Your furnace, though energy intensive, is one of the easiest things to maintain in your home. Regular DIY maintenance coupled with twice a year inspection and repairs by a professional might be all you need to keep it running efficiently for years to come.
However, you have to understand what you can do on your own and what you have to leave to professional contractors. Tasks such as furnace replacement in Salt Lake City and actual repair work on critical parts of the furnace, such as the burner or fuel control system, are high-tech jobs that you shouldn’t DIY.
Taking on such tasks not only puts your home at risk but also voids your equipment’s warranty. Here are other things you can do instead.
Keep your HVAC vents clean and clear
Inspect your heating vents on a weekly basis to ensure that nothing is blocking them. Dirt, furniture, cushions, dust, loose debris and pet hair can accumulate on vents and block them.
Blocked vents make your furnace work harder than it should since they don’t let the heated air floor into your rooms efficiently. Vacuum or sweep the ducts as an extra measure to ensure they are in peak working condition.
Use a carbon monoxide detector
Faulty furnaces will leak carbon monoxide into your house. This dangerous gas is hard to detect if you don’t have a good detector.
Buy a battery-backup carbon monoxide and place it at least 15 feet from your furnace to avoid false alarms. The detector will alert you when your furnace starts leaking so that you can take action before it is too late.
Inspect and maintain your air filters
Dirty, clogged filters can impede the flow of conditioned air. Normally, you should change or clean your filters on a monthly basis.
This is especially so if you live in a dusty area of you have pets. Also, ensure that your filters are replaced before the cold season so that your furnace is working at the optimum condition when you need it most.
Keep the area around the furnace clean and dry
Your furnace won’t accumulate dirt or rust if you keep the area around it as clean and dry as possible. Most homeowners ignore the furnace room and treat it as an afterthought since no one lives there at all. Cleaning it as you clean the rest of the house is as hygienic as it is useful.
The less grime the furnace has to filter of the air it is heating the less you have to invest in air filters and duct cleaning. It doesn’t matter how much cleaning and pampering you mete out to your furnace; you still have to schedule the annual tune-ups.
Calling in a professional to check your thermostat, confirm that the furnace cycles on and off well and does other inspections like tightening electrical contacts, inspecting gas connections and oiling moving parts is mandatory.
These tricks will help you keep your furnace working optimally hence extrapolating its life span. It will also cut down on your utility bills since the system will be running more efficiently.
