Staying warm is imperative during these colder winter months. Luckily, there are many different ways to heat your home. Furnaces are perhaps the most popular way homeowners keep their homes heated and comfortable. While there are many different sizes, shapes, models and types of furnaces, all of them have to be cleaned and maintained in order to maximize their efficiency and overall performance.
We’ve put together some things to keep in mind when it comes to maintaining your residential furnace in this blog series. Below, you’ll find part 2 in this series of maintenance tips and items to keep in mind:
1. Keeping your furnace clean is the best step to maintaining the longevity and performance of your furnace. There’s no better way to maximize the efficiency of your furnace and overall heating system than to keep it clean. When you hire a professional for regular service, cleaning the unit will certainly be included in that process, as they know how important it is. While there are other steps to ensuring your furnace is in proper working order, such as checking or adjusting the belt or lubricating the furnace, cleaning should be tops on the inspection checklist.
2. Keep a calendar alert or mark for changing your furnace filter. Keeping in the realm of a clean furnace and heating system in your home, changing the filter is extremely important to making sure your furnace is not working harder than it has to be. Different types of filters have different time periods for which they can be used, so make sure you know the exact recommended time your unit can go before having a fresh filter. Most standard filters should be replaced every 1 to 2 months. While this is a very easy fix and replacement, it’s often on that is overlooked by homeowners, or they simply forget about it. Setting an alarm on your phone is a great way to make sure you never miss a filter replacement. Remember, the arrows on the replacement filters should face the direction of the airflow into the duct system.
3. Check your furnace belts. Worn or frayed belts should be red flags during furnace maintenance and should both be replaced. Again, if you have a professional doing the service check, he or she will recommend replacement. A broken belt can lead to a quick, and major, problem—one that could lead to the need for an expensive repair call.
We’ll have one more post in this series with a few more furnace maintenance tips and reminders coming to the blog shortly. Again, you can always contact BelRed to speak in more detail about getting some help with these (and many other) furnace inspection and maintenance steps.
