As a homeowner, you have a lot of responsibilities when it comes to taking care of your home and the items inside of it. One of the bigger responsibilities you have is ensuring your furnace stays in great working condition. Before the winter season hits, there are some key maintenance tasks that you’ll want to complete to ensure your furnace is prepared to take on the cold weather ahead.
- Schedule Service
The best place to start is to schedule a professional maintenance service. This will take care of things like lubricating moving parts, checking for any system malfunctions, and ensuring your system is operating at peak efficiency. It’s typically a requirement of your warranty contract with the system’s manufacturer to get maintenance on an annual basis from a licensed HVAC technician.
- Change the HVAC Filter
As you’ll be running your furnace a lot throughout the winter season, its air filter is going to be removing a ton of airborne particles from your indoor air. It’s typically advisable to ensure there is a fresh filter in your heating system to ensure that it’s working as efficiently as possible. It’s even a good rule of thumb to have a replacement filter on hand so that you can replace a dirty one without hesitation.
- Program Your Thermostat
Another maintenance tip is to take the time now to program your thermostat. Start by switching it from AC mode to heating mode. It’s best to have it set on automatic and not on, as on will cause your heating system to run continuously. To be as energy-efficient as possible with your furnace usage, it’s a good idea to program in different temperature settings depending on the time of the day. In general, set the temperature lower when you know no one is home so that you don’t waste energy.
- Perform a Test Run
Once your thermostat is programmed, it’s time to give your system a good test run. Your furnace should kick on when you set the temperature at 5 to 10 degrees warmer than it currently is. Be mindful of the noise that your furnace makes as anything out of the ordinary could indicate an issue. It’s very common for your furnace to emit a garbage-like smell when it first starts as it’s just burning off dust that’s been sitting on the system. However, if the odor doesn’t dissipate after a few minutes, you want to have an HVAC technician look at it.
- Check Your Air Vents
While you’re test-running your system, it’s advisable to check each supply vent to ensure that adequate heat is coming out of it. Make sure that each vent is completely open. It’s never a good idea to close vents, even in rooms that you don’t use that often as it can change the pressure inside your ductwork and the overall operating efficiency of your heating system. Additionally, visually check to ensure there are no obstructions within a 3-foot radius of the vent for adequate airflow.
- Check Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If your furnace uses gas or heating oil to produce heat, then it’s going to create harmful fumes like carbon monoxide. You must have detectors on each level of your home and outside each bedroom. It’s a good idea to put fresh batteries in each detector and hit the test button to ensure that it’s working. Each home should also have well-functioning smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher within close vicinity of the heating system. Notably, fire extinguishers do expire, so you’ll want to ensure that yours is still valid.
- Schedule Chimney Sweeping
If you have a chimney as part of your ventilation system for your furnace, then getting an annual chimney sweeping service is a necessity. This helps to remove things like soot from inside your chimney to prevent a buildup of residue that would otherwise restrict the flow of toxic fumes out of your home. This service is also great for learning about any potential problems that your chimney may have to address before you need to use your heating system every day.
Handy Furnace Maintenance Service
KW Lang Mechanical offers handy furnace maintenance services for homeowners throughout the whole Solon, OH region. We will be happy to assist with all your heating, cooling, commercial HVAC, green technology, and indoor air quality needs. Pick up the phone and call us to schedule a service appointment today.
