DIY Tasks You Can Do to Maintain and Troubleshoot Your Gas Furnace - By: darrengerso

Regardless of what kind of heating equipment you may own, having it routinely maintained would significantly help it last longer and perform its job of keeping your home warm better. Surprisingly, you can perform a number of furnace maintenance tasks yourself, while more complex and tedious aspects of furnace upkeep are best left to professionals.

Stated here are a few repair and maintenance tasks that you can easily do on your own. Performing these tasks from time to time would greatly help you keep your heating expenses down and save you hundreds of dollars in costly repairs. Such tasks include troubleshooting gas furnaces and cleaning them.

One of the most crucial aspects of adequate furnace maintenance is regular cleaning. Dirt accumulation on your furnace can greatly decrease your furnace's efficiency. It can cause fuel wastage and make your furnace work twice as hard to heat your home—sometimes it can even cause your furnace to overheat. Accumulated dirt can affect all 3 parts of your furnace—the blower, the filter system, and the motor. These are the 3 components that need thorough cleaning from time to time. When regularly used, your furnace filter should be cleaned at least once a month.

To troubleshoot a gas furnace Salt Lake City homes have, access the pilot light assembly on your furnace. You can find this behind a plug-type door or a panel covering it. Other controls are found at the front of the furnace. Once you have accessed the pilot assembly, turn the furnace valve off and wait a few minutes. After this, switch the valve to pilot settings and hold a lit match against the pilot opening. While doing so, push the reset button on the control panel. Keep this button pressed until the pilot flame starts to burn and then switch the valve on.

If the pilot light does not remain lit, its opening may be obstructed. Switch the gas valve off and remove the obstruction from the opening using a fine wire. This problem may also be caused by a faulty thermocouple, and would require replacement. If this problem persists, get a furnace repair Salt Lake City residents prefer.

The gas furnace Salt Lake City homes have is built with control shutoffs to prevent gas leaks from occurring. These controls, however, are not foolproof. Should you smell gas in your home, evacuate your home immediately and call a gas company or fire department to report the leak.

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