All appliances require routine maintenance, and your furnace is no exception. As it works diligently to warm your home all winter long, your heating system will accumulate dust, dirt, and grime, which is why deep cleaning is so important. While routine furnace filter replacement is essential to keep your furnace in top condition, routine professional gas furnace tune-ups can help to remove dirt from parts and sensors, improving heating system performance, efficiency, and indoor air quality.
During professional tune-ups, HVAC contractors will conduct essential annual maintenance service. They inspect sensors, fans, ducts, ignitors, burners, and other components of your furnace, such as blower motor ball bearings and fan belts. Damaged components may require repair or replacement parts, and any element that isn’t working at its best will be carefully calibrated and adjusted to ensure maximum efficiency.
Furnace maintenance tune-ups should be completed before winter, ideally in the fall. Conventional furnaces require one annual tune-up, while heat pumps should be serviced once in the fall to prepare the system for heating, and once in the spring to pave the way for efficient cooling. While it can be difficult to make time for an essential furnace cleaning and tune-up, homeowners must make this task a priority to protect their furnace—and their family. Clean, functional furnaces keep your home comfortable, clean, and safe since they are less likely to emit dangerous carbon monoxide.
Here at Jarboe’s Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, we are committed to helping homeowners live better by making furnace maintenance simple. Follow this easy-to-use guide to learn each step of how to clean dirt and test your gas furnace.
Your furnace is designed to heat air and circulate air through a complex, carefully balanced heating system. As air is pulled in through returns and moved across the heat exchanger, it is gently warmed and redistributed throughout your home. However, homes are hardly sterile, and dust, dirt, dander, cooking fumes, and even cleaning overspray can pollute your indoor air.
Furnaces are made with an air filtration compartment to screen these fine particulates, and when they are clean and sized appropriately, they work well to keep your furnace—and your indoor air—clean. However, if filters become dirty, contaminants can enter into the furnace housing, collect on components, and spell trouble for your system. Even the most stalwart filter replacers may discover a dirty furnace from time to time since no filter is perfect. Routine cleanings are necessary to keep your system as tidy and functional as possible. Here are a few reasons dust and dirt can cause problems for your furnace.
Your furnace should be professionally cleaned annually every fall. However, if you have missed your yearly tune-up, it’s never too late for a cleaning. Since families spend more time inside during the winter, and the air in your home recirculates several times a day, having your system deep cleaned can help you to ward off heating and efficiency problems. Your furnace may become dirty due to heavy use, requiring a cleaning mid-season, which you can likely do yourself – but if you’re not comfortable, always call your technician for help.
Anytime your furnace has gone longer than a year between tune-ups and deep cleanings, it’s time to schedule a service call. However, these other signs could signal the need for a thorough internal furnace cleaning in between your regularly scheduled furnace maintenance visits:
Professional HVAC technicians are best suited for maintaining a furnace since there are delicate components that could be damaged by mishandling. However, you can maintain a clean, healthy furnace by carefully following these steps.
Anytime you clean or service your furnace, you need to make sure the system is completely disconnected from gas and power supplies. Shut down your furnace by turning off the breaker located on your home’s electrical panel. Find the gas valve that supplies your furnace and turn the valve until it is perpendicular to the line. The valve is open when it runs parallel to the line, so make sure it is closed firmly before proceeding.
After you have your furnace switched off, it’s a good idea to check and replace the air filter. Air filters should be visibly clean. If you open the compartment where your air filter is located, and the entire surface is covered with dust and grime, it’s time for a new air filter. Disposable air filters should be checked every few weeks and may need to be replaced once a month during winter since people spend more time inside with recirculated air.
Double-check filters by holding them up to a light source, such as a window during the day. If you can see light through the filter, it’s still clean enough to filter air effectively. If the light doesn’t shine through, you need to replace the filter.
If you use reusable, washable filters, start cleaning the surface by vacuuming away dirt and grime. Wash the surface of the filter with clean water, and place the filter on a dry towel to allow it to fully dry before placing it back into the furnace compartment.
Furnaces rely on a blower motor and fan to push warmed air through the air ducts and into your home. Each furnace contains a compartment that houses the fan and blower motor, along with the fan belt that connects the two. Here are instructions for cleaning this essential component.
Your furnace uses combustion to heat the air inside your home. Your furnace has a combustion chamber where it burns fuel. Unfortunately, combustion creates soot, and this grime can corrode internal components and build up upon burners and pilot lights if it is allowed to sit in the same place for long enough. Here are steps for cleaning this essential chamber:
After the inside of your furnace is clean, tidy up the exterior by wiping the cabinet down with a damp washcloth. This step removes dirt and dust that could be sucked back into your system. Never use cleaners other than plain water, since some products are flammable. Before you turn your system back on, check these elements to make sure the parts were replaced properly.
If you cleaned your furnace properly, your system should start right up. However, if your system fails to ignite, makes strange noises, or doesn’t seem to be warming your home, contact us right away for help. Here at Jarboe’s Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, we are always on hand in Louisville, KY for fast, efficient help. Give us a call today to schedule your next furnace tune-up.