PSA for Those With Furnaces

[Outdoor Girl]

Change the dang filter regularly!

I came home to a house 3°C colder than it should have been.  The fan worked in the ON position but no heat.  I went down to the furnace, pulled out the filter and it was really dirty.  So I changed it.  I went back upstairs, flipped the switch from HEAT to OFF and turned it back to HEAT.  No dice.  I called a buddy in HVAC and arranged for him to drop by today.

About an hour later, my ears perked up.  What's that sound?  I stuck my hand over the back of the couch where the vent is and there was heat coming out!  I called my buddy back and he figures it was the clogged filter and it just took a little while for the furnace to reset and kick in.

I'm leaving for a week's vacation on Friday so I'm going to ask the person who is feeding my cats to check on the thermastat and make sure the furnace is working while I'm away.  My furnace is 14 years old so I'd better start budgeting for a replacement!

[ica171]

Good advice! We change ours every month (need to do that tomorrow), which started after I had a similar experience, except it was during the summer and the heat in the house was oppressive.

I read recently that you should get filters that have the folded paper center, as that could help cut down on dust in the house. This is by far the dustiest house we've ever lived in, so I'm switching once the filters I just bought are gone.

[hobish]

Not to be super dramatic, but when i was 22 or so my house i was renting - a beautiful Victorian style house with a great big front porch and big beautiful rooms burnt down because our furnace was faulty. The furnace didn't so much catch fire as blow up. My bedroom was char. Items in my closet blew across the room and melted. I escaped with my life, my combat boots, and the clothes i was wearing. Everything else - gone. Everything. Books, toys, clothes, childhood memorabilia - incinerated. It was Horrible.

Take care of your furnace.