How To Keep Your Furnace Clean
The cost of heating and cooling your house can be one of your biggest annual utility expenses. Homeowners who live in climates with dramatic seasons often have to rely on either their heater or air conditioner on a daily basis. This can definitely be expensive in the long run. If you want to reduce your HVAC costs, you need to constantly maintain your system to ensure it is in top working order. This article highlights one easy and essential maintenance task that homeowners should do on a yearly basis.
Clean Your Furnace
It is good practice to clean your furnace about once a year. This can be an easy DIY cleaning job that doesn't even require any special tools or investment. You can walk out to your furnace right now and start to clean it with just a couple of rags and a vacuum.
Shutting Down the Furnace
To clean inside the furnace cabinet, you need to shut it down by turning off the gas and electricity. Most furnaces will have easy-to-follow instructions directly on the cabinet door. In general, you first want to open up the cabinet and then find the gas control knob. Turn the knob to the "OFF" position, and then find the power switch. Just make sure you turn off the gas before you hit the power switch.
Cleaning Inside the Cabinet
Now that your furnace is open and safe to work on, you can begin to clean it. It is usually best to start off with the wand attachment of your vacuum. Attach the brush nozzle to help knock loose some of that dirt and dust. You can easily suck up most dirt and dust on all of the surfaces you can reach. However, you are probably going to need to use a wet rag to wipe down some of the components. For instance, you can wipe down the blower fan blades, the pump, and all of the interior walls. Basically, the cleaner the inside of your furnace is, the more efficiently it will run.
If you furnace seems like it is unusually dirty, it is probably a sign that your filter is not being replaced frequently enough. If you have a filter that is extremely dirty, dirt will bounce off of it, and ultimately settle on a surface within your duct system or furnace. Keeping a clean filter will enable you to keep your furnace cabinet clean, and vice versa.
Contact companies like Indoor Weather Professionals for more HVAC tips.