The arrival of autumn signals the call for heating your home. You may have a little checklist for getting your home in shape before winter starts, and one item may seem to continually nag you: “prepare furnace for winter”. How much of your furnace improvements can you do, and how much must wait for a professional HVAC technician? Let’s find out.
Only some of the preparation on your furnace falls on you or at least is safe for you to do. It is important to call an expert if there are more intensive issues at hand. However, it is important to recognize how comfortable you might be doing some dirty work. That said, here are 6 maintenance items you can do yourself and save time and money:
- Change your furnace filter— You may have changed it at the end of the heating season, or then again, you may have forgotten. A new filter costs so little, while a furnace costs so much, why risk damaging it? Replacing the filter (or cleaning a permanent filter) is easy and puts you well on your way to preparing your furnace for winter.
- Clean your flue and chimney — You may feel comfortable doing this by investing in a chimney cleaning kit (brushes and fiberglass handles). However, you may be better off hiring a chimney sweep if you are unsure of what to do (although it is not hard, and only a little messy). Your furnace flue ventilates toxic gases, so it must be clean and free of obstructions such as squirrel and bird nests or heavy deposits of soot.
- Buy a carbon monoxide (CO) detector — Save yourself, possibly your family, and your pets by investing a few dollars in a carbon monoxide detector. You can install it around 15 feet away from the furnace. Remember that carbon monoxide is odorless, colorless, tasteless and invisible, making it extremely dangerous.
- Vacuum— Use an ordinary vacuum to clean the room where your furnace works hard to keep you cozy. Gently vacuum electrical connections to keep them dust-free, and keep the floor clean so dust bunnies are not stirred and lifted onto the furnace.
- Nose around— Sniff the furnace room: rotten eggs? A gas leak. Musty, grimy smell? Oil leak. Ozone? An electrical short circuit.
- Make an appointment early in the season— The last part of your work to prepare furnace for winter is to call your helpful HVAC service company for an early-season appointment.
Alpine Temperature Control is here to help you understand how to perform furnace improvements to your HVAC system. We are available to help you stay cool in Summer and warm in the Winter in St. George.
