Colder days aren’t far off in central Wisconsin, and that means it’s time to start thinking about furnace maintenance for the winter season. If you’re unsure how to maintain your furnace for peak performance, our team at Steve’s Plumbing & Heating is here to help!
Check out our tips below that’ll help ensure your heating system performs optimally all winter long.
Change Air Filters Regularly
Everyone knows they should change their HVAC filters on a routine schedule. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is diligent about doing it. To keep your furnace functioning efficiently all winter long, it’s in your best interest to swap out your filter about every 30 days.
Upgrading to a HEPA or electrostatic filter will also help ensure you keep indoor airborne pollutants to a minimum so you can enjoy better indoor air quality while you’re stuck in the house.
Schedule Annual Furnace Maintenance With a Pro
Setting up an annual maintenance appointment with a professional HVAC technician is the best thing you can do to maintain your furnace properly. A furnace maintenance specialist will inspect the entire apparatus to identify deteriorated components that should be replaced before winter hits.
In addition to the inspection, a maintenance specialist will also:
● Clean the heat exchanger and inspect for cracks that can allow carbon monoxide leaks
● Test and clean the burners
● Clear all debris from the drainage tube
● Test the control valve and fix any issues with it
● Clean the blower and oil the blower motor if necessary
● Test airflow through the system to ensure the unit is operating correctly
● Test the pilot light to ensure it’s functioning properly
If you haven’t yet scheduled a pre-winter furnace maintenance appointment, now is the time to get that on your calendar. Heating companies tend to book up very quickly as winter approaches, so the earlier you secure an appointment, the better.
Test Your Thermostat
If your thermostat has been set to cool for the better part of the year, it’s important you test its heating functionality before cold weather sets in. Testing it out early will allow you to detect potential thermostat issues that may prevent your furnace from functioning properly when you really need it.
If the apparatus doesn’t respond as it should when you set it to heat, it may be improperly calibrated, or its wiring may have deteriorated. Regardless of what might be wrong with it, a furnace repair specialist can diagnose the issue and provide the appropriate repairs to ensure the device works properly.
Ensure Your Ductwork & Vents Stay Clean
Dirty ductwork can clog up your furnace and reduce its heating efficiency, so if you want top-notch heating performance this winter, duct cleaning and maintenance are essential. If it’s been a while since you had your ducts cleaned, it’s probably in your best interest to schedule professional duct cleaning with an HVAC service company before winter weather hits.
While you’re at it, it’s also a good idea to have your ducts inspected for cracks, holes, and general wear and tear. Replacing damaged ductwork before freezing weather sets in will help ensure your furnace can properly heat your home.
Keep Your Air Vents Open
Although you might feel like closing a vent or two to direct warm air elsewhere in your home, don’t do that. In order to prevent excess air pressure from building within your HVAC system, it’s best to keep all the vents in your house open for at least a small amount.
If you close some of them, the furnace must work harder than necessary to force air through the duct system, which can decrease its efficiency and cause excessive wear and tear on certain system components.
Swap Out Your Furnace Filter
If you’re not great about changing your HVAC filters on a regular basis (as in every 30 to 90 days), you’ll definitely want to swap out your filter before winter rolls around. A filthy filter not only allows lots of particulate matter to enter your duct system and clog it up but can also negatively impact the efficiency of your furnace.
What’s more, a super-dirty filter can force your furnace to work harder than necessary just to pull air into the duct system. And when that happens, especially if you tend to leave dirty filters in place far too long, all of that extra work can put excessive strain on your furnace.
As the unit is forced to work harder than necessary just to keep your house comfortable, its components wear faster than they should, and its lifespan inevitably decreases.
Throughout winter, be sure to keep a close eye on your filter, too. Since you’ll likely spend more time indoors when it’s freezing out, you may need to swap out the filter more often than you do during other seasons of the year.
Clear Some Space Around Your Furnace
If the area around your furnace is already clear, you can skip this step. But if you moved a few things into the unit’s immediate area during the summer, you’ll want to clear those out before cold weather hits.
Move anything inherently flammable (cardboard boxes, fabric, etc.) far, far away from the unit, so those items don’t present more of a fire hazard than necessary. If you have any non-flammable items near the unit, move those away, too. Ideally, you want to clear a 30-inch radius around the furnace before you start using it. Better safe than sorry, right?
Double-Check Exhaust Flues
If you have a gas furnace, it should have one or more exhaust flues located outdoors. These flues vent gasses out of your home, so they must be clean and clear to do their job properly. If they aren’t, and you use your furnace, you could put yourself at serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Before cold weather sets in, make sure you inspect those flues for leaves, pine needles, branches, and other outdoor debris that can clog them up. Since these vents are typically situated on the roof of most homes, you want to have a furnace maintenance pro tackle this job.
Your Wisconsin Rapids Source for Complete Furnace Maintenance
Need to make sure your furnace is in proper working order before winter comes calling? Then don’t hesitate to schedule annual furnace maintenance with HVAC experts at Steve’s Plumbing & Heating! We’ll inspect and clean your furnace, assess its performance, look for potential red flags, and advise you on the best way to handle any issues your HVAC system may have.
Schedule service or learn more by calling our Wisconsin Rapids office at 715-421-1800. You can also request a service estimate online, and a member of our team will be in touch!