What Should You Expect from Furnace Maintenance?

You’ve seen the advertisements for maintenance and maybe even had a friend or family member recommend it. But now you’re trying to understand if it’s really something you need to put your effort and money toward. Here’s what you can expect from professional furnace maintenance and why it’s so important.

Why Does Your Furnace Need Routine Maintenance?

Before we jump into what’s included in your furnace maintenance, let’s start by looking at why it’s so important. It’s not just something that people do because someone came up with a marketing scheme. Rather, it helps your furnace last the full 15 to 20 years it should and keeps your repair and operational costs down.

While your furnace runs, its efficiency slowly degrades, increasing your operating and repair costs. This happens because parts wear out, dirt and dust settle throughout the system, and components loosen up. Routine professional maintenance takes care of all of these things to keep your system running optimally.

If that wasn’t enough, then consider your furnace’s manufacturer’s warranty. Most manufacturers require routine maintenance as a term of their warranty. If you slack off on your maintenance, you may void the warranty before you need it most.

A Thorough Cleaning

One of the primary areas of focus for your furnace maintenance is cleaning the system. But how do airborne contaminants make it past your air filter?

Your filter can only remove contaminants down to a certain size. Anything smaller slips through and settles further into the system. Plus, any leaks in your intake ducts or furnace housing allow more contaminants to enter your system.

The most common areas these contaminants settle on are the blower fan cage and the heat exchanger. As these contaminants collect, they slowly degrade the airflow through your system, reducing your efficiency. Our technicians will gently clean each of these components to ensure air can circulate freely through the unit.

Tightening Things Down

Not only do contaminants settle into your system as it runs, but your system also vibrates, loosening some components. These include the mounting bolts and screws for your circulating fan motor and electrical connections.

Loose bolts, screws, and connections add strain to your system as it runs by increasing resistance or unusual movement. Our technicians will check and tighten each of these components as they work on your system’s maintenance.

While our technicians tighten things up, they will also check the balance of your circulating fan wheel. When this gets to be off-balance, it adds strain to your circulating fan motor, potentially causing it to burn out. Our technicians will balance the wheel to ensure it doesn’t put additional stress on the motor or the fan spindle.

Inspecting the System

Aside from cleaning your system and tightening things up, our technicians will inspect and test your furnace. This is the most important part of the maintenance service because it’s what keeps your system safe.

Our technicians will inspect the heat exchanger to ensure it’s not cracked and leaking. They will also check the condition of your furnace’s flame sensor and your blower motor.

Finally, they’ll do several tests to ensure everything is running properly. This includes checking your carbon monoxide levels and your furnace’s temperature rise.

They will also check your flue’s venting to ensure it’s satisfactory for exhausting your furnace as it burns. In addition, they will check the safety shut-off equipment to ensure it’s also functioning correctly. This is critical in case your system does have a problem while running.

Finding Small Problems

Our technicians perform all of these checks to find small problems early. Letting problems persist only adds excessive strain to the entire system.

If our technicians do find small problems, you have the opportunity to fix them before they evolve into larger ones. This helps keep your repair costs at a minimum by allowing you to plan for the repairs and avoid after-hours visits. By handling problems early, you also help extend your system’s service life.

People around Niles have turned to A To Z Dependable Services for dependable home services since 1960. Our licensed experts provide heating and air conditioning installation, maintenance, and repair services, along with a whole range of plumbing services. Call to schedule your furnace maintenance with one of our expert HVAC technicians today. We can also take care of any bathroom renovations you may need.