Tips for Maintaining a Home Furnace

One of the worst things that could happen during the winter is for your home furnace to break down or malfunction. It is, therefore, important to regularly maintain your furnace unit and to know just when to call in the professionals. Here are three tips for keeping your furnace burning even through the coldest day.

Regular Cleaning

Dirt is perhaps the biggest problem that could plague a furnace. At the very least, it would cause clogs that will reduce the heating efficiency of your unit; the worst-case scenario would be that you’ll have a broken furnace with possibly dangerous leaks.

Using Your Nose

Your nose is your first tool in diagnosing a gas leak in the house. If you smell concentrated amounts of gas, get out of the house as quickly as possible and alert the gas company or the fire department immediately. For small leaks around the furnace unit, you can try to locate the leak by putting a mixture of detergent along the line; wherever the mixture bubbles up, there's gas escaping.

Calling Professional Repair

If you suspect a problem that's beyond your skill scope, it is best to call in a professional repair company than to use trial-and-error to solve the problem. Safety first, after all.

A home furnace is indeed a very big boon to homeowners in colder areas, but only if it works properly. That said, always stay on top of furnace maintenance so you never experience serious problems.