Home Ownership Maintenance
There’s nothing sexy about a furnace, but ignore the signs yours is in need of maintenance at your own peril. Waking a furnace too cold to actually heat your house on a chilly morning is no fun. What are some of the warning signs? If your furnace for house starts to make odd noises, that’s an easy indication of an issue. Or if the systm is not delivering the heat it usually does.
Before you call in a professional, check the number one culprit – a clogged furnace filter. If changing the filter doesn’t immediately remedy the issue, call in a professional. Avoid a worse case scenario by following some easy steps:
Your Furnace For House Requires Frequent Filter Change
Get in the good habit of changing your filters early and often. Don’t wait until the furnace is not working. In our home we change filters every 30 days. Try timing this activity to the same day you pay your mortgage. Clean filters improve air quality and will improve the operation of your HVAC system.
Never run furnace without filter!
Which Way Should the Furnace Filter Face?
I’ve actually noticed filters facing in the wrong direction a number of times while attending home inspections with real estate clients. When you install, you’ll see an arrow on the side. That arrow needs to point in towards the furnace for house and away from the cold air return.
Myth or Mistake… Can furnace run without filter? Yes. But this is inadvisable as you’ll needlessly put a high level of strain on the unit that can lead to its premature failure and the need for an expensive repair. Penny pinching here is pound foolish. Your air handling unit will be bombarded with dirt, pet fur, debris, hair. It will reduce the unit’s efficiency, collect on heater coils and in air ducts and basically cost you far more than had you just spent a few dollars on a furnace filter in the first place.
Furnace Is Blowing Cold Air
Hopefully you have the A/C on and it is summer time. Otherwise, sounds like you waited a little too long for maintenance. Home owners are well advised to have their furnace for house inspected annually by a licensed heating, ventilation and air contractor (HVAC). Inspections in this area usually run close to a hundred bucks. Annual checkups can extend the life of your system and improve air handling.
Realtor Bob Gordon Recommends
Additional home maintenance blogs such as: https://boulderrealestatenews.com/10-home-chores-you-need-to-do/ or try the one I wrote about Boulder home safety. Follow this link. A couple companies I’ve used around Boulder include Control Service Center and Precision. Please contact me if I can answer any real estate related questions!
- Speaking of maintenance, Ryan Fitzgerald created a very helpful infographic about roof repairs. View it here.
- Tony Mariotti wrote a great article which outlines a checklist for home inspections.