Fall Back With These Furnace Preparation Tips

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Summer's not over yet, but now is a good time to get your furnace in shape. After all, a little preparation can go a long way towards keeping your home comfortable as temperatures drop. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare your furnace for fall and winter duty this year.

Clean Your Furnace From Top to Bottom

Your furnace becomes a haven for dust and debris as it sits dormant throughout the summer. Turning your furnace on while it's in this state could be harmful for a variety of reasons. For starters, no one likes the smell of burning dust as your furnace heats up. Secondly, it only takes a little dust and debris to spark a potential fire.

• Wipe down the exterior of your furnace with a soft, damp cloth. Check the exterior for any signs of damage or rust buildup while you're at it.
• Vacuum as much dirt and debris as you can from underneath the furnace. Open up the furnace cabinet and vacuum debris from inside the unit, as well.
• Check the furnace burners for soot and caked-on debris and clean them as needed. Use a wire brush to scrub and scrape away the debris.

If you haven't already done so, make sure you've changed the furnace filter and cleaned both the intake air grille and supply air vents.

Check for Fuel and Fuel Leaks

For gas and oil-fired furnaces, make sure there's plenty of fuel available for your furnace to run properly. If your furnace relies on propane or fuel oil, a quick call to your local fuel supplier may be in the works. Check and make sure the fuel tank as well as the fuel lines are in relatively good condition.

While fuel oil leaks are easy to spot, you may need to follow your other senses when dealing with a propane or natural gas leak. Both propane and natural gas have a pungent, artificial odor added for leak detection purposes. If you suddenly smell rotten eggs or a dead animal, take the appropriate steps to keep you and loved ones safe.

Have a Professional Inspect Your Furnace

Furnaces have plenty of nooks and crannies that prove challenging for the average person to inspect on their own. For instance, it may prove next to impossible to properly inspect your furnace's heat exchangers, due to those components being buried deep within the furnace.

Your furnace repair technician will have the tools and expertise to check these and other hard-to-reach areas. In addition, your technician's seasoned eye can spot other issues you may have overlooked during your own inspection. 

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22 August 2018