2 Ways To Increase The Effectiveness Of Your Furnace
You will want to make sure your furnace is in good working order before the winter arrives. You can run a few checks on your own before you call in a professional. This article will explain 2 simple ways to make your central heating more effective:
Changing or Cleaning the Furnace Filter
A dirty furnace filter can greatly hamper your air flow. Changing or cleaning the filter is very easy. You can access the filter door without needing any tools. The door is usually located right at the front of the furnace and it will pop right open. The filter is quite large: about the size and shape of a pizza box.
If your filter is jut a little dusty, it will probably not be affecting the air flow of your system. In this case, you should just clean off the filter and put it back in the door. However, if your filter has a bunch of build up dirt and dust, you might want to completely replace it. You can take your old filter to a home improvement store to make sure you get a like for like replacement. Run your heater to see if the new filter makes your system run better.
Unclogging your Air Registers
Over time the air registers and vents can get clogged, greatly affecting the air flow. There is usually more build up on adjustable registers. To give them a thorough cleaning, you should remove the registers form the wall. This will only take a few second if you use a power drill because most vents are attached to the walls using just 2 screws.
Once the registers are off the wall you should thoroughly clean the inside of the vents. Aluminum vents should be cleaned with a slightly damp rag. Do not spray liquid cleaner directly onto the vents, because it could lead to rusting. This is not a concern with vinyl or fiberglass vents. In fact, you can easily clean them by soaking them in water and scrubbing them with a sponge. You should also turn on your furnace while the vents are off of the wall. This could blow additional dust out of your ducts and make your system even cleaner.
After making these two simple updates, your furnace should run a little more efficiently. If you still notice that your air flow is weak, you might need to have your furnace serviced by an HVAC professional. To learn more, contact an air conditioning repair professional.
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