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Construction Tips For Beginners

How To Care For Your Furnace

by Dawn Henry

You rely on your furnace to heat your home and keep you and your family comfortable during the winter months. Obviously, the last thing you want is for your furnace to just suddenly stop working one day. Fortunately, furnaces rarely just "give out" if proper and regular maintenance is being performed on them. Depending on the age and condition of your furnace, any good heating and cooling professional can get you set up on a regular professional maintenance schedule. However, there are still maintenance tasks that need to be done in between those professional visits.

Check Power Sources

If your furnace's main power source wasn't working correctly, you'd know it because your furnace wouldn't turn on at all. However, what most people don't realize is that furnaces tend to operate via several different power sources. When one or more of these secondary power sources isn't working properly, your furnace may still function but not as well or as efficiently.

Every so often, take the time to check for tripped circuit breakers. You'll be able to tell which ones these are because they'll be flipped in the wrong direction. Also look for burnt out, frazzled looking fuses and make breaker and fuse replacements as necessary. Regular power source checks and replacements can reduce your energy costs and lead to a furnace that works better all around.

Check Fluid Levels

Many modern heating units function in large part due to the fluids that power them. As you might imagine, though, these fluids can run low after a while and will need to be replenished. A professional can show you how to check fluid levels and replace missing fluids, as can your unit's instruction manual. In truth, though, it's usually pretty self-explanatory. If a particular fluid valve isn't fully stocked, there's no harm in filling it to the top.

While all fluids should be replaced as needed, the most important fluid of all is the refrigerant, which allows the system to do its job without harming the internal parts of the unit due to overheating. If you notice a strange, burning odor coming from your furnace, it's likely time to check and replace the refrigerant fluid.

Keep Dust at Bay

Finally, make sure that the outside of your furnace stays clean. While the pros can keep the inner parts of a furnace in tidy shape, it's your job to regularly dust your furnace in order to remove dirt and grime.

Dust that accumulates on the furnace will eventually get inside of it if not removed, which can easily harm your system and even diminish your air quality. Too-dirty furnaces have even been known to lead to house fires.

Keeping a clean home and a clean furnace is an easy way to guard against these dangers, but remember, there is no substitute for maintenance from a pro, such as Allied Mechanical & Electrical, Inc.