Honey, What’s Wrong with the Furnace?

Winter is nearly on its way, which means the heater has likely been working hard. The days are shorter, it gets dark earlier, and when it gets dark, it gets cold.

Downstairs, probably in the basement, the furnace is responsible for keeping the house toasty warm. However, what do you do if your furnace starts to have issues? What should a homeowner do?

After all, homeowners may be mildly familiar with their furnace, but likely not familiar enough to figure out what the issue could be and fix it. Luckily, they don’t have to. Gorjanc Home Services can come out and diagnose the problem, and then repair or even replace the unit so that it’s working as good as new again.

Here are some common furnace issues and solutions so a homeowners know what to expect:

• The furnace is normally a silent force downstairs, but lately that’s been different. It makes a lot of whining and/or chugging noises as it struggles to kick on. Once it’s off, it also seems to take longer for it to power down. If the furnace hasn’t received regular maintenance a few times a year, this is the likely culprit. Otherwise, it could just be old or may be having mechanical issues.
  
• The furnace used to roar to life, warming the house up instantly. Now, it seems like it takes way longer than it used to for the home to feel adequately warm. Again, lack of maintenance could be to blame here. Besides that, the filter may be jammed up, or there could be an issue with the pilot light, gas, power function, or thermostat.
  
• When the furnace is turned off, it never feels like it’s really off. Sure, there’s no more hot air being blown into the house, but there’s definitely still air coming from the furnace. This seems costly and maybe even a little dangerous. Such an issue is caused by the furnace’s limit switch. This is generally a simple repair that won’t break the bank.
  
• The furnace’s thermostat does not seem to give an accurate reading anymore. It once let the homeowner know just what temperature their heater was running, but now the number seems too high or too low to be believable. Thermostats can break, too. Again, this isn’t a pricy fix most times, but it is one that shouldn’t wait.