What Is The First Thing You Check When Maintaining A Furnace?

If you want to keep your maintenance costs low, you should take the following quick and crucial steps for your system.

• Inspect The Outside Area

Outdoor inspection involves two things. First, vacate the area around the outside unit. Second, ensure proper power supply to the furnace. Vacating the area around the outside unit is required to ensure smooth airflow.

If there are restrictions on the airflow near the outside unit, your furnace will not work efficiently. Inspecting the power supply for physical damages is required to ensure there are no voltage issues.

• Inspect The Thermostat

As you know, the thermostat is the backbone of the furnace. Without an efficient thermostat, the furnace will not know the ideal temperature for your home.

Before you switch on the furnace, ensure the thermostat has no batteries or wire issues. If possible, install a smart thermostat, and you will not have to inspect the thermostat as frequently.

• Checking The Filters And Belts

The air filters and fan belts of your furnace play an important role in efficiently working the overall system. Air filters ensure that your system will not face airflow issues.

You should replace and clean your air filters to avoid poor indoor air quality and airflow issues. You should also check the fan belts for smoother functioning of the system.

• Inspecting The Pilot Light

If your furnace is a flame furnace, you need not worry about its pilot light, as flame furnaces do not have a pilot light in the first place. However, if your furnace is not a flame furnace, you should inspect its pilot light before you start using it.

Try lighting the pilot light with a matchstick or lighter. If it lights easily and is blue, you can start using your furnace with no problem. However, if the pilot light does not light even after a few tries or the flame is not blue, you should consider contacting a professional.

• Lubricating The Parts

Oiling the moving parts of your furnace is important to ensure lesser wear and tear damage to the system. Without lubricating the parts, your furnace will face excessive wear and tear damage, and you will have to contact a technician to fix it.

• Contacting A Professional

You can fix a few problems with your furnace yourself, but several problems require professional attention and years of experience. If you notice unusual activity in your furnace, contact a professional instead of trying to fix it yourself.