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It’s fall. And winter will be here before you know it.

The last thing you want is for your furnace to fail on the coldest night of the year and costly repairs to fix it.

That’s why now’s the time to get your furnace ready for Old Man Winter with fall furnace maintenance from Handy Bros. Home Comfort.

Identify strange noises

Did your furnace make a strange noises or sounds the last time you ran it?

If so, that’s a sign it needs specialized furnace repairs or outright replacing depending on factors like age, wear-and-tear, and damage.

Here are some noises you should watch out for:

• Banging or popping: Either it’s the air ducts in your home expanding and contracting as warm air passes through. Or the burners are so dirty that excess gas is building up and igniting.
• Squealing or whining: Sometimes, it’s a loose or frayed blower belt. Other times, the shaft bearings are dry and need oiling. It could also be the blower motor has given up the ghost.
• Scraping or scratching: This could be the blower wheel separating from its shaft or that it’s broken completely. It could also be the motor mount and its assembly unit has collapsed.

Your furnace should operate smoothly and quietly.

If it’s noisy or sounds like it’s struggling to work, you should contact us ASAP for a fall service visit.

Remove and replace dirty furnace filters

Even if you didn’t use your furnace in summer, its air filtration components have become clogged with things like:

• Dust.
• Pet dander.
• Hair.
• Airborne pollutants.

When Old Man Winter is doing his worst, your home heating system must work harder in order to deliver warm air throughout your home.

That can lead to problems down the road, such as:

• Poor indoor air quality: The dirtier the filter, the worse the indoor air quality is inside your home. If you have allergies, breathing issues, or asthma, your symptoms could get amplified.
• Higher energy costs: Your furnace needs more energy to do its job. That’ll be reflected in your monthly hydro bills. Replacing the filter regularly can knock down your costs by 5% to 15%.
• Shorten its lifespan: A clogged filter is a common HVAC issue. That can lead to periodic breakdowns or your furnace failing completely; especially if it’s an older unit.

To avoid these problems altogether, your best bet is to have us replace any dirty filters or install a new HEPA filter for you.

Seal leaks and reduce carbon monoxide (CO) exposure

Carbon monoxide is known is “the silent killer” because it’s:

• Colourless.
• Odourless.
• Tasteless.

While it’s a natural by-product or normal furnace operation, too much CO can be deadly.

A fall furnace maintenance visit – combined with a reliable and well-placed carbon monoxide alarm – will locate any potential trouble spots.

Additionally, your furnace may rely on natural gas. If there’s a leak in the gas line and, say, a candle was lit, the consequences could be catastrophic.

Don’t take this chance. Instead, book fall furnace maintenance and get the peace of mind your family deserves.

Critical component check-up

Your furnace is a complicated piece of machinery. It’s made of:

• Buzzing electrical components.
• Flowing gas and flames.
• Moving parts.

As such, a trained Handy Bros. Home Comfort technician can safely get in there and properly inspect important elements like:

• Air ventilation and return ducts.
• Coils.
• Heat exchanger.
• Fan motors.
• Bearings.

The last thing you want is to damage your furnace or injure yourself by trying to maintain these components yourself.

Rather, be safe and have us take care of it all for you.

More benefits to fall furnace maintenance

In addition to the reasons mentioned in this blog, there are other reasons to schedule fall furnace maintenance with Handy Bros. Home Comfort:

• Easier to clean your home: A freshly cleaned furnace (along with vents and ducts) won’t blow dust and debris that will eventually land on your furniture, tables, and other surfaces.
• Your home is warmer: If your home is prone to “cold spots” in winter, fall furnace care ensures warm is evenly distributed through every room in the house.
• Better temperature control: Are you constantly adjusting the temperature in winter? A clean furnace helps with unwanted temperature fluctuations.
• Peace of mind: You’ll just feel good knowing it’s done, out-of-the-way, and that your family is safer and more comfortable for it.

Book your fall furnace maintenance visit today

If you wait until winter to get your furnace ready for it, it’s too late.

Proactive fall furnace care ensures that when winter is doing its worst, your furnace will be at its best.

Contact us now to schedule your fall maintenance.