There are things that go bump in the night, but your furnace should not be one of them. If you’re hearing unusual sounds or noticing potentially scary problems with your furnace, give us a call to schedule service now rather than putting it off for later.
Fall is the best time of year to schedule furnace repair in Wentzville, MO. You’re getting ahead of the busy winter season and making sure that your furnace is in the best possible condition for heating your home through spring. Keep reading to learn more about five signs that your furnace has something wrong that needs to be addressed.
1. Bad Odors
Your furnace should never produce any bad odors. If you smell something burning, it’s likely that your furnace is overheating or has an electrical or gas problem. If the air coming from your furnace smells musty and dusty, it may be dirty and in need of being cleaned out. It’s also possible that your furnace can smell like mold and mildew if moisture gets somewhere inside the furnace and spores are growing.
2. Difficulty Turning On
When it’s time for a heating cycle, your furnace should turn on fairly effortlessly. If you hear it persistently trying to switch on without any luck, that’s a sign that something is wrong. You may hear a clicking sound that is repetitive at the beginning of a heating cycle. Even if your heater is finally able to turn on successfully, you should still schedule service. Your heater struggling to turn on will only worsen if you let it continue.
3. Uneven Temperatures
Your furnace should produce even heating across your entire home. If you have certain spots that are hotter or cooler than other areas of your home, that’s a problem. The good news is, it’s actually a problem with your ductwork and not your furnace. There’s a chance that your ductwork has holes that are allowing air to escape before reaching your home.
Another place to check before you give us a call is the vents around your home. They should all be open with at least 3 feet of free space around each one to ensure air can spread evenly throughout your home. Closed vents and blockages can also be a contributing cause of hot and cold spots around your home.
4. Unusual Noises
Just like bad odors, bad noises are something that should never happen with your furnace. Clicking on or off, the whirring of fan blades, and the airflow through the ductwork are all completely normal. But any loud or alarming sounds like rumbling, banging, or popping indicate trouble. If your heater is still operating as it normally does, you may be tempted to ignore the unusual sounds and hope that they go away. But it’s always better to fix a problem early rather than waiting for it to worsen.
5. High Energy Costs
Increasing energy bills can also point back to your furnace problems. Your furnace is arguably the largest appliance in your home using energy during the winter. When energy use spikes, it is most likely attributed to your furnace.
A lot of homeowners think that having spikes in energy use is normal or that having energy use increase consistently over time is normal as your furnace ages. But this does not have to be true. Annual maintenance is one way to prevent energy use from creeping up as years go by so that you can save money and help your furnace last longer.
Warm People, Cool Ideas, Quality Solutions. Give our team at Swiss Air Heating and Cooling a call today to schedule an appointment for furnace service.