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With fall and winter weather coming up fast, now’s the time to get re-acquainted with your furnace. You’ll be happy you did. Many of the most common home heating issues can be avoided with some simple routine maintenance.

Schedule a tune-up

We recommend you get your furnace professionally tuned about once a year. It’s the best way to keep it working in tip-top shape and helps avoid unexpected breakdowns. During the tune-up, a technician will clean your system, inspect for any operational problems and adjust for optimal efficiency.

For best results, reach out to a FOCUS ON ENERGY^® Trade Ally contractor and schedule today.

Clean and replace your air filters

It’s easy to do, but also easy to forget. Be sure to check your air filter regularly to see if it has accumulated dirt, and then clean or replace as needed. A dirty filter makes your furnace work harder, so we recommend changing it out every 1–3 months (or as needed based on manufacturer’s guidelines).

Let your air registers breathe

Any time your air registers are closed or blocked by furniture, your furnace has to work extra hard to maintain even temperatures. Make sure all your floor registers are clear and free from obstructions.

Check the pilot light if you have an older furnace

For older furnaces, it’s important that the pilot light is burning bright blue. If you see a different color, it’s likely burning inefficiently and you’ll want a technician to take a look.

Keep the area around your furnace clean

Keeping a clear area around your furnace is important both for safety and to allow easy access for you or your technician to perform maintenance or repairs. You also never want to store combustibles such as gasoline, paint and cleaning products near your furnace or water heater.

Posted September 2019