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How To Get Your Home Furnace Ready For Winter

You can almost start to feel winter in the air. The cool change of the seasons is happening right now and there is so much to do to get ready. For anyone that is lucky enough to live in an area that gets cold winters, you know that your furnace is one of the most important features of a comfortable holiday home.

Starting your furnace up for the first time, and saying goodbye to the warm summer nights should be part of your seasonal maintenance routine. Keep your family safe by ensuring that your furnace is clean and ready to go before you get hit by any early storms. It can happen just like that and you can get caught with a cold snap that requires your furnace to be in good shape.

There are many furnace systems that also operate with your Air Conditioning so you may have been keeping an eye on your unit all year. But, for some, once that furnace goes off in the spring, it pretty much just sits until it’s time to warm things up again. Dust, dirt, and cobwebs have all been collecting for months and need to be cleared away.

Doing a quick furnace check-up is an important duty that should not be ignored. When dealing with natural gas, you should always check your gas system castings along with other piping aspects as part of your yearly inspection. Take a look at some of the other steps that you should follow to give your furnace a good unveiling for the season.

Clean Up

Get a basic dusting cloth and clean and remove all built up dirt from the surface of your furnace. For tight spaces, you can get in there with a long-handled duster or even a broom. You want to eliminate any loose materials that are around the base of your furnace.

If your unit is stowed away in the corner of your basement, there could be a collection of items that end up getting put in front of your unit. Make sure to organize a clear access path to your furnace and don’t allow any items to sit closer than a foot outside the base of the furnace.

Change Filter

Even if you haven’t been using your A/C on your furnace unit, the filters should be changed at the end of each season. Dust, pet hair and allergens can all build up on your filters, making your furnace work even harder. Use a hypo-allergenic HEPA filter in your home if anyone suffers from allergies, asthma or other chronic breathing conditions.

Check Your Pipes

Bring a flashlight and take a good look at all of your piping and fittings to make sure that all of your pipes are solid and tightly attached. You don’t want to deal with any indoor gas leaks. Tighten your castings and update the batteries in your carbon monoxide and fire detectors.

It is important to always be careful of your furnace, no matter the season, to avoid an accident.

Comments

  1. Mary Ambrosino says

    Some more good tips for getting ready for winter.

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