Old man winter is nearly upon us, and you don't want to wait until the last minute to prepare your furnace for the winter. With only a little bit of your time and minimal effort before those winter months hit, you can get your furnace ready to heat the inside of your home during the winter, and having a company you can trust to help with furnace maintenance for this winter is what you need.
1. Check Your Filters:
One of the easiest things to do when getting ready your furnace ready for winter is to replace the furnace filter. Clogged filters can cause your furnace to overwork to force the air through the filter, causing your heating system or forced air furnace to be inefficient. Inefficiency equals higher running costs and additional furnace stress each winter month.
When you locate the filter, remove it and slide the new filter in with the arrows facing in the directions indicated on the filter. Also when replacing the air furnace filter, one thing to consider using HEPA furnace filters or electrostatic filters for healthier, cleaner air in the home.
2. Inspect Your Vents and Ducts.
After you have replaced your filters, the next area to inspect in your home is the ducts. Having your ducts cleaned can help prevent the buildup of dirt and particles in your air system, allowing only clean air into your rooms, and prevent future furnace repair. Inspecting your vents are as simple as taking the vent cover off and using your vacuum cleaning and the extension hose to remove the dust that has collected in furnace vents. If you feel uncomfortable doing this process yourself, Weis has you covered with our filtration and air quality services.
3. Inspect the Blower Belts
An excellent preventative course of action is to inspect the furnace blower belt for cracks and fraying. Examining the belt can prevent future furnace maintenance because if the belt is broken, then the furnace will not heat the home at the time when you need it most.
4. Inspect the Furnace Exhaust
One of those things that many people sometimes overlook is to make sure the exhaust flue is clear of debris from animals or trees. Some people we talk to aren't aware that their furnace has an exhaust to begin with!
When the exhaust flue is full of obstructions, the furnace with not get the necessary exhaust gases out. Not having this preventative furnace maintenance done has the potential to cause gases to get backed up into the house and the possibility of starting a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
5. Maintain a Clean Space Around your Furnace
A straightforward task to do to help with preventing future furnace repairs (and possibly fire damage) is to keep all household objects or anything that can cause a fire away from the furnace.
Never place anything on top of your furnace or allow anything to block the ducts. Remember that you are dealing with extreme heat and a controlled fire and that the metal panels of your furnace can get hot. Old boxes, albums, debris, keep it clear!
6. Adjust Your Home's Vents
Did you ever think that of adjusting the seasonal setting on your vents between winter and summer? Adjusting your dampers during the seasonal changes can prevent your ducts from becoming clogged and more laborious to adjust during the times that you need to change to the winter and summer settings. Having the dampers adjusted and set at the right weather setting during the year not only can heat the home where you want faster but be a lot more cost efficient by not heating or cooling the entire home when it is unnecessary.
In addition to adjusting the vents, you can also close off adjustable vents that are in rooms that don't get used as often. That computer room that only gets used once per week? Shut it off! With forced air furnace systems, this can also allow the air to blow harder into the rooms that do get used, just like when you turn off a vent in your car.
7. Call the St Louis Furnace Maintenance Experts
These tips are just the beginning of what you can do to prevent costly furnace maintenance and repair. If you would like to know more about more ways to avoid repairs or want the professionals to handle it, Weis Comfort Systems heating and cooling systems have a knowledgeable staff to help. You can schedule a service appointment by visiting our contact page our contact page or by calling us directly.
