Furnaces are put under extraordinary strain during the winter, even in a relatively warm area like Southern California. If you’re using your furnace at all this winter, and we’re going to assume you are if you’re reading this blog, then you should make sure to take some steps to help the system deal with the added demand you’re placing on it. If you take care of your furnace, after all, it will take care of you. The following are two of the best tips you can follow to keep your furnace functioning properly this winter.
Furnace Maintenance
You really, really shouldn’t be waiting for a problem to start obviously announcing its presence before doing something about it. We understand that sometimes you don’t have a choice, but when at all possible you should be trying to catch issues before they get far enough along to have obvious symptoms. How do you do that? With preventive maintenance appointments.
A preventive maintenance appointment involves close examination of the entire furnace by a professional technician, who will highlight and repair problems before they have the chance to get worse. Doing this on a consistent annual basis can improve your furnace’s efficiency by up to 40%, as well as reduce the odds of further issues developing by up to 90%! You can potentially save many thousands of dollars in repair costs by having maintenance conducted on a regular basis, and extend the effective lifespan of your furnace in the process. Just make sure that you have it scheduled at least once a year, preferably during the fall. This ensures that your furnace is in the best possible shape before it has to deal with the added strain of winter.
Don’t Hesitate to Call for Repairs When Necessary
Just because you schedule maintenance on a regular basis, doesn’t mean you should wait to address a problem until your next appointment. Maintenance is not fool proof, and it is pretty likely that you will have to deal with a problem between maintenance appointments at some point in the life of the furnace. If you notice anything suspicious going on with your furnace, like the presence of strange smells or noises, it’s highly recommended that you call for repairs as soon as possible.
There are a lot of different signs and symptoms that indicate that you should have a professional look at your system. Short cycling is a serious issue in which the furnace turns itself on and off every couple of minutes, for example. There’s also low heating output, which can be caused by any number of things from a malfunctioning burner assembly to a clogged air filter. What’s important is that you have a professional technician examine the system as soon as possible after you discover one of these symptoms. And if at any point you’re not sure whether or not your furnace has a problem, it’s best to have someone check it out just to be safe.
Saddleback Plumbing offers furnace repair services of all kinds in Orange County, CA. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.