There is never a good time for a furnace to break down. No matter when it happens, you know you’re likely to be cold for a while as you wait for the repair to happen. When homeowners know the most common reasons for furnace problems, they can often do the work necessary to prevent a breakdown, no matter when that might be. We’ll go deeper into some of the most common furnace malfunctions below:
- Lack of General Maintenance
- The most common reason a furnace will break down is a lack of general maintenance. Some homeowners like to skip maintenance because they don’t want to spend money on an appliance that is working. In reality, paying $50 or $100 each fall can prevent spending hundreds or thousands of dollars later. We get the oil changed in our vehicles so we don’t need to have our entire engine overhauled. Give your furnace the same love with annual maintenance checks and it will be more reliable and last longer.
- Cleanliness
- Dirty filters are an easy fix, but one that is often ignored. Read your furnace owner’s manual and change the filters as often as recommended. Clogged filters make your furnace work harder than necessary, shortening its life.
- Pilot Light & Ignition Control Issues
- Mechanical issues with the pilot light and ignition control portion of your furnace can be a cause of the unit malfunctioning. There is the problem of the pilot light not starting, but another problem is that a faulty pilot light can cause intermittent heat or no heat at all.
- Wear & Tear
- Wear and tear on a furnace is another common problem. It’s especially frustrating because some parts of a furnace can be replaced, extending the life of your furnace by years, while other failing parts signal the end of the furnace’s life. As a furnace begins to fail, it will often work and blow warm air, but the air may not flow as well or as efficiently as it did in the past. Homeowners may not even realize there is a problem during the furnace’s decline until it just quits or blows cold air.
Furnaces work hard. They turn on and off a lot during cold weather. They get hot, then cold. They rest for months, then run hours at a time for months. Proper maintenance and recognizing what some of the common problems on a furnace can make it last longer. If you’re looking for an expert HVAC company, contact a heating contractor at HVAC Comfort today!