When the cold season ends and the warmer months slowly approach, you may start to wonder:
“Can I turn my furnace off now?” The simple answer is yes. Leaving the furnace on or off is your decision.
The answer does not lie in whether or not you could, but rather whether you should or not.
In this article, we’ll talk about the reasons why you should NOT turn your furnace off immediately after winter.
We will also discuss how to ensure you keep your unit running efficiently throughout the seasons.
Why You Shouldn’t Turn the Heat OFF After Winter
You should avoid immediately turning your heating unit off until temperatures even out.
You must give your furnace a chance to reacclimate to surrounding weather conditions. Turning your furnace off when it gets warmer will help your equipment avoid issues with frosting.
The months after winter can still be quite chilly! If you turn it off too soon, condensation may build up in your flue pipes, causing frost damage to your HVAC system.
Some homeowners may choose to keep their furnaces running all year round, but this also poses its own risks.
A perpetually running furnace can wear your unit out much faster. Keeping it on throughout the warmer months can also produce moisture, causing your home to be more humid in the summer.
You may also pay for utility costs you don’t need. It’s like buying trouble. Who wants that?
When Should I Turn My Furnace OFF?
The weather in Washington is relatively unpredictable in early spring. It only starts to warm up toward the end.
The optimal time to turn your furnace off is when temperatures begin climbing. You should monitor your outside temperature to gauge when to turn your heating systems off.
How to Turn My Furnace OFF Safely
Turning your furnace off is more than flipping a switch.
You must properly turn off your system to prevent unnecessary energy costs. Follow these steps to turn your furnace off safely and save on utility costs during the warmer months:
- Shut down the gas supply. The valve for your furnace gas line is typically located by the pilot light. You know you’ve shut it off properly when you no longer see the flame.
- Inspect the area around your furnace. Make sure there are no fire hazards within the vicinity of your unit!
- Check your furnace filters. After operating through the cold seasons, cleaning or replacing the filters in your furnace would be best.
- Ensure your carbon monoxide detector is functioning. To keep your home safe from any gas leaks, check your carbon monoxide detector and make sure it’s working!
You can call an HVAC technician if you need help turning your furnace off or need clarification on these steps. Experts can thoroughly examine your furnace and provide other maintenance tasks.
Enlisting professional assistance ensures your furnace runs efficiently and safely the next time you turn it on. However, you should still know all about your heating system!
Furnace Care Every Homeowner in Washington Should Know
Like every appliance and machine in your home, a heating system is susceptible to wear and tear.
All-around care for your unit is vital in keeping your furnace working better and longer. Aside from all-around care, your heating systems will benefit greatly from routine practice.
Even the most well-built units can break down or suffer when you neglect regular evaluation and maintenance efforts, negatively impacting energy efficiency.
Some homeowners may need to raise awareness of proper furnace care. Only a few know the answers to what, when, and how.
Quality before and after-care ensure your installations operate optimally and adequately all year round.
What is Furnace After-Care And Why Is It Important?
Pre-season maintenance helps ensure the reliability and stability of your furnace during winter.
While pre-season maintenance is critical in ensuring stability and efficiency, after-care is important for extending the lifespan of your heating unit.
Furnace after-care involves inspecting and maintaining your unit after colder months to remove leftover residue. Follow-up maintenance guarantees your furnace stays in tip-top shape before winter rolls around again.
Remember, your furnace stays dormant for some time. Leftover condensation, fuel, and other debris may harbor further contamination.
The Benefits of Pre- and Post-Maintenance Services
Routine maintenance for your HVAC systems ensures reliable and efficient heating when you need it the most. You don’t have to worry about mid-season breakdowns getting in the way of your comfort!
Preventing problems is a lot easier than fixing them!
You can work on your furnace independently, but professional assistance is always a good idea. Expert technicians can inspect and tune up your units to help prevent problems before they arise.
These steps in the maintenance process are important to your furnace’s welfare. These steps can give your equipment a longer lifespan and boost its efficiency:
- Replacing and cleaning your furnace filters
- Inspecting your pilot light
- Recalibrating the thermostat
- Inspecting and cleaning your burners and flame sensors
- Checking any electrical wiring
Routine and annual maintenance services can also ensure your home’s safety.
They can lower the risk of gas and carbon monoxide leaks, find underlying issues, and improve indoor air quality.
Poorly maintained furnaces may attract and harbor hazardous contamination.
The Hazards of Improperly Maintained Heating Systems
Furnaces bring warmth and comfort into our homes. We should always prepare for all seasons with regular maintenance. Remember, incomplete maintenance is improper maintenance.
It would help if you kept up with both pre-and post-maintenance efforts.
Thanks to abrupt shutdowns after winter, bacteria, dirt, and other pollutants may be distributed along with heated air into your home.
Polluted heat distribution can directly affect indoor air quality. Contaminated indoor air is dangerous, especially for people with respiratory issues and allergies!
You can avoid allergens and more dangerous growths from breeding in your home heating systems. A thorough cleaning before and after winter should do the trick!
However, sometimes it isn’t always about what you do. Sometimes, it’s what you don’t do.
Don’t turn your furnace off immediately after winter, and don’t conduct haphazard maintenance and repairs.
You Need HVAC Experts!
The lack of proper maintenance hinders your furnace from achieving optimal heating. Due to wear and tear, parts of your furnace may be damaged over time.
However, sometimes, your furnace is already hindered from the get-go.
Improper installations may result in defective components, resulting in subpar performance. Leaving malfunctioning or faulty internal components unchecked could lead to jamming and clogging.
Significant blockages can turn your furnace into a fire hazard! If your furnace isn’t working as well as it should, underlying problems may need professional attention.
Below are a few things that may be causing your furnace to malfunction:
- Excessive dust and debris in your unit
- Gas leaks
- Damaged or disconnected pipes and lines
- Faulty thermostats
- Damaged internal components
- Leaking ductwork
Not only can these damage your furnace system, but they also threaten your safety!
An insignificant issue only stays insignificant for a short time. Don’t wait for minor fixes to turn into major ones!
When You Should Call Professionals
Seemingly insignificant issues can pile up and drastically shorten the life of your furnace. You might prematurely replace your unit when it is still in good condition with manageable repairs.
A reliable HVAC professional can assess your unit and recommend any repairs that it may need. Call an HVAC contractor for evaluation if you notice any of these typical symptoms:
- Have you noticed unpleasant smells or abnormal sounds coming from your furnace?
- Is your furnace not heating your home?
- Is your pilot light showing signs of discoloration?
Do You Really Need the Help of Experts?
You don’t need professional assistance if you are up to the task! If you have HVAC equipment and the necessary experience, you may do it on your own.
However, your furnace is a vital component of your home. Expert tune-ups and repairs may seem inconvenient or more expensive to some, but risky DIY fixes will cost you more!
You may cause more damage without relevant experience and the necessary tools to diagnose and fix your HVAC systems yourself.
If you can’t care for your HVAC systems, professional HVAC contractors can provide the necessary care.
Reliable HVAC Contractors in Mount Vernon, WA
The DIY route is plausible, but reconsider if you don’t know what you’re doing! HVAC professionals undergo extensive training to handle the tools needed to repair your unit.
You can’t learn some techniques instantly from watching DIY videos, much less perfecting them overnight. It takes professional diligence to produce the output your heating systems might need.
Maintenance workers and HVAC service providers get a bad rep for billing too much or doing too little. While ineffective and costly services are real issues in the industry, there are honest and reliable technicians operating with integrity.
If you are still looking for quality professional services in Mount Vernon, don’t worry! There are accessible, affordable, and reliable technicians that you can hire locally.
