Now that winter is here our homes’ heating systems are hard at work. Avoid outages and breakdowns by using these easy DIY preventative maintenance measures.
First Things First
Power down your furnace or heater before performing any sort of maintenance or inspections. Turn off the gas supply and electricity leading to your furnace as a safety precaution. This will prevent any dangerous situations.
Take a Visual Inspection
After creating a safe environment, conduct a quick visual inspection. Check for any obvious signs of damage or for something in disrepair. Do you see any broken or damaged lines? Are the filters obstructed by anything? Is black soot surrounding the furnace? This can tell you the furnace may not venting properly which could be venting carbon monoxide into your house. These are all easy-to-spot signs that something on your furnace or heater needs your immediate attention to prevent an outage.
Smelling for Gas Leaks
If you have a gas heater, gas leaks are a major risk. Natural gas is naturally odorless but Southwest Gas puts an additive in the gas lines that smells like rotten eggs. It’s a potent and unmistakable smell. If you have a gas heater and you smell rotten eggs (assuming you’re not cleaning out the fridge at the time), immediately turn off the gas valve, evacuate your home, and contact Southwest Gas for help. A gas leak can be deadly.
Clean and Replace Your Filters
The next thing to do is to clean and replace all your filters. This is something that needs to be done regularly. Your filters prevent dirt and dust from entering your furnace. You should be cleaning and replacing your filters every one to three months while the furnace or heater is in use.
Clean and Dust Your Blower
After cleaning and replacing the filters, the next step is to clean your blower. The blower is located right after your filters. The truth is that while your blower has safety features in it, it’s still a dangerous place and we’d rather not stick your hand in there. If you see it’s dirty, let the professional team at Forrest Anderson handle this. We know how to keep ourselves safe.
Clean All Vents
You should clean your vents. Your furnace or heater is connected to vents, which allow the hot air to enter your home. Clean these vents out regularly as they collect dust and debris. You can clean the vents with a brush then vacuum everything away.
Inspect and Clean Your Pilot Light
After all vents, ducts, and filters are cleaned, you should inspect and clean your pilot light, if you have a gas furnace. Your pilot light is one of the most important components of your gas furnace, and it should be working. Dust tends to collect around the pilot light, and it can prevent it from working the way it should. You can clean the dust and dirt around the pilot light by using a drinking straw and simply blowing it all away. Most modern heaters have a spark igniter or a hot surface igniter, so chances are you won’t have to worry about the pilot lot. And if you happen to have a furnace with a pilot light, contact Forrest Anderson to upgrade to a more efficient (and safer) model.
Schedule a Professional Inspection
The start of the season is a great time to call in a professional for maintenance of your HVAC system. Whether you’d find that you need service or you’d just rather outsource that whole inspection thing, Forrest Anderson is here for you.
We recommend having your HVAC system serviced twice a year: once before winter and then again before summer hits.
Ask us about our service contracts to receive two included inspections and 15% off any services!
Contact Forrest Anderson Today!