Heating And AC Repair: 7 Things You Should Do To Keep Your Furnace In The Best Condition Possible | Fort Worth, TX
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The furnace is a very important component of your home. Without it, you’d feel like you’re freezing to death when the Fort Worth, TX winter comes. Most furnaces have a lifespan of about 15 to 20 years, depending on the brand, model and type. However, with proper maintenance, you can lengthen the life of your furnace and also keep it in the best condition possible.
It’s definitely worth the time and effort to keep your furnace in the best condition possible. Your home will be heated up quickly, and you’ll also enjoy lower energy bills. The easiest way to keep your furnace in the best condition possible is to call the heating and AC repair company whenever something comes up. Don’t wait for a problem to have the opportunity to worsen.
The heating and AC repair company can also do a lot of other types of maintenance work to keep the furnace in condition. Below, we’ll look at some of the different things that you can do in order to enjoy your furnace for as long as possible. If you regularly do these things, you can rest assured that your furnace will be in peak condition even several years down the road.
#1. Get It Inspected and Serviced Every Year
You should get your furnace inspected and serviced every year before the heating season begins. You can contact any heating and AC repair company in Fort Worth, TX to do the inspection and servicing. The only important thing is that you do research ahead of time in order to figure out which HVAC company is best known for their service. You can read online reviews or you can even speak with your neighbor to see who they call.
If you’ve just moved into a new home, you might want to ask the last service person to come take a look at your unit first. This individual may have some prior knowledge about your furnace that you don’t. If the previous homeowner did not provide you any information, you should look for the sticker that the last service person should’ve affixed to the outside of your housing or heating unit.
#2. Replace the Filter
One of the easiest ways that you can prolong the life of your furnace is to replace the filter. During the heating season, you should really consider replacing the filter every month in order to ensure that the furnace runs smoothly. If your HVAC system has both an AC unit and a furnace within the same system, then you should get the filters changed every month if possible.
One of the first things that you should do when you contact the HVAC repair company is to learn more about the different types of filters that are out there. The different types of filters are able to do different types of jobs. Some filters are better at removing microbiological activity in the air while others do a great job at getting rid of pollen or dirt and dust.
By changing the filter, you are ensuring that the furnace functions at peak capacity. You’ll also be able to improve the overall air quality within your home and prevent the AC evaporator coil from getting clogged. If the AC evaporator coil clogs, it will have a huge impact on the efficiency of the AC unit. You’ll notice that your utility bills will get a lot more expensive.
#3. Clean the Blower Compartment
Changing the filter is not the only thing that you need to do. Another thing that you can ask the heating and AC repair company to do is to clean the blower compartment. The blower is a fan that pushes air out through the ducts and distributes it throughout the entire home. In most cases, you should aim to get the blower compartment cleaned about twice a year.
After cleaning the blower compartment, the heating and AC repair company should be able to provide you with some information on how quickly it gets clogged and becomes dirty. With this information, you’ll be able to better determine how often the compartment needs to be cleaned. To ensure that you don’t forget to get this compartment cleaned, most heating and AC repair companies would be more than happy to schedule your next appointment while they’re still at your home. They’ll send you a reminder closer to the date.
It’s important that the heating and AC repair company will lay out some mats around the furnace while they are cleaning it out. You’d be surprised by just how much dirt and dust can accumulate within each appliance. If you have any dust allergies, you might even want to consider leaving the room until the technician is done with the cleaning.
#4. Adjust the Blower-Fan Belt
The next thing on our list is something that you’ll need to do if your furnace is not a newer model. These furnaces rely heavily on the blower-fan belts. If you have a newer furnace, then the furnace is likely driven directly by a motor, so you won’t find a blower-fan belt. If you’re not sure whether your unit has a blower-fan belt or not, you should ask the heating and AC repair technician after they have inspected your unit during the servicing. They should be able to let you know.
The thing about the belt is that it can fail at any time. It’s also one of the more vulnerable parts of a furnace. If the belt doesn’t fail, it can still make a lot of squealing noises that might drive you crazy. In order to ensure that the belt does not become damaged prematurely, it should be inspected and adjusted every year. If the belt is misaligned, it can become easily worn down.
Aligning the belt is much cheaper than having to replace it. If you need to replace the belt, the heating and AC repair technician will need to take apart the entire unit. Because of the amount of work that goes into replacing the belt, you can expect the cost of the repair to be rather high.
If the Fort Worth, TX heating and AC repair technician notices that the belt is either frayed or cracked, they usually recommend that you replace it as soon as possible. Take them up on this offer. It’s not a recommendation that you should ignore. Once the belt breaks, it will have a huge affect on the furnace as a whole.
#5. Check the Pulley Alignment
The pulley and the blower-fan belt kind of work together, which is why the heating and AC repair technician will often check and adjust the pulley alignment at the same time that they are checking the condition of the blower-fan belt. If the pulleys aren’t aligned, they can easily twist the blower-fan belt and cause it to become misaligned. This will cause the belt to break down even more quickly.
Fortunately, this is something that’s really easy to do. All you need is to check whether the pulleys lineup perfectly and whether the belt is able to travel between them without becoming misaligned. If the pulleys are misaligned, it’s easy to realign them by loosening the motor pulley mounting bolts.
In fact, some heating and AC repair technicians may even show you how to do this yourself. It’s not something that requires a lot of specialized tools or equipment. This way, you can also check the alignment of the pulleys randomly throughout the year. If you notice that somethings off, you can fix it right away or call the heating and AC repair company.
#6. Clean and Inspect the Ducts
The next thing that you should do is to get a technician to clean and inspect the ducts. In general, you should aim to get the ducts cleaned every few years. Fortunately, this isn’t some thing that you need to get done every year. This is a good thing since cleaning the ducts can be rather difficult. For one, it requires specialized equipment. Two, it requires specialized skills. Three, access to the ducts can be rather difficult, and the contractor will likely need to take everything apart in several places in order to access everything.
While cleaning the ducts, the contractors should also check for leaks. This is rather easy, as most of the leaks will be present at the joints between segments. In some places, the contractors may need to pull some of the insulation away from the joints in order to get a better look; however, this isn’t a big problem. Cleaning the ducts and checking for leaks is something that can usually be completed within a day. If you’re really concerned about leaks, you can ask for a duct pressure test.
Once the leaks are identified, they will need to be sealed up with either metal duct tape or an elastomeric duct sealant. At some locations, it may even be better to seal up the leak by adding caulk overtop. The HVAC contractor should discuss the pros and cons of the different types of sealants with you, so you have a good idea of which one you want. For example, elastomeric duct sealant is flexible, so it can be easily used on many different areas. Metal duct tape is also effective although the seal may not be as tight.
#7. Fine-Tune the System
Last but not least, the heating and AC repair technician is going to want to turn on your furnace in order to see whether it is working properly. They might want to fine-tune some of the system in order to maximize energy consumption and efficiency. They’ll look at how well the furnace is able to heat up different rooms in your home. This is solely reliant on the airflow, the dampers and the ducts.
Fine-tuning the system can take some time. This is something that you want to be at home for it because you want to be able to provide your input as well. You’ll want to make sure that you feel that the temperature is balanced in each room before signing off on any of the services.
This is also a good time to ask the technician any questions that you may have about your furnace. For example, you might want to get a better idea of how long the furnace might last for based on its current condition or how energy-efficient it is. You might also want to talk about any new parts or technologies that have just come out on the market that can improve either the energy efficiency or performance of your furnace. Depending on how much more life your furnace has, it might be worth it to upgrade some of its parts.
Contact One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth for Heating and AC Repair Services
Everything that you do to your furnace should be noted down. You should keep the quotes and bills from the heating and AC repair company in Fort Worth, TX. This type of information can come in handy when you want to sell your home. Potential buyers will be happy to know that you’ve put in a lot of effort in maintaining the furnace. This means that they’ll also be able to get a lot of life out of it.
If you’re looking for a reputable heating and AC repair company in Fort Worth, TX, check out One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth. We are able to offer a wide range of emergency and non-urgent HVAC services. All of our contractors are licensed, insured and experienced. They have a lot of knowledge about the latest technologies and strategies that are used in heating and AC repair jobs.
Get advice and help regarding heating and AC repair services now by calling 817-835-3047. If you’re interested in more than one HVAC service, you should highly consider taking a look at the specials and promotions that we offer. You can rely on us for affordable, high-quality work.