Preparing Your Furnace for Extended Use: Essential Tips for Chicago Winters

Preparing Your Furnace for Extended Use: Essential Tips for Chicago Winters

A poorly maintained furnace is more likely to break down and end up being a very costly investment. Because your furnace gets a lot of use during a typical Chicago winter, it’s important that you do everything possible to prepare it for months of non-stop use. Our tips help you make the most of your furnace and lower your energy costs.

Maintenance Steps You Don’t Want to Skip

Both homeowners and professional HVAC technicians in Chicago need to work together to ensure a heating system is properly maintained. Homeowners should take care of the following:

• Change air filters every few months or as often as needed if your home is particularly dusty or houses a lot of pets. You should also change them after a kitchen or house fire or renovation project.
• Hire a professional HVAC technician for annual inspections and cleanings.
• Inspect vents for holes and cracks to ensure the ducts are in good condition.
• Install smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide detectors and test them each month.
• Vacuum register covers to remove items that may block airflow, such as hair, dust bunnies, and debris.

Put a reminder on a calendar so that you don’t forget to schedule a professional tune-up. You need to have your system cleaned, tested, and inspected to ensure it’s working properly and unlikely to break down on the coldest day of the winter. There’s no way to guarantee a system won’t fail in the middle of winter, but a properly maintained system is less likely to.

Get to know your system’s regular noises when it starts up and cycles down. When there are new noises, it can indicate something is going wrong. The sooner it is addressed by a professional HVAC technician, the less likely it is to cause damage to your heating system. The amount of downtime is just as hard to swallow as the repair bill. While HVAC companies try to have every part available, parts for older furnaces can be harder to find. It also takes time to make some repairs.

• Blower Motor – Upwards of 3 hours
• Dirty Ducts – Upwards of 6 hours
• Heat Exchangers – Upwards of 8 hours

Imagine having your home going unheated for hours. You risk having your pipes freeze, which is worse. Getting potential problems addressed when it’s still warmer outside is ideal, and that’s something HVAC technicians help alert you to.

During a yearly cleaning, your Chicago HVAC technician is going to take off the cover and clean and inspect the following:

• Burner assembly
• Blower motor
• Electrical connections
• Fuel (gas or heating oil) lines
• Heat exchanger

The system is tested to make sure it’s working correctly. If there are issues, you’ll find out sooner rather than later.

Readings of the system’s efficiency are taken and compared to prior years to look at any big variations. The exhaust vent and ducts are also checked to make sure no clogs are keeping dangerous carbon monoxide from escaping into your home and poisoning the people in your household.

Steps for Boosting Energy Efficiency

In addition to having a system that works well, there are things you can do to help your system work efficiently. If you’re saving money with an energy-efficient HVAC system, those lower bills help you afford the routine maintenance.

Keep the Area Around Your Furnace Clean

If your furnace is in a basement, make sure you keep the area clean. Clear the floor and walls of dust webs, dust, and other debris. If it’s near a cat litter box, sweep up any spilled cat litter and litter dust regularly. You don’t want anything blocking the air vents on the furnace. Spider webs and spiders are another common issue. Spiders may get into your system seeking warmth, which can become a problem.

Invest in a Programmable Thermostat

Programmable thermostats are set to whatever temperature you need when you’re sleeping, when you’re doing things around the home, or when you’re at work. If your family is away for a holiday vacation, there’s no reason to keep the temperature up at 68 while your house is empty. Turn it down to 60 or 65 until you return. 

Remove Mice Before They Cause Damage

Mice look for warm, indoor environments, and a basement is a great place for them to call home. They can also do a lot of damage. Keep mice under control if you have them. They can wreak havoc on your HVAC system. They chew anything, and that could mean the wiring to your furnace, which is a costly replacement.

Bucket traps are a humane way to get rid of mice. You can also use spring-loaded humane traps or snap traps if you’re not worried about keeping the mouse alive. If you resort to rodent poisons, remember that the mouse doesn’t die instantly. It will wander off and take days to die. Your pets or any bird of prey or larger animal found outside could also ingest the poison by eating the mouse you killed. 

Seal Any Existing Air Leaks

Check your home’s windows and doors for gaps that allow warm air to escape and use caulking or insulation strips to seal them. Throughout the winter, make it a point to feel around the edges of windows and doors and see if you feel any drafts. If you do, seal them as soon as you can.

How to Find the Best Furnace Maintenance Provider

Cost savings and longevity of your heating system are only a small part of why proper maintenance is essential. It’s also important for your household’s safety. Clogged vents, gas leaks, and leaky ducts put your health at risk. Carbon monoxide poisonings kill over 400 Americans each year. Over 100,000 people go to the hospital due to carbon monoxide each year. 

It’s important to have your system cleaned and inspected every year to ensure it’s working properly and running safely. Also, you need carbon monoxide detectors in every bedroom and on each floor of your Chicago home. Inspections, cleanings, and alarms keep you safe.

Finding the best HVAC company is an important part of maintenance and repairs. Look for a company that offers 24/7 emergency service and has a long history of servicing all brands of HVAC equipment. Look for an ACCA and NATE contractor. 

Air Blue Heating and Cooling offers cleaning, maintenance, and repairs for residences, schools, businesses, apartment buildings, and more. No home or business is too big or too small for us to help ensure your heating system is in perfect working order. Reach us online or by phone to learn more.