Maintenance is important for your heating system for a number of reasons. This includes maintenance you need to do all season and professional maintenance by a licensed technician. Here's why maintenance is important, what you can do to maintain your furnace, and what a heating professional might do during a yearly service call.
Why Heating System Maintenance Is Important
One reason maintenance is important, especially if you have a gas furnace, is safety. When soot builds up in the combustion area or when the heat exchanger develops a crack, your furnace can become dangerous.
Another reason for following a maintenance schedule is to keep your warranty valid. If you don't have regular maintenance done and keep the documents for your records, your warranty might not cover repairs if they're needed. Maintenance also helps your furnace last longer, have fewer breakdowns, and operate more efficiently.
What You Can Do For Ongoing Maintenance
You can keep your furnace as clean as possible by regularly dusting the outside of the furnace and the area where the furnace is located. Changing the filter on time also helps keep the furnace clean. Making sure the furnace always has adequate airflow is important too, and you accomplish that by changing the filter regularly and making sure nothing blocks the furnace or vents.
Also, you can stay alert to changes in the way your furnace operates, smells, and sounds, so you can call a heating repair person right away if something starts to go wrong with the equipment.
How A Professional Performs Maintenance
Professional maintenance differs for electrical and gas furnaces because of the way they operate. However, all the parts of the furnace are checked for wear and tested to be sure they are functioning properly. The technician might lubricate parts like motor bearings and measure voltage in electronic parts.
Anything that's worn out and looks like it might break down before the season is over, such as a belt on the blower motor, will be repaired or replaced so you can avoid having your furnace shut down when it's cold.
Professional cleaning is also essential for your furnace, and removing dust and soot can keep your furnace from breaking down. The technician will clean soot out of the combustion area and dust from the blower area. This helps keep the air in your home cleaner and helps your furnace heat better and blow air more powerfully from the air handler.
The furnace maintenance technician might also check and test the thermostat and look at the ducts for signs of leaks. With a full service check and your regular maintenance throughout the winter, your furnace has a better chance of making it through a cold season without having a breakdown or safety shutdown that leaves you in the cold.
For more information, contact a company like Phil's Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.
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