The furnace heats up your home quickly, regulating the temperature and making living spaces comfortable. It's imperative that you ensure your furnace works efficiently, especially during cold seasons. Unfortunately, most homeowners don't know how to maintain their furnaces properly. This makes the units vulnerable to damage, which can lower their efficiency. Here are some critical furnace maintenance tips by expert heating repair contractors.

1. Check and Change the Air Filters at the Right Time

The filter in your furnace is responsible for preventing dust and other particles from finding their way into the air supply. Over time, this filter becomes clogged with dirt and debris, which reduces its effectiveness. Therefore, professionals should clean or replace the filter depending on its conditions. According to HomeServe, you should change your unit's air filter after three months to enhance your furnace efficiency.

2. Clean the Vents

Your heating unit's vents are meant to remove hazardous gases like carbon monoxide from the heat exchanger and combustion chamber at the end of the heating cycle. If the air filter in your heating units is clogged, it can pump dust and other debris back out to the air vents, causing clogging. Clogged vents can cause hazardous gases to accumulate in your home, which can be a threat to your family's health. To avoid this situation, call professional heating repair contractors to clean the vent regularly and perform needed repairs.

3. Inspect the Fans

Furnace fans help circulate the heated air throughout your home from the air ducts. Like other components of your furnace, fans can become faulty due to bad wiring, a worn-out fan belt, or motor problems. When the fan fails, you might notice a decreased airflow inside your home, strange noises when you start the unit, and higher energy bills. These problems can occur due to other issues besides faulty fans, so make sure to call qualified heating repair contractors to inspect the unit.

Inspecting and cleaning your entire furnace regularly is always advisable to keep it functioning efficiently and smoothly. Cleaning will eliminate dirt and other debris that, if left, can find its way into the unit's interiors. These simple furnace maintenance tips will help you avoid costly repairs. Call JSP Plumbing & Heating for all furnace maintenance and repair needs, and we'll ensure your heating unit is as good as new.