SPONSORED:

5 Furnace Things to Check

Ah, December! The chilly, misty mornings, the early twilight, the comfort of our heated homes. Modern furnaces are a welcome part of most homes, but when the furnace isn’t working properly, life in your home is less than ideal. To keep your furnace operating at tip-top performance and at its peak efficiency, check our 5 Furnace Things to Check list. Green City Heating and Air can help you with more complicated furnace repairs in Kent, but these are a few things homeowners can do themselves.

1. Check for any strange noises.

This may seem obvious, but we can quickly grow accustomed to a new noise an appliance in our home is making. Even a furnace that still seems to be working just fine might begin emitting some odd noises that don’t seem quite right. It’s similar to when your car makes a strange noise–best not to ignore that early sign of trouble. Getting an “innocent” noise checked by a professional could reveal a larger problem about to happen–that could save you money, time, and trouble.

2. Check for any strange smells.

If you have a gas furnace, any rotten-egg smell is a danger sign and should never be ignored—the smell is added to the gas to make it easily detectable. This is probably a gas leak and needs immediate attention by a trained furnace electrician or installer. Likewise, any burning plastic or smoke smells should never be ignored either. This could be a heating unit operating inefficiently or breaking down completely. If strange smells occur, turn off your furnace immediately, ventilate the area, and call for professional help.

3. Check and replace your furnace filter.

If you are like most of us, replacing or cleaning the furnace filter is a low priority. But by changing and/or cleaning your furnace filter on a routine schedule (it depends on the type whether you need to replace or just clean it), you help the furnace do its job properly. Dirty, dusty filters cause the heating unit to work harder, which could contribute to its early demise or overheating, which can cause other mechanical or electrical failures. Changing the filter is the car equivalent of changing your oil filter. That makes your car last longer and perform better, and shouldn’t be ignored.

4. Check the age of your unit.

Most of us don’t know how old the heating units are in our homes. The age of your home could be a quick indicator. If your home is less than a decade old, it’s likely that the furnace installed with the house build is still intact. However, in older homes, it’s a good idea to investigate. Don’t get caught off guard with an aging unit that needs service or replacing. Check for service labels or a manufacturer plate. If you can’t find a date on the unit, it’s likely a quick call to the manufacturer with the serial number will give you a manufacture date. Although furnaces can last a long time with proper care and moderate use, a unit over a decade old can begin to fail. Green City Heating and Air can provide you approximate life expectations of different types of furnaces.

5. Clean around your heating unit.

Often heating units (boilers, heat pumps, furnaces) are located in garages, closets or other out-of-the-way locations. This makes it easy to neglect general upkeep around their locations. Vacuuming or sweeping for dust and pet hair is a good idea to add to your cleaning schedule. That dust and pet hair has a way of making it into your heating unit, which could cause inefficiency and wear. Cleaning inside any unit should be handled by a professional—no one wants to risk getting hurt or electrocuted. Make sure you aren’t storing miscellaneous objects close to your furnace.

If you have service needs with your furnace or need to consider replacing or repairing an older heating system, call Green City Heating and Air. We can provide quick and efficient routine service, repairs, and cleaning of your furnace or give you options and estimates on replacement if your furnace is beyond its useful life. We service all of the Kent area for all your furnace repair and service needs.

In the event of an unexpected furnace breakdown, we also offer emergency gas heat repair service to Kent area homeowners. We get the gas heat repair job done right the first time. So, call us today regarding all furnace needs. The benefits of hiring us to fix gas furnaces include our:

    • Licensed and insured company
    • FREE quotes
    • High-tech tools and parts
    • Responsive customer service

For any additional information or to schedule a gas heat repair service for your Kent home, please call Green City Heating and Air Conditioning at (253) 465-7575.

Scott Schaefer

Founder/Publisher/Editor. Three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”), Director, Producer, Journalist and more...