The importance of servicing your furnace

As the trees start to lose their leaves and the temperatures begin to drop, we tend to turn our home heating system on for comfort. However, what most people don’t realize is that, like any other appliance, our furnace also needs regular care in order to perform at its highest efficiency.

First: Clean up your Furnace

Regardless of what type of furnace you have, performing regular maintenance is the key for efficient out comings and money savings. Since dirt is the biggest enemy of your furnace, as it wastes fuel and considerably lowers your furnace’s efficiency, you can save you a lot of money on heating costs as well as avoid expensive repairs in the future simply by keeping your furnace clean.

Dirt affects all three basic components of your furnace: the filter system, the blower and the motor. Your furnace filter should be replaced or cleaned at the beginning of the heating season and about once a month during periods of continuous use in order to keep your home cleaner and to prevent dirt and debris from getting into your blower and damaging it.

Furthermore, you should also clean your furnace's duct system. A clean duct actually does improve the indoor air quality (IAQ) of your home as well as the efficiency of your furnace. Besides having a better IAQ, a clean duct system reduces the presence of household molds and allergens, eliminates unnecessary dust in your home, provides better airflow in your home, and helps to reduce energy costs.

Next Step: Addressing the ducts

Unfortunately there are many people out there that have never cleaned the air duct system in their homes. Although these giant sheet metal tubes are, many times, invisible to our everyday lives, they play a very important role in our heating and air conditioning systems.

Since the air and heating systems run in a cycle where a large tube runs cool air from inside the house to your furnace, that heats it, and then pushes it back through another set of tubes into each room of your home, the ducts carrying the cool air tend to be a bit dirtier than those that transport the warmer air. Besides that, we have the dirt and dust caused by the shedding of skin and hair that makes its way in from the outside, along with debris. If you have a pet, you will likely to see a higher volume of these particles in your home. On top of that, if you live in a humid area, the likelihood of mold developing in your home and in those air filtration systems is pretty high. Therefore, keeping your air filtration systems clean is essential for increasing energy efficiency as well as improving the indoor air quality of your home.

Although the ducts should be cleaned regularly, here are some particular times when such cleaning is a must:

You just moved in — Regardless if your home was just newly constructed or if it is an older one, when you first move in, it is always a good idea to perform a duct cleaning.
The air flow doesn’t feel right — If the hot air is not flowing through the vents properly, it may not be receiving enough air on the other end due to a blockage. After performing a filter replacement, if the flow is still weak, then you should look into duct cleaning.
There is water in your ducts —Moisture buildup within ducts can lead to mold issues, which can cause several health issues; so, if you find water in your air system, you should have your ducts cleaned as a safety precaution, and if you find mold in your ducts, then it is essential that you have them cleaned or replaced immediately.

While most heating systems are usually trouble-free and easy to maintain, some aspects of furnace maintenance can be very complex and they should be handled by professionals. If you are not sure where to go and who to call, give PurpleFuels a call at 203-208-4917.