Simple Heater Repair You Can Try Before Calling A Professional
Maintaining the heating system to your home is critical for the health, well being, and safety of your family. A reputable service professional will ideally perform preventative maintenance annually to keep the system at peak function. But there are simple heater repair things that you may be able to do to save a repair call.
Quick Heater Repairs To Save A Repair Call
Despite having the annual maintenance of your heating system with a professional such as Complete Comfort, there may be a time when the furnace decides to stop working. It could potentially be an easy fix that you can handle without needing to make a call to your service company. There are a few solutions that you can try to get it operating again.
** Make sure that the thermostat is turned on and is operating properly.
When the furnace decides to quit, it can be intimidating to troubleshoot the issue. But some service calls can be avoided using simple fixes with virtually no expense. If the thermostat is not bringing the heat on, make sure that it is communicating with the furnace. The programmable thermostat can be complex with many options that can malfunction.
- Ensure that the thermostat is reading ‘heat’ as opposed to the ‘cool’ setting.
- Check to see what temperature you have set on the thermostat.
- Compare the temperature of your surroundings to that of the thermostat temperature and then raise it higher than what registering to see if the heat comes on.
- Be sure that the thermostat is programmed with the appropriate day, time, a.m. or p.m.
- Track the thin wires from the thermostat to the unit for breaks and wrap any that you find with electrical tape.
- Change out the battery. Any time a power outage occurs when the battery is dead inside the thermostat, it will result in lost settings. Everything will turn to default.
- Open the thermostat compartment to clean out any debris or dust that may be accumulating. Make sure it’s attached firmly on the wall and is level with no loose wires coming into it.
- If you have difficulty programming the settings, manually put in the temperature that you need using the arrow buttons followed by the hold key. This should turn on the heat if the malfunction has to do with the programming. Go to https://www.thespruce.com/furnace-stopped-working-1821907 for details on fast heating fixes.
** Make sure that you change out the furnace filters regularly.
Clogged furnace filters are going to cause the heating system to shut down, making it imperative to change your 16x25x4 furnace filter (or whichever filter size is compatible with your system) regularly. This is a common cause of heater issues. The dirt and dust will block airflow. The heat exchanger has the potential to overheat if there is too much of a clog. If there is no heat but the blower is operating, the filter needs to be changed out. The efficiency, as well as the life cycle of the heater, can be significantly affected as a dirty filter is responsible for the build-up of soot on the heat exchanger.
** Clear the chimney exhaust flue.
There is a great attraction for birds to the warmth of the chimney exhaust flue. To check for obstacles, you’ll need to take the thermostat down all the way, turn off the furnace, and disassemble the duct that exits the furnace. Make sure to put it back up in the same manner as you removed it.
** Clean out any debris from around the heat pump or venting systems.
With a heater that has venting coming outside the home, you want to be sure there are no obstacles around the intake or exhaust. Clean any type of debris, fallen leaves, or grass away from the heat pump outside. Before winter, be sure to use a hose to wash down the top to rid the housing of any dirt. Read here for more home tips.
When preparing your heating system for winter, you must ensure that all the elements are cleaned and operating properly. Having the system inspected annually by a reputable professional will prevent minor repairs from turning into major situations. Although performing quick fixes on your furnace can be gratifying, it’s important to ensure that you have the skills to do so efficiently. Help is only a phone call away.
