Fall is officially here, and even in the last couple of weeks temperatures have dropped dramatically. Soon enough you’ll be turning on your furnace and using it on a daily basis to keep your home and your family comfortable. When this happens, you’ll want to know that it’s going to be there for you all season long.
This means not only should you schedule preventive maintenance for your furnace if you haven’t already, but that you should take care of any Midwest City, OK furnace repair needs now, before your heating system has to do its hardest work. But what if you don’t know if your furnace needs repair? Are there certain signs you should watch out for? We’re glad you asked—yes, there are!
Burning Smells
If it’s the very first time you’ve turned your heater on for the year, and the smell goes away fairly quickly, then a burning odor isn’t necessarily a cause for alarm. However, if you smell a persistent odor while running your heating system, then it’s time to contact a professional HVAC technician for repair.
In the best case scenario, a burning odor will just be the result of dust or debris that’s accumulated on a burner, and will burn off. But if it does stick around, then you might be dealing with issues of overheating or even a problem of the electrical nature, in the case of an electric furnace. If this is the case, then neglecting the problem could result in a very dangerous scenario.
Short-Cycling
This is the name for when your furnace is starting up, running briefly, and then coming to an abrupt stop. This is a big problem as it can negatively impact how efficiently and effectively your heating system operates—leading to costly repairs and premature breakdown.
If your furnace has always short cycled, then it may be that it’s not the right size for your home to begin with. If short cycling is a new development, however, then you could have a faulty thermostat or thermocouple. Or, it could be that the combustion temperature is not safe, and the thermocouple is operating improperly as a result. We can determine exactly what the cause of the problem is, so be sure to give us a call.
Odd Noises
Nobody knows better than you do the unique and different sounds that your home makes. There are certainly noises that your furnace will make during operation such as the sound of air being forced through ductwork, or the sound of the system cycling on and shutting down.
However, if you start to hear strange, unfamiliar noises that the system has never made before, then it is time to schedule repairs, ASAP. Grinding, screeching, or banging are all sound that might indicate serious problems with the operation of your furnace or even potentially unsafe operating conditions.
Your Carbon Monoxide Risk
One final factor to keep in mind is your risk of exposure to carbon monoxide. This is a tasteless and odorless gas present in gas-powered furnaces. Increased exposure to it can cause illness and even fatalities if not detected in time. Repairing your gas-powered furnace is imperative to reducing your risk of carbon monoxide exposure!
At Comfort Incorporated, we keep your family safe, healthy and comfortable–call today, service today!
