Common Furnace Problems

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Common Furnace Problems

22 May 2018
 Categories: , Blog


When the furnace starts to suffer performance problems, you can find that your comfort in your home is severely diminished. Unfortunately, you may not have a strong understanding about the types of issues that your furnace can experience. As a result, you may not understand the causes of these problems or the steps that should be taken to correct them.

Failing Pilot Light

Without the pilot light, the furnace will be unable to burn the heating oil or natural gas that is needed to produce warmth. A common reason for the pilot light to regularly fail is due to the burner becoming excessively dirty. This occurs when large amounts of residue start to gather on the surface of the burner. Cleaning the burner will likely remove these substances so that the burner can resume functioning efficiently.

Rising Energy Expenses

You might find that the costs of running your furnace have gradually increased. This issue can often be traced to improper maintenance of the furnace. When the system is not professionally serviced for many years, it can suffer mechanical problems that will prevent it from working at peak efficiency. To ensure that your system is properly maintained, you will need to have it serviced at least once every couple of years so that any minor issues that are developing can be corrected.

Musty Odors

Foul odors coming from the vents can be an unpleasant problem to face. Regretfully, this is a problem that is fairly common for heating systems to experience. The warm conditions found in the ducting and the furnace can contribute to a variety of molds and other substances developing. These substances may produce musty and foul odors that will be spread throughout the home by the forced air heating system. The only way to correct this problem is to have the system thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. This will neutralize the substances that produce these odors, and most contractors will be able to complete this work fairly quickly so that any inconvenience can be minimized.

Lack Of Air Pressure

In order to distribute the air that the furnace has heated, it will need a powerful blower that can push this air through the ducting. If you find that your system is suffering from low air pressure, it might indicate that the blower is starting to fail. While experiencing this problem can be inconvenient, the repair is fairly simple. A heating contractor, like one from TCS Heating and Air, will be able to easily remove and replace the blower so that the system's performance is restored.