Your furnace is what keeps your home comfortable all year long, so knowing a little bit about furnace maintenance is important for any homeowner.
If you are unsure what it takes to maintain your furnace properly, read on for a bit of advice.
First off, if you are having trouble with your furnace, be sure that the whole system is turned on and that your circuit breaker is set properly.
You would hate to call a repairman to your home only to find that the fix was as simple as flipping a breaker switch! Also, be sure that your furnace is properly plugged in; if the furnace still will not turn on, try tripping and resetting all the breakers attached to it.
If your furnace keeps blowing fuses or tripping circuits, you should probably not attempt to fix the problem yourself, as it is probably an electrical issue that will need a professional touch.
You should also never attempt to fix anything if you smell gas in your home; if this is the case, simply get out and call the fire department and your local gas company.
If there does not seem to be a major problem with your furnace but you still cannot get it to work correctly, you may need to try calibrating your thermostat.
Many people make unnecessary furnace maintenance appointments because their thermostats are not working properly.
If you are having problems with temperature control in your home, first check that your thermostat is not improperly influenced by outside temperature by drafts or holes in the wall, and then tape a mercury thermometer a few inches away from your thermostat, being sure that it is not touching the wall by putting it on a piece of paper towel.
If your thermostat and thermometer are more than one degree off, try cleaning your thermostat by taking off the faceplate and blowing away dust.
You can clean the contact points or coils on the piece with a soft brush or a new dollar bill.
Check that the thermostats screws are all tight, especially if it works with a mercury thermometer that may not be completely straight.
After you have done this, check your thermostat again.
If the temperature is back on track with the actual temperature, all you need to do is wait to see if your furnace is actually functioning properly.
Otherwise, you may need to replace your entire thermostat, which is a much more complicated process.
Obviously if your thermostat and furnace are not synching up for whatever reason, you need to work on your furnace a bit.
However, it is also important that you bring in a professional to perform yearly furnace maintenance in your home, since you can spend a lot of money on repairs and extra electrical bills if your furnace is not properly cleaned and lubricated at the beginning of every heating season.
If you want to save a little money on furnace maintenance, consider calling in the professionals a little early.
Try having your yearly maintenance done in the middle of summer well before most people are thinking of calling.
This way, you will have an easy time getting an appointment, and you may just get a discount, as well.