Many heating and air conditioning companies will tell you horror stories about how your furnace will be taken over by mold if you do not have it cleaned every year. Well, there is some truth to their fear mongering, and though it may be rare, some families do end up with a furnace full of mold at the end of the summer season. However, it is much more likely that your furnace will simply be packed with dust and other debris from buildup over its long time in hibernation, but dust isn’t much better than mold when it comes to the damage it can do to your system and your comfort. Our Four Seasons technicians have seen first hand what years of dust buildup can do to a furnace and unless you want your furnace to meet the same fate, you may want to consider having annual maintenance checks performed by Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning.
What Can Dust Do to Your Furnace?
- Burning Smell: It is really easy to find out if you have a dust buildup problem in your furnace. Just as yourself one question. Does it smell like something is burning when you turn on the furnace? If you answered yes than you know the unit needs a cleaning. Every year you allow the dust to be burnt off like that you allow a fresh layer of baked in gunk to take hold of the inside of your system.
- Burners: These baked in layers of dust wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t hinder the efficiency of the furnace and shorten its lifespan, but they do. When the burners are covered in dust, it becomes harder for them to hold and transmit the heat from the combustion chamber. It could also hinder the flames and cause them to burn orange rather than flaming hot blue.
- Heat Exchanger: If the burners aren’t getting as hot, they can’t transfer as much heat to the heat exchanger, and when the heat exchanger is covered in years of dust, it can’t transfer heat as well to the air as it circulates over it. This all adds up to longer run times, increased fuel consumption, and decreased comfort. Also, a furnace that falls into this state of disrepair will not last as long as a furnace that has been well maintained throughout its lifetime. You could end up replacing your furnace every ten years rather than every 20 or 25 years.
- Blower Motor: The blower motor also can suffer damage from dust buildup. The dust becomes caked on the blower motor’s fins, which then creates resistance to air flow. Over time, the blower will become off balance, and will fail prematurely. Trust us. This is not a repair that you want to have performed more than absolutely necessary.
Your Furnace Will Thank Your for It!
Don’t let your furnace or boiler continue in this state. Have Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning out as soon as possible to take care of your furnace’s dust problem before it gets out of hand. Also, in order to keep your furnace in tip top shape after the cleaning, don’t forget to change or at least check the filter monthly. If it is dirty, replace it right then and there. The furnace will thank you for all the extra care by consuming fuel more responsibly and increasing the comfort of your family. Don’t hesitate and call now!
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Tags: blower motor, Boiler, buildup, burners, burning smell, cleaning, comfort, dust, energy efficiency, Four Seasons, Furnace, heat exchanger, Ingleside, maintenance, Prairie View, Richton Park, save money