance. But to make sure that no problems arise, it is important to keep a check on the whole system and keep maintaining it within a year.
This can help reduce the cost to maintain your furnace. People often confuse maintenance with repairs. If furnaces are not maintained within the advised period of time, they can break and could require repairs which cost a lot more than maintenance.
Types of Maintenance
When looking for a procedure to maintain your furnace, there are actually two ways that can be opted for. One method is a long-term cleaning process and the other is a regular and rather frequent method of cleaning.
Cleaning the Air Ducts of the Furnace
This process can be done after every 3-5 years. It involves a thorough checkup of the air ducts for the purpose of examining any leakages or mold that has been formed. Having mold formed in the air ducts can lead to a stale and damp smell in the whole apparatus and that is not what someone would want their house to smell like. The blower of the furnace is also cleaned in a way that the flow is re-adjusted. Restricted air flow can cause excessive strain and pressure onto the furnace itself. Last but not least the most important step at the end of maintenance of such apparatuses is to disinfect the whole track. The chemicals and machinery used in such cleaning processes can be toxic to human beings hence, it is important that it is disinfected to prevent the cause of any allergies or diseases that can be fatal. Any given allergies can also be a reason to maintain your furnace.
Gas Powered Furnace Maintenance
This type of maintenance is supposed to be done every year which means it is important and requires very minute details of the working of the furnace.
- Using the example of car maintenance again, just like how we get our cars washed every now and then, the car is thoroughly cleaned and any possible rust is cleaned and removed.
- The burner of a gas-powered furnace should be cleaned so that it can properly burn to make the heating adequate.
- Such gas-powered furnaces have a flame sensor that identifies if the flame is burning properly. Hence, it needs to be cleaned and re-calibrated.
- If there are any parts that are supposed to be mobile, then their mobility should be checked.
- The thermostat which maintains the temperature is also re-calibrated so that an accurate temperature can be achieved.
The process to maintain your furnace is an easy process in itself and if someone wishes to maintain it themselves, then it can be done easily with the right tools and accessories.
How to Know That Your Furnace Needs Maintainance
There are a number of indications that can mean that your furnace needs some attention. If you experience the following things related to your furnace then you should consider fetching your tools and getting to work, or you could call the experts if your boiler needs a repair.
- Dirt deposits
A furnace has an air filter which serves the purpose of keeping any dirt particles out of the clean air system. Upon cleaning this filter, if you notice more deposits of debris and dirt, then it means your furnace is causing some internal issues which need to be looked at by an expert.
- Different color flames
When a furnace burner burns, it is supposed to ventilate that heat equally in the air ducts. This flame is of blue color in its normal course of working. But if the flame appears to be of a yellow or slightly orange color, then it means it is no proper ventilating going on or there might be some dirt on the burner.
- Water leakages
One may think about the reasons that there even is water in a furnace apparatus but water plays a very important role in the operation of a furnace. It helps keep the temperature at a normal level and not exceed too much. Sometimes if the flame of the furnace is not entirely blue, it could also mean that there is water leakage in the burner which can lead to molds being formed in the air ducts and that can further lead to a stale smell in the whole house. Such leakages are to be taken into account to maintain your furnace.
- No proper heating
At a point, if the furnace starts blowing out cold air, then that means the condensate line is not working properly and hence needs some fixing. After all, you wouldn’t want your furnace to blow out cold air, that is your HVAC’s job!
- Excessive utility bills
Last but never least, energy bills are to be taken into account when running apparatuses like furnaces and HVACs. These appliances cost a lot of energy bills in their normal functioning. But if for some reason you start to notice that there is an incline in the bills then that means there is some restriction in the average functioning of the furnace. No one wants to pay for utilities more than they are supposed to. So, having a ton of extra dollar bills go down the drain can be a motivation to maintain your furnace.
Conclusion
As simple furnaces may seem, they still require the touch of the right hands by people who can truly understand the working of the machinery. Some things are better understood by people who have an experience in the field of work they operate. In the end, the simple answer to the question is to keep all the precautionary measures in mind. These measures could be some medical conditions too which could be the outcome of improper functioning of the furnace. The subsequent damages done to the health of a person or the permanent disfigurement of the apparatus can lead to repairs and repairs are way more hectic and troublesome. Unnecessary trouble should be avoided at all costs.
Looking Forward to a Trouble-Free Season?
Green Street HVAC is a family-owned and operated HVAC company that has been serving the community for many years. We offer services that include AC Repair, Furnace Repair, AC Installations, HVAC Maintenance, Smart home products, Duct Cleaning aeroseal duct cleaning, duck work repair maintenance, commercial HVAC services, heat pumps services, and others. We have 24/365 emergency service, so don’t get in touch with us.
