Furnaces are not cheap appliances, and as with many other types of equipment, the nature of maintenance and care contributes to their long quality service, proper energy efficiency, and optimal operation throughout the lifespan.
It is essential to pay detailed attention to the preventive care of these appliances for better services. Activities such as regular cleaning and lubrication are a few of the preventive care measures that you can adopt for your furnaces.
Most people forget that these types of equipment exist, and some people use it as a storage space when not in use. However, to cut the costs of maintenance and repairs that may have a massive effect on your finances, it is essential to pay attention to the care and maintenance of these appliances.
The best furnace preventive care suggests performing maintenance on the parts of the system for adequate care. Also, there are simple preventive care tips you can follow to allow your furnace to have a longer life span and operate efficiently.
Maintenance by Parts
For a furnace to fully operate and function with minimal failure, the owner must carry out preventive care for each part of the system at the appropriate time. The most important elements include the burners, pipes, blowers, lubrication system, electric arc, and filter area.
Burners, Pipes, and Filter areas
The furnace burners require an inspection every three months to ensure that the ignition rod is working correctly and that no leaks could affect the ignited flame. Additionally, this ensures that temperatures are regulated perfectly.
Furnace preventive care recommends cleaning the piping system to prevent blockages from dirt, soot, and debris. Also, it’s necessary to clean out the pipes in the areas where high temperatures occur.
The filter areas require change since filters wear out quickly, and over time, they no longer perform the same function; thus, it is necessary for change. The air filters accumulate smoke and debris that can block the fan motors, preventing the release of hot air.
While cleaning out the filters, please remove them and immerse and soak them in boiling water that adds baking soda and dish soap. Then rub the areas with stuck dirt, dry them, and put them back into the heating system.
Regular Cleaning
Furnace preventive care professionals recommend performing a thorough deep cleaning at least once a year to clean out the accumulated dirt, debris, soot, and other unwanted materials from the furnace. However, regular cleaning for about three to four months a year is essential to reduce excessive damage.
During cleaning, you can use a humid dump cloth to wipe off the dust. Ideally, use a vinegar-soaked material to wipe off the dust. It is necessary to clean out the packaging area of the furnace. Additionally, clean through the glassy areas and remove the accumulated excess dirt with a damp cloth around the glass.
A little degreaser can remove the soil thoroughly if the glass contains excess dirt or soot. However, avoid using abrasive fibers and cloth that can get stuck in the furnace system and cause clogging or become a barrier to the functioning of the appliance.
Lubricate the Fan Motor
The fan motor is a critical element of the furnace as it controls and regulates the release of hot air during the performance. Therefore, cleaning the engines with oil at least twice a year is vital to keep the internal temperatures constant.
However, furnace preventive care measures suggest lubricating the motor when the air filters are clean. Moreover, different furnaces have specific manual guidelines; thus, check out the manual to know how to proceed while lubricating.
Check For Defects
When the furnace is not heating correctly or may experience faultiness, it is necessary to solve the issues quickly to prevent the problem from accelerating further to cause severe damage. The best furnace preventive care in this situation is to consult with a professional technician in an HVAC company to assist you in sorting out the problems.
Also, reading the appliance manual is vital as it will allow you to know how to act or respond to the arising issues and the ways to troubleshoot and fix the problems yourself. However, few people maintain the furnace manual; thus, do serious research for repair service providers and get reviews of the different people that have used the services to know if they are suitable to solve your problems.
Recalibrate your Furnace When the Temperature is not Correct
When the temperatures released are not proper, causing the furnace to produce low heat or not emit any heat, check out the source of the problem and deal with it. During furnace preventive care, when temperatures are not okay, it signals inefficient working of the thermostat.
To fix this issue, consult with a furnace repair technician to help recalibrate the thermostat to the specific degrees. The temperature degrees of the furnace should be five degrees above the house temperature. Another way is to read the appliance manual to know how to recalibrate or find information concerning your specific model on how to fix the temperature issues.
Inspect the Gas Line
Another furnace preventive care is to inspect the gas line from the central interior up to the furnace burners. You can achieve this by switching off the furnace or the gas chamber, standing close to the stove, and following the gas line. Perform inspection to ensure that the gas line remains open.
Additionally, if the furnace consists of a pilot light, check if it is on and if not, follow the manual to re-light it. Suppose the pilot light fails to stay on after a few times; call a repair technician to handle the situation. Moreover, inspecting the gas line allows early detection of gas leaks that, if left unattended, can cause great harm when the furnace heating system is on.
The furnace can blow out, hurting anyone in the house, and in severe cases, the house may catch fire, which damages more properties. Thus, regular gas line inspection is essential as a preventive care measure.
Clean the Heat Pumps or Intake and Exhaust Vents
Furnaces installed to vent outside the house attract most leaves, dirt, and debris, which can block the intake and exhaust process. So to ensure quality furnace preventive care, ensure that a mesh hardware cloth of half an inch covers the pipes with a screen mesh.
If the pipes are clogged, the system may run slowly and cause many fluctuations; thus, clean the lines to avoid blockage. In some scenarios, ice may block the pipes: clear it out and call a technician to help diagnose why it’s forming and its source.
Ensure the grass and leave from the outdoor compressor unit for the heat pumps and exhaust vents is well cleared. Additionally, use a hose pipe and gently remove and rinse the dirt and debris out of the fan housing.
Also, check out the vents by walking through the house to ensure that nothing is blocking them and no material is preventing the heat flow and release.
Know the Age of Your Furnace
It’s essential to know the furnace’s age since they all have a given period of operation. Also, this helps you to avoid high maintenance costs and utility bills to lower energy efficiency. On the other hand, it helps you know which measures and preventive care you will adopt to extend the functionality and operation of the furnace.
Also, since most of these appliances have a warranty period, it is necessary to know when the warranty expires to ensure that you receive the needed heating productivity. Additionally, you will know whether to continue with repairs or purchase a new appliance.
Flame Sensor Cleaning
The flame sensor is a vital safety element in the furnace since it safeguards the furnace from unsafe fuel burning. A dirty flame sensor can result in improper functioning of the stove hence the need for cleaning as a preventive measure.
Poor cleaning of the flame sensor can result in the buildup of oxidation and carbon that can prevent the sensor’s ability to perform correctly, resulting in the furnace malfunctioning. While this process is challenging, a furnace repair technician’s presence helps clean out the dirt and complete a diagnostic procedure.
Benefits of Furnace Preventive Care
Reduce costs
A preventive care program for the furnaces prevents costs in purchasing and shipping damaged or poorly functioning parts and minimizes the cost of diagnosing failures when the appliance is not functional.
The furnace owner can do a planned furnace preventive care schedule before the appliance shuts down to minimize the costs and time for maintenance and repairs. Additionally, as the system ages, they become less energy efficient; thus, consuming more preventive care helps to reduce energy efficiency costs.
Extends the Useful Life of Equipment
Replacing furnaces is expensive. Every furnace has an average period required to operate, and furnace preventive care ensures that the equipment is operational for a longer time. Also, this prevents you from incurring costs to replace damaged equipment elements.
Improves Security
A malfunctioning furnace is dangerous and can cause serious accidents. A furnace preventive care schedule is necessary to prevent such occurrences from happening. Mitigating risks is essential while operating a furnace system, and preventative care is needed to avoid these risks.
With quality Furnace preventive care, the appliance will operate efficiently, providing a quality service that ensures every household member is safe and secure during their stay.
Minimal Repairs
Regular furnace preventive care reduces the probability of appliance breakdowns regularly. A well-cared system will have fewer issues with its blow motors, thermostat, pumps and vents, compressors, and other components that can cause more problems as time passes.
Also, you will spend little time and few costs diagnosing problems when the furnace system is in place. If the furnace system is having issues regularly, it could mean more significant problems will come out with time; hence addressing the signs early and quickly through preventive care can prevent costly repairs.
Keeps Warranty Valid
Most appliance warranty remains valid on the essence that the owner followed and had a regular maintenance schedule of the appliance bore failure or shutting down of the equipment. If the furnace fails because you failed to follow the maintenance requirements, the warranties may not work efficiently for you when needed.
Following a furnace preventive care enables you to use the warranty benefits and maintains the validity as long as possible. Additionally, when the furnace breaks and shuts down, it becomes possible to use the warranty to re-order a new piece of equipment.
Peace of Mind
A regular furnace preventive care gives you peace of mind all year round and allows you to keep the energy costs low. Additionally, you have the assurance that your appliance is functioning efficiently with no issues and will serve you throughout the year.
Furnaces are critical pieces of equipment; therefore, it’s necessary to build up with cautionary steps and preventive ways with the help of a professional technician to be on the safe side when the unknown occurs.
Less Likely to Fail During Extreme Weather
During extreme weather, appliances can fail miserably and cause you to incur considerable costs to make repairs and improve the functionality of the devices. However, regular furnace preventive care measures help to appliance maintain its core strength to withstand the harsh weather seasons.
Preventive care allows the furnaces to perform optimally during hot and cold seasons. Additionally, the preventative instructions help the appliance remains in shape throughout the day. Regular cleaning and general checkups extend the life of the equipment during times when the environmental conditions are unfavorable.
Conclusion
Preventive care measures are necessary for the optimal performance of furnace equipment. Regular lubrication of the motor, cleaning of the heat pumps, recalibrating the thermostat, and routine inspection helps the appliance operate smoothly and efficiently.
Additionally, it’s an excellent way to have peace of mind knowing your appliances are working correctly, and you will not incur unnecessary costs for repairs and purchasing pieces of the machine to replace damaged ones.