Sitting inside of a freezing-cold home in the middle of the winter can be more than just uncomfortable. It could also be bad for your health.
According to the World Health Organization, the temperature inside of a home shouldn’t fall below 64 degrees if you want to avoid the health risks that can come along with exposure to the cold. And that recommendation increases to 68 degrees for those who are very young or very old.
If your home seems like it’s too cold this winter, it could mean you need to have home furnace repair done immediately. This will help you keep your thermostat set at 64 degrees or higher throughout the wintertime.
Here are 10 signs that will indicate you need to have your furnace repaired.
1. Your Furnace Is Blowing Cold Air
One of the most obvious signs of a furnace problem is cold air coming out of the heat registers in your home when it’s turned on. The air that your furnace produces should obviously not be cold, so it’s an indication that there is something wrong.
You may get a second or two of cold air when your furnace first fires up. But if it lasts any longer than that, it’s time for you to call a company to provide you with home furnace repair.
2. It’s Hardly Blowing Any Air at All
When you hold your hand up to one of the heat registers in your home when your furnace is turned on, do you feel anything come out of it?
If not, this is yet another indication of a problem.
Your furnace should produce a steady stream of warm air from your heat registers when it’s up and running properly. If that’s not the case, call on a company that can repair furnaces and see if they can find the underlying problem.
You could have an issue with a fan, a belt, or even a motor in your furnace.
3. It Makes Strange Sounds Throughout the Day and Night
Does it sound like an airplane is getting ready to take flight in your basement or utility closet every time your furnace starts up? This is not a good sign.
It should be especially troubling if the strange sounds coming from your furnace keep up once your system is running. There is something happening in your furnace that’s causing all that noise and someone needs to come and get to the bottom of it for you.
Don’t ever ignore your furnace when it “talks” to you. It’ll let you know when it needs TLC.
4. It Has Water Leaking Around the Outside of It
Any time water randomly appears in your home, it’s a bad sign. It could lead to mold and mildew growth and do damage to your personal possessions if you have them located near something like a furnace.
Inspect your furnace every so often throughout the course of the year to make sure it doesn’t have any water coming out of it and pooling near the bottom of it. If you spot any, you’ll know you need to call on the professionals for help right away.
5. It’s Causing Gas to Leak Into Your Home
This is one of the biggest problems you can face when it comes to your home’s furnace. If you ever smell gas coming from it, you need to act on it right away.
Begin by opening up your furnace, locating the gas supply valve, and shutting it off.
From there, you should stay away from your furnace until you can have someone see why it’s leaking gas. Otherwise, the gas from your furnace could ignite a fire or even cause an explosion.
6. It Doesn’t Seem to Be Connected to Your Thermostat
Although thermostats cost significantly less than furnaces, their job is every bit as important as their more costly counterparts. Thermostats are in charge of telling furnaces how much heat to produce for a home.
If your thermostat doesn’t appear to be connecting to your furnace and telling it to turn on at the right times, there might be some kind of electrical issue causing the problem. Something as simple as a blown fuse or a loose wire could shut your furnace down and prevent it from working properly.
7. It’s Costing You a Fortune to Run
Are your heating costs sky high this year compared to last winter? If you haven’t made any big changes as far as how you’re using your furnace, there could be a bigger issue to blame.
Monitor your heating bills and investigate a sudden spike in your spending. By forking over a little bit of money to do home furnace repair, you could bring your energy bills down dramatically.
8. It’s Constantly Turning On and Off
When your furnace is working properly, it should turn on, increase the temperature in your home, and then turn off and stay off until the temperature goes back down. It shouldn’t constantly turn on and off and struggle to pump warm air throughout your home.
If your thermostat is always going on and off, you could be dealing with anything from a clogged air filter to an issue with your thermostat. You could also be paying too much to heat your home due to this constant “cycling.”
Seek the services of a company that can provide you with home furnace repair.
9. It Hasn’t Been Serviced in More Than a Year
Generally speaking, you should have your furnace serviced about once every year. If you skip a year (or two!), there’s a really good chance that you’re going to end up needing to have at least one home furnace repair made.
Stick to a strict schedule when it comes to servicing your furnace and prepare yourself to make repairs to it if you lose track of maintaining it.
10. It’s Getting to the End of Its Life Cycle
The average furnace is only designed to last for about 15 to 20 years. If yours is older than that, don’t be surprised when home furnace repairs start popping up.
Keep a heating repair service on standby. You’re probably going to need to call on them sooner than later.
Schedule Home Furnace Repair Today
You can’t live without a fully functioning furnace in the wintertime. If your furnace isn’t working right, it’ll make your home too cold to live in.
Arrange to have home furnace repair done immediately at the first sign of trouble. It’ll keep your home warm and prevent you from having to do a brand new furnace installation anytime soon.
Contact us to schedule a repair to your home’s furnace.
