Last winter we posted some steps to take to make sure your home’s natural gas furnace runs as safely as possible over the cold months. We’d like to run through a quick reminder of these steps before we talk a bit more about furnaces, safety, and you:
- Professionally maintain the furnace: We can never stress this too much. If you haven’t yet arranged for annual maintenance through our HomeSaver’s Club, contact us right away. This inspection and tune-up is vital for a safe furnace.
- Clear the area around the furnace: Don’t have anything combustible near the furnace.
- Set up CO detectors: An essential early-warning system if toxic gases start escaping from a damaged furnace.
- Stay on top of repairs: Never hesitate to contact us for furnace repairs if something seems wrong.
More Furnace Safety Talk
Whenever we bring up tips for gas furnace safety, we want to reassure homeowners that a furnace is not an automatically dangerous appliance. Modern furnaces are manufactured to high safety standards, and they include many precautions to prevent problems such as carbon monoxide leaks and combustion hazards. For example, the furnace limit switch will shut the system off if the temperature inside rises too high. If you purchase a furnace with the ENERGY STAR label, you’ll know you have a heating system that meets rigorous safety qualifications. (ENERGY STAR is about more than energy efficiency!)
Fall is a slower time of the year when it comes to HVAC work because the hot weather subsides, taking the pressure off air conditioners, but the true cold weather hasn’t set in yet, keeping furnaces and other heating systems inactive. But there’s an important HVAC job that needs to be done at this time of year, which is regular professional maintenance for a home’s heating system.
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