Autumn is officially here and temperatures are beginning to drop. Soon you’ll need more than a sweater to keep you warm and you’ll have to fire up your furnace.
If you haven’t already tuned up your furnace for the colder season, you won’t have to worry about any heating problems once the weather gets chillier.
But if you haven’t tuned up your furnace since spring, you might need to make some heating preparations before winter comes.
Another one bites the dust
Your furnace will have collected dust between the spring and summer months. And, if you’ve had your air conditioner shut off these last couple of weeks, odds are you’ve had dust collecting in your vents and ducts as well.
You may not notice this dust until you turn on your furnace for the first time. Your furnace will quickly burn this dust away, which is why it’s recommended to leave your windows open right before you activate your furnace for the first time.
Fortunately, this burning smell ought to disappear within a few minutes. If it doesn’t and it lingers for hours instead, it may be in your best interest to contact a trusted HVAC service to come and take a look.
What pre-winter precautions can I take?
After you’ve burned away half a year’s worth of dust in your vents and ducts, you can take a few other precautions to prep your furnace for the heating season.
These precautions include:
- Clearing your furnace area. You’ll want to move things around in your home if your furnace is located in your house’s storage area. Flammable materials left near your furnace are a fire hazard.
- Testing your thermostat. Take a digital thermometer from room to room to make sure your furnace is evenly and accurately heating your house.
- Changing your filter. Replace your filter if it’s dirty or clogged with dust and debris to start your heating season off right.
Hire the HVAC services Harrisonburg residents know and trust
Up to 75% of no-heat calls during the winter months are related to a lack of maintenance. Regular maintenance is crucial when it comes to preparing your HVAC system for the more extreme seasons.
Left unserviced, your furnace could stop working and leave your family in the cold when you need it most. Valley Air provides the HVAC services Harrisonburg residents can rely on to deliver optimal HVAC maintenance when you need it. To learn more about our heating repair services and residential HVAC maintenance, contact Valley Air today.