During the cold, harsh winter months, it is essential that your furnace is working properly. After all, this is the key item that will be protecting you and your family from the cold, keeping you comfortable, warm and happy, all season long. This is why proper furnace maintenance is essential.
While we advise customers and clients to keep an eye on their furnaces all year round, Fall and Winter are the two most pivotal seasons in which proper furnace care and maintenance are required.
Furnace Maintenance Tips for the Winter
To ensure longevity for your furnace and prevent it from falling during the winter, we’ve created a list of winter furnace maintenance tips. By following these tasks your furnace will not only stay in tip-top shape but you’ll save money on heat during the winter season and on annual furnace maintenance costs.
Visually Inspect Your Furnace
Given that furnaces are usually tucked away in the basement, many homeowners fail to give it a visual overview every month. So, before starting any cleaning or work, it’s important to take a look and see if you can spot any issues, problems, or concerns right away.
Signs that there are issues with your furnace would include black soot, rust, yellow flames, algae located within the tubes, or any tubes disconnected. If any of these issues are present, it may be best to contact your local expert right away for a furnace repair. No sign of trouble, however? That’s great! Time to move on to furnace maintenance tip 2.
Vacuum and Remove Dust and Debris
Did you know that dirt, dust, and debris can cause your furnace to work inefficiently or sometimes even not at all? To prevent your furnace from working at half capacity, it’s beneficial to give it a good vacuum and cleanout before the season begins.
Use a soft tip paintbrush to gently loosen dust and debris that is located within the inner surfaces of the furnace. Then, once the dust has fallen, vacuum it up for a complete clean.
Filter Maintenance
To increase the lifespan of your furnace and save you 5-15% on your energy bill, it is essential that you change your furnace filters. The general rule of thumb is to clean out and replace these every 1 to 3 months, however, if your home has a pet or includes smokers, it’s advised that you change your filters more often.
Keep your Furnace Area Clean
More often than not, our basements are used as a storage or junk center, which means that many objects can build up close to or around our furnaces. This is far from ideal. Not only does it affect the performance of your furnace, but it can also lead to potential harm or damage to your units.
To ensure your furnace is running efficiently and to prevent any accidents from occurring, remove any objects (especially combustible ones) away from the area.
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Check for Any Leaks
To help heat your home efficiently, it’s beneficial to do a check of all the major air ducts that leave your furnace and see if they have any leaks. If they do, these can easily be sealed with duct mastic or foil tape, however, we would recommend getting them serviced and fixed as soon as possible.
This will help reduce any energy lost from your furnace, increase the heat distributed and in the end, save you money on your bill.
At the end of the day, these tasks may seem simple, but they are monumental in helping to heat your home, extend your furnace’s lifespan and lower your energy bills. However, should any issues, concerns, or problems arise, it may be best to turn things over to the experts. Having your furnace regularly serviced and maintenance not only helps prevent your furnace from failing but also helps to save you money in the long run from having to fix an even bigger problem.
If you have any questions, concerns, or issues, you can always reach out and contact us or schedule a routine furnace repair. In the meantime, however, be sure to conduct your winter furnace tasks and you’ll be good to go this season! Stay warm everyone.
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