Furnaces are one of the many systems in our homes that see a lot of use, especially during the winter. When the temperature drops to a brisk level, we often turn on the heat to make working at home and playing far more comfortable.
Even something as simple as going to sleep after a long day can be much easier and more comfortable thanks to the warm air from our homes’ furnaces.
With frequent use, however, comes a lot of wear and tear. Many furnaces often use heat exchangers, as well as some sort of fuel to create the heat that’s needed to warm the air in your home. When it comes to gas furnaces, the fuel itself is often burned and if any residue isn’t made, dust and other kinds of debris can be pulled in instead.
Even electric furnaces can have the small amounts of strain that’s put on its parts build up over time. So, in order to prevent your home’s furnace from completely failing, the question,“how often should a furnace be serviced?” is often brought up.
Today’s blog post will answer the question, “how often to service your furnace?”, as well as what the signs are that it needs to be cleaned up, we’ve put together this article as help.
If you find any of these signs in your own furnace or just want to schedule a maintenance appointment, reach out to one of our technicians at Clover Contracting.
How often should your furnace be serviced on average?
As with many HVAC systems, there isn’t one fixed amount of time that you absolutely need to get your furnace serviced by. Many heating and cooling systems often need more or less time depending on the number of people that live in the household and the number of pets.
The more people and the more pets there are, the shorter the amount of time between regular servicing appointments should be. And if you live alone in a home, you can more than likely push the date back a few weeks.
However, many HVAC technicians have a recommended amount of time for regular maintenance. As a general answer to “how often should you have your furnace serviced?”, professionals recommend furnace maintenance at least once a year.
While your furnace may not be dirty, regular servicing is a fantastic preventative measure that can help you avoid more severe issues from happening later on.
As a result, the answer to “should I get my gas furnace serviced every year?” is a resounding yes!
Signs your furnace needs a cleaning
Here are some of the signs that your furnace needs to be cleaned:
Excess of dust in the air
One of the more common signs that you need maintenance done on your furnace and that it needs cleaning is the sudden increase in dust in the air and on your furniture. This is especially true if you haven’t changed the furnace’s filters in quite a bit of time, since that’s what cleans out the extra dust from the air.
The air that’s been heated is blown through an air filter that’s specially designed to trap dust and allergens. With the filter itself being dirty, it can’t trap the dust and it’s being blown out into your home or business.
Your furnace and its parts are noisy
With the frequent use that often comes with the start of winter and cold weather, many of the parts that make up your furnace and the vents that move the air through the building can become loose. This can often lead to some of them vibrating more often and causing clicks, clunks and thuds throughout the day.
Typically, most of these sounds aren’t a big issue and can be fixed easily by tightening some screws and readjusting a few parts. However, if you hear a loud bang or other unusual noises, call our team at Clover Contracting and we’ll send a technician to help right away.
Temperature issues
If the temperature is uneven in your home, there’s a high chance that the cause is an unclean furnace that’s in need of servicing.
Again, this can be caused by a dirty air filter blocking most of the hot air from properly spreading through your home, but it can also be caused by a few other things. If replacing the filter doesn’t fix the issue, check to see that your thermostat is working and replace it if needed.
Your energy costs are increasing
Since many of the other possible signs can go unnoticed for quite a long time, one of the most noticeable ways that you can know that you need to get your furnace maintained is checking what your energy costs are.
Over time, dust and debris can build up inside the furnace, blocking the air from properly getting into and out of the furnace. Whenever the system, its parts or its filters are unclean, the entire system can start to work harder to make up for the lack of good airflow. This can cause the furnace to start using more energy as well, showing itself when you finally get the energy bill.
What to expect when you get your furnace professionally serviced
When it comes to the servicing appointment itself, the technician does a number of different tasks to make sure that your furnace – and air conditioner, if needed – are working smoothly and efficiently.
Typically, they’ll carefully check the vents and the furnace itself for any damage, corrosion or blockages and remove many of them if they find any.
Some technicians might also replace some of the smaller parts if they choose to. If your thermostat isn’t properly calibrated or if the filter’s unclean, the technician is able to address and fix the issues.
Takeaway
If you’re wondering, “how often should your furnace be serviced?”, the answer is fairly simple.
While it can vary depending on the number of people in your home, it’s a good habit to get your furnace assessed once a year.
Doing this allows you to make sure that all of your furnace’s parts are properly calibrated, balanced and clean so that the system can continue to work at its peak efficiency for a long time.
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