Don’t ignore these 6 warning signs. They may indicate your furnace needs a little TLC.
It’s 3 a.m. Your peaceful slumber is pierced by a strange rumbling sound. It’s coming from inside your house. You throw off the covers, jump out of bed and look for an object to wield should you meet any unwanted visitors. In your nervousness, you choose a slipper.
Slipper cocked above your head, you follow the unsettling noise through the house. Down the stairs to the main floor. It gets louder. You open the basement door. It rumbles again. You step gingerly down each creaking stair, ready to fluff the intruder into a haze of slipper comeuppance. As you get down to the bottom, you notice – the noise is your furnace.
Strange noises is just one furnace warning signal that you should be on the look out for. If you’re starting to see these warning signs, it might be time to talk to someone about getting a new furnace.
Hair-Pulling Electricity Bills
In the following months have you noticed your gas or electricity bill going up? If there’s no logical reason it might be your furnace. Like dear old grandma, furnaces often lose their spry efficiency as time goes on. Your furnace can’t provide the same heat with the same amount of work anymore.
The Aged Furnace
If you remember having the same furnace when Pierre Trudeau was ruffling feathers, your furnace is old. Really old. The average life expectancy of a furnace is approximately 20 years. The older furnaces get, the less they perform over time. If your furnace is coming close to the 20 year mark, you should consider upgrading.
The Money Pit
Does your furnace suck more money out of your wallet than your teenagers? If you’re constantly spending money on repairs, it’s probably time to think about a new furnace. When you notice that your furnace needs a highly odd number of repairs, this often means that your furnace is in its last years of life. Unlike teenagers, you can buy a new furnace. Don’t buy new teenagers. You can’t do that.
The Goldilocks Zone
“This room is too hot. This one is too cold.” Is this you when you walk around your house? If it feels like someone is playing a twisted game of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in your house, it probably means that your furnace can’t distribute heat properly anymore. When this happens, you might need to take a look at your furnace.
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide is a deadly, toxic gas that can be fatal if exposure is long enough. If you have a gas furnace, especially an old gas furnace, there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Our human senses can’t detect the gas, so if you experience these symptoms, get you and your family out of the house:
- Frequent, unexplainable headaches
- Burning sensation in your nose and/or eyes
- Flu-like symptoms
- Disorientation
- Nausea
Carbon monoxide poisoning is serious, so don’t play around with these symptoms. Call 911. After everyone is safe, you can call your furnace repair service and have the problem looked at.
Long before you get to this point, you should have a carbon monoxide detector in your house. Remember, put it close to the ground because carbon monoxide gas is heavier than air. It’ll fill the bottom of your house first.
Dry and Dusty
Nothing is more annoying than touching a door knob and getting a shock – every time you touch one. Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, this can be a furnace warning sign. Along with other symptoms, it could mean that your furnace isn’t working properly. Other symptoms of dryness, like allergies, dry throat, skin or significant dust accumulation. If your whole family has suddenly caught a case of dryness, you might want to look to your furnace as the culprit.
If one of these signs or more are keeping you from getting a decent night’s sleep, give us a call. That’s what we’re here for!