Learning About HVAC Services

« Back to Home

It's A Good Idea To Schedule A Furnace Tune-Up In The Fall

Posted on

When you have a furnace installed, the installer will usually advise you to call them and schedule a tune-up once a year. If you're like most homeowners, you intend to do so, but life gets busy and you forget. Maybe it has been two or three years since your furnace was tuned-up, or maybe it has been much longer. In either case, it is a good idea to schedule that tune-up this coming fall. Here are the key things a technician generally does during a tune-up appointment and how those services affect your system and home.

Lubricating Moving Parts

There are several moving parts in most furnaces. There is a belt that drives the motor, a fan that spins around, and so forth. During a tune-up, a furnace contractor will apply some lubricant to all of these parts. Doing so helps parts slide past and over each other more easily. By doing so, it helps prevent friction from wearing those parts down. You can expect fewer issues with scratched and scraped furnace parts when your furnace receives regular lubrication. 

Tightening Bolts

Sometimes when your furnace is working, a bolt or connection will start shaking loose. Once it is a tiny bit loose, it starts rattling more and more, and that rattling causes it to loosen all the more. If ignored, a loose bolt will cause entire parts to fall off inside of your furnace. A technician can tighten any loose bolts during a tune-up, which is much easier than making repairs once they've become completely disconnected.

Changing the Air Filter

You should be changing your own air filter every few months. But a furnace repair technician will usually also change it when they come to tune up your furnace. This will help reduce the amount of debris/dust that builds up on your furnace. It will also help keep your home clean. When they change your filter, the repair tech may note how much dust and dirt are on your current filter. Based on their findings, they might recommend that you start changing your filter more often, or they may tell you that you can wait longer between changes. 

As fall approaches, make sure you keep your furnace's needs in mind. Scheduling a tune-up will help ensure your furnace gets the care it needs before the winter heating season arrives. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in this case.


Share