Should I Try to Repair My Furnace or Call an HVAC Company?

Furnaces and air conditioners always break down at the most inconvenient time, when you need them the most. While some faults can be easily remedied with some simple moves, such as through the replacement of clogged filters or some minor adjustments in the settings of the system, in most cases, amateur repairs can do more harm than good and they might also make the repairs needed more expensive and more complicated than they were before the unprofessional repair attempt. HVAC repair technicians agree that homeowners should never try to repair their HVAC equipment. Here are the most common faults that require immediate intervention of a specialist.

Inconsistent Temperatures

Having uneven temperatures in your rooms is a frustrating experience. The problem can be caused by a simple issue, such as clogged components that prevent proper air circulation in your home, but it might also be a sign of a serious fault, such as incorrect installation or clogged ductwork. Inconsistent temperatures can be a result of an incorrectly sized system – if the capacity of your HVAC is not right for the size of your home, the appliance will be unable to maintain the temperature stable in all the rooms connected.

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Stale Air in Your Rooms

Your furnace heats the air in your rooms, therefore the unit has a direct impact on the quality of the air in your home. If your furnace has not been maintained in a long time, it might deliver dirt, bacteria and other contaminants into the air, making it unpleasant or even dangerous to breathe, especially for people who suffer from respiratory affections, such as asthma or allergies. If you notice that the amount of dust has also increased in your rooms, the problem is surely caused by a malfunctioning furnace. In many cases, the culprit is only a dirty filter and the issue is very easy to remedy, but in some cases, the issue is caused by a more severe problem of the furnace. To diagnose the fault and to find the most suitable remedy, call an Englewood heating service technician right away.

Strange Noises Coming from the Furnace

Any buzzing, hissing, banging or rattling signals that your HVAC is struggling and requires a service call. Hissing might mean that your furnace is leaking air somewhere, banging might come from a part that has become loose, all these being problems that can be safely and correctly remedied only by a professional.

The Unit Does Not Turn on

Coming home to a cold building even if you know that you have turned on your furnace before you left is another sign that your HVAC needs to be inspected by a HVAC technician and it probably needs repair as well. In most cases, the issue is caused by thermostat damage or disconnected wires in the unit, but the unit needs to be correctly assessed by a professional.

The Smell of Gas

If you smell gas in your rooms, turn off your furnace and open the windows right away, then call a service technician immediately because the problem indicates a fault of the carbon-monoxide detector as well as another sever issue and the furnace is dangerous to use.

How to Determine the Recommended Time Frame to Replace Your Furnace Filters

There is a lot of confusion about when one should replace one’s furnace filters, and for good reason. The recommended time frame to change furnace filters is typically somewhere between 30 and 90 days on average. However, from the type of furnace you own and the heating source it uses, to the make and model of the filters you normally buy, there are lots of factors that will determine when you should have your filters replaced and why.

Also, there may be malfunctions with the system, or the way that heat is distributed throughout your home could even lead to overuse and the need to replace filters more frequently than normal.

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How You Can Know If Your Filters Need Replacing

According to heating service Denver experts, the best approach when trying to determine when to have your filters replaced is to perform regular check-ups and see how quickly your filters get dirty. If you or someone in your family has an allergy, then you might need to have all the HVAC filters replaced within a month or so, even if they’re not that dirty. However, in most other cases, the following guidelines should suffice:

  1. Check to see if the filter is damaged or dirty. Because of its construction, you’ll find that cleaning it is not a good option, and you will need to have it replaced as soon as possible to maintain good air quality throughout your home.
  2. Make sure you also check for moisture and mold. If it’s present, you will have to replace your filters sooner than usual.
  3. When determining when to check for problems, check for bad odors coming from your vents and HVAC system, and make sure enough hot air gets to where it needs to go. If your thermostat is set high but heat fails to get to its destination properly, then there’s a slight chance that you have a problem with your However, most often than not, the real problem is just a clogged air filter.
  4. The general guidelines on furnace filters is that they have to be replaced once every three months. This is true for smaller, 2-inch filters, but even then it’s just a generous estimate on the period. You should typically check to see if the filter needs to be replaced after 30-60 days of use, especially if your heating system has been running a lot in that time.
  5. If you own larger, 4 or 5-inch filters, the same is true for the generally accepted guideline of having them changed once every 6 to 12 months. Check much sooner, and make sure you have your furnace inspected regularly to identify any issues that could require your filters to be replaced much sooner.

Types of Filters and Their Quality Level

Not all filters need to be replaced after the recommended amount of time, as some are much more durable and can also be washed. This is true of electrostatic filters which use self-charging fibers that can attract particles from the air. Polyester and high end pleated filters are also known to remove many of the smaller particles that could cause a drop in air quality, and are both longer-lasting than cheaper, fiberglass filters which will be almost unusable after just a couple of months.

If you want to make sure that your filters last longer so you don’t have to replace them as often, choose pleated or electrostatic filters offered by reliable manufacturers. These might be more expensive, but they won’t cause you as many problems as the less costly ones will over time.