How Often Should your Furnace be Serviced in Lexington, Ky?
Helpful HVAC tips from the experts at Bryant Heating and Cooling
Schedule a visitProblems Develop When a Gas Furnace Isn’t Serviced Regularly
Many, if not most, of the problems we see when we are on service calls for gas furnace repair are preventable with the correct, regular maintenance with a regular annual furnace service. And typically, paying for preventative maintenance would have been a lot cheaper than paying for major repairs.
The problem is, a lot of people think that because they only use their gas furnace for part of the year in Lexington, Kentucky, it doesn’t need to be serviced as often. But, just like an old convertible that sits in the garage all winter long, a furnace needs to be tuned up before you start it up after months of disuse. Here are some of the most common—and preventable—gas furnace problems resulting in improper home heating that I see every year when the cold sets in, without fail:
How Often Should a Gas Furnace be Serviced in Louisville?
We are asked "how often should a gas furnace be serviced to prevent problems?" A gas furnace should be serviced at minimum once a year, though, we advise servicing in both the spring and the fall. Annual maintenance, including a thorough examination and cleaning of the parts that commonly malfunction, like the air filter, the fan, the pilot light, and the heat exchanger, can usually prevent these problems.
A gas furnace should be serviced a minimum of once per year, though, our experts recommend both the spring and the fall.
Signs your gas furnace needs to be serviced
Turning on and off
If your furnace is turning on then quickly shutting off, it could be a number of reasons. Often this issue is a result of a loss of airflow or the thermostat problem. However, it could be something else, and a diagnostic service visit is needed.
A faulty or failing pilot light
Sometimes a failed pilot light is due to a clog in the pilot opening; other times, the pilot light button isn’t fully pressed and the gas valve isn’t all the way open. During our check & clean service calls and 26-point inspections we clean the pilot light, adjust the output, inspect the pilot button, and open up the gas valve to get the pilot working again—all tasks you should leave to a pro.Dirty air filters
If your filter is restricted by dust, animal hair or general gunk, your furnace will have to work a lot harder than it should to warm your home, making it inefficient and eventually causing it to breakdown. Imagine trying to breathe with something like that up to your face. To prevent this, its simple, just replace your furnace filter regularly. Preferrably every 3 months. This simple task in itself can prevent a whole host of problems. Your local HVAC expert can sign you up for a worry-free maintenance plan that includes regular filter changes.
A cracked or broken heat exchanger
This is one of the most dangerous problems I see as a result of not servicing your gas furnace regularly. When the heat exchanger cracks, your furnace could leak dangerous toxins like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot into your home. In large quantities, these substances can be very dangerous to your family’s health. Often this problem is caused by a dirty, clogged filter that restricts airflow, but it can be caused by a number of other issues as well. In any case, I always make sure I inspect the heat exchanger when I do maintenance to make sure that your family is safe.Schedule your check & clean visit today.
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