With the heating season right around the corner, and most homeowners have already fired up their furnace for a test run. Ideally, you should perform routine furnace maintenance at least twice a year, once before and once after the heating season.
However, many homeowners tend to completely neglect their furnace until they find something is wrong. Worse off, some even neglect very obvious signs that the furnace is malfunctioning, which could lead to increased heating expenses and potentially dangerous situations.
That is why you should pay attention to a few signs that something might be wrong with your furnace. Here are some of the most common ones.
A furnace should not be making any unusual sounds, and anything that draws your attention is probably a sign of a problem. The sounds may indicate an electrical issue or delayed ignition if the burner is releasing banging or huffing noises. Last but not least, a bumping sound indicates a damaged belt.
This is without a doubt one of the most dangerous issues. In normal circumstances, the gas dissipates and is not harmful to anyone. But the problem arises in case of a build-up if the chamber lacks oxygen. As the gas is transparent and has no smell, it is a dangerous threat that could even lead to poisoning.
To prevent this make sure the air supply to your furnace is uninterrupted. As there’s no way of noticing the gas build-up on your own, make sure to add carbon monoxide detectors throughout the house.
If you notice a smell of dust around your furniture, you may be looking at a minor inconvenience or a major issue. If the smell vanishes after a couple of moments, which probably means it was only burning the dust build-up, which is completely natural.
However, if the odour doesn’t go away there might be something wrong with your furnace. Only a licensed technician will be able to determine the source of the smell.
Rust forms easily inside the furnace because of combining carbon monoxide and water vapor. However, if it builds up it can make your furnace less effective. You can clean the parts you can reach on your own, but for a thorough cleaning, it’s best to call in an expert.
A backdraft occurs because of negative pressure created when the air goes out of the burning chamber faster than it is supplied through the air intake. This will choke the flame by drawing air from the chimney and into the burner.
The flame in the furnace should be constant, blue and with no impurities. If the flame is orange or yellow, that could indicate dirt in the burner. This might also affect the gas combustion. To make sure your furnace is running at full potential, make sure to have the burner cleaned before the heating season.