You recognize the signs. We’ve all been there before. You know your furnace is going to give up the ghost any day now. But you think you can still survive this with another round of tune ups. Here a few tips from DoItYourself to see for yourself if your unit is still worth saving or not:
1. Inspect the unit. Do you see black soot anywhere on the unit? Turn up the thermostat and check the flames. Are they yellow and orange? If they’re not steady and blue, and if you see black soot building up anywhere, those are all signs that your unit has a major combustion problem. Don’t attempt to take on this problem on your own. Leave it for a professional to handle. Otherwise, you could do more damage to the unit and end up ordering for a furnace replacement sooner than you need to.
2. Is it clean? Sometimes, all a furnace needs is a nice, long cleaning session to get all the dirt and dust off so parts of your furnace can function without grime getting in the way. However, if under the dirt, you see any signs that your furnace isn’t working properly, go to the next step:
3. Perform easy, simple replacements. While plenty of furnace work involves complicated procedures, some are also easy enough to carry out so you won’t have to keep calling in a professional every time you’ve got a problem with your furnace. For instance, does your blower have a fan belt? If your furnace is already more than 10 years old, your fan belt might be cracked and dry with age. Replace it with a new one and observe improvements in the unit’s performance. Do that for other worn parts that need to be replaced. However, if your furnace seems to be on a downward spiral—dying on you every few weeks—then it might be time to consider a:
4. Furnace replacement. If you’ve done all you could for the unit, call in a professional to have it checked out one last time. If the contractor says you’ll a furnace replacement is the best solution, you’ll need to make arrangements to search for a new one. Don’t just listen to any contractor, though. Remember that age, performance and efficiency are all factors. If your unit is old and it’s lagging behind in performance and efficiency, then those are signs you need a new furnace.
These are 4 handy ways you can check if you need to repair or replace your unit. Just make sure you don’t take on more. For serious problems, contact a professional right off the bat.
