Ever get stuck in the throes of typing in “furnace service near me” on a Tuesday night at 6:00 PM, only to find that you’re not getting the results you want? That’s why it pays to have a furnace repair company already in mind, that you can call for anything.
But we’ll go one step further–we’ll be that company for you, and teach you how to prevent breakdowns from happening in the first place. It’s a pretty win-win situation if you ask us. Here’s what you can do to stop your furnace from shutting down on you.
Don’t Skip Regular Maintenance and Tune-Ups
A maintenance appointment is essentially a mix of a tune-up and an inspection. Your HVAC technician has the opportunity to grease moving metal parts, tighten any loose screws, and check to see what parts of your system aren’t exactly performing as planned.
From there, they’re able to inspect your entire furnace and report anything else that looks out of place. They’ll make sure everything runs as efficiently as possible so your month-to-month bills don’t continue to climb higher, and give you a full breakdown of everything they found. It’s always more expensive to fix a breakdown that didn’t need to happen than it is to upkeep that annual maintenance appointment slot on your calendar.
Switch Out Your Filter More Often
Do you know how often you’re supposed to put a new air filter in your furnace? It’s every 30-90 days, depending on use and type. However, most of us fall closer to that 30-day mark than not. If you check your furnace filter right now and compare it against a brand-new filter, you’re likely to see a thick layer of dust and debris clogging up the old one.
That’s a sign that this needs to be done more often. Your furnace is a forced-air heating system and a combustion system all at once. It needs that air, otherwise it can’t function, so when there’s a lot of dust in the filter, it’s not getting the volume of air that it’s supposed to. It makes a big difference and could alleviate your current furnace problems altogether.
Remove Clutter From Around the Furnace
As we talked about, as a forced-air system, your furnace really needs to have access to a lot of air whenever it needs it. Many of us keep boxes and storage items such as old Halloween decorations in the same room as our furnace as if it’s storage. If that’s what you do, it has to change–your furnace can’t handle clutter around it, so don’t restrict its ability to intake air and pop those boxes under the crawlspace if you have to.
No More Furnace Troubles
If you run into a breakdown anyway, which is bound to happen at some point (because you can’t prevent them all), you have us in your back pocket to call when things get rough. We hope you’ll use these tips to prevent unnecessary furnace troubles, and we’ll be here when you need us for all furnace issues, big and small.
Contact Potter Heating Cooling & Plumbing today to schedule your furnace repairs as soon as possible.