If you have a furnace that you use to heat your home, the last thing that you want to have happen is for that furnace to go out during a cold time. But to increase the chances of you having a reliable furnace, you have to care for it with regular maintenance.
If you want to make sure that your furnace system is working as it should be, here are three tips for caring for your furnace.
Turn The Unit Off Before Maintenance
Before you start doing any kind of maintenance on your furnace, the first thing that you’ll need to do is turn the unit off.
If you fail to turn off your furnace before you start poking around with it, you run the risk of touching something that could harm you. Additionally, messing with things in your furnace when the unit is still running could result in damage being caused to the unit. So to ensure that neither of these things happen, when you’re working on your furnace, make sure that you shut the unit down completely before you get started. This can either be done by turning the unit off or by shutting off the power at the breaker to ensure that it won’t accidentally get turned back on while you’re still working.
Replace Those Filters Regularly
One of the easiest and most important maintenance tasks to do with your furnace is to replace the air filter on a consistent basis. When the air filter isn’t replaced when it should be, your furnace unit will have to work a lot harder to get air pushed through the system, which puts a lot of unnecessary strain in the unit and could cause it to stop working as it should. It can also really ramp up your utility bills, which no one wants to have happen.
In most cases, you’ll want to check your furnace filter every month and plan to replace it at least every three months. If you check the filter and notice that it’s looking dirty before the three months where you’d normally replace it, you should replace it sooner so that your furnace can operate as efficiently as possible.
Break Out Your Vacuum
Another maintenance task that you can do to help your furnace operate efficiently is to make sure you vacuum out all of the dirt and dust that accumulates there.
To best do this, make sure your furnace unit is off and then use a smaller attachment to your vacuum so that you can get into all of the books and crannies. You can vacuum the burner, the blower cavities, the blower blades, and more.
If you want to take the best possible care of your furnace, consider implementing some of the maintenance tips mentioned above.