If you are a first time homeowner and you have installed the furnace for the first time, you must have heard you need to clean your furnace to keep it in top shape. Since you are doing this for the first time you must be wondering, what does furnace cleaning involve, right?

Before we go into details into what is involved in furnace cleaning, you should know you can go about it in two ways: you can clean the furnace by yourself or hire a furnace repair service provider to help you out.

Obviously hiring a professional is better, as the professional does a better job and you don’t have to get dirty. Although, you will have to spend some money, the money will be worth it.

Now since that is out of the way, let’s get into details of what is involved in furnace cleaning.

Furnace cleaning

This is an obvious one. After all, you are doing the cleaning. The professional should clean all parts of the furnace, including the fan blades, drain line, outdoor unit, and blower. These parts get dirty and dusty over time, and if you don’t clean them early enough, the furnace works harder than it should, leading to a high energy bill at the end of the month.

Inspection

Other than cleaning, the professional should also inspect the various parts of the furnace. The professional should inspect the air intake grilles and vent system and remove any present blockages.

The contractor should also inspect the heat exchanger for signs of corrosion or damage. The contractor also needs to examine the blower and remove any debris present, and inspect the electrical connections and tighten them or replace them if the wiring is damaged.

Other inspections the contractor should do include:

• Checking the burner and flame sensor
• Inspecting the thermostat and calibrating it if necessary
• Examining the belts for cracks and other signs of damage

Testing

If you have a gas or oil furnace, there is the risk of leaks and fumes coming about. The technician should test the gas or oil furnace and ensure everything is in top working condition. The technician also needs to test the airflow, pilot or igniter, fuel pressure, thermostat controls, and other parts of the furnace.

Lubrication

You need to lubricate the moving parts of the furnace to avoid damaging the parts.

Other adjustments

Other adjustments you should make to your oil or gas furnace include:

• Inspecting the thermocouple
• Examining the fuel for underlying issues
• Checking and testing the burner, gas pressure, and pilot

How often should you clean the furnace?

For an optimally functioning furnace, you should clean the furnace once a year. If you use your system more often than other people or you suffer from allergies, have your furnace tuned up more frequently, such as twice or four times a year.

You also should consider cleaning your furnace before the cold season. The best time to do it is at the beginning of the fall or the end of summer.

In addition to it giving you peace of mind, the furnace will function in top condition throughout the heating season, doing the cleaning at this time ensures you get the heating contractors at a low cost as they aren’t busy at this time.

What do you get from cleaning your furnace regularly?

There are plenty of reasons why furnace contractors recommend you clean your furnace regularly. Some of these reasons include:

Saves you money

When you clean the furnace, you remove any clogging materials that might be preventing the appliance from running efficiently. So when you clean the furnace, the appliance functions optimally which sees you saving money as you don’t incur huge energy bills.

Peace of mind

What feeling do you have when you know the furnace is in good shape? You rest as you know there is no way the furnace can go out on you in the middle of a cold night, do you?

Furnace cleaning is one of the important furnace maintenance tasks you can undertake and when properly done you have peace of mind the furnace will be there when you need it.

You increase the life of the furnace

Like a car, when you regularly hire a furnace service Long Island to maintain your furnace, you increase the lifespan of the appliance. Records show that a well-maintained furnace can last for over a decade and you would love your furnace to last this long, won’t you?