Tune Up Your Furnace Before Old Man Winter Comes
We’re still in the thick of summer in Oklahoma. With the sluggish heat bogging you down, it might be hard to imagine a time when the weather will cool and a chill will roll into town. To think that now is the time when you need to arrange services for your heating system almost makes you laugh, right?
Believe it or not, now is the perfect moment to arrange a furnace tune-up in your Stillwater home. You aren’t relying on your heating yet, and that leaves lots of time to make sure the system’s in working order. And if you’re looking for an HVAC technician to give your furnace the care that it needs, Sitton Mechanical is the team for you.
Signs You Should Call for Furnace Replacement
How long have you had your current furnace? Furnaces last longer compared to something like air conditioning, but they don’t last forever. If your heating system was old when you moved into the home, there’s a pretty big chance that it isn’t working as effectively as it used to. You should look into replacing if:
Your Energy Bills Have Skyrocketed
Look at your energy bill. Have you noticed a sudden spike in power usage, despite not changing your habits in a way that could explain it? It could be because your outdated furnace is draining more energy in an attempt to run even a fraction as well as it should.
Your House Isn’t Properly Heated
Your furnace should be able to heat your entire home without a problem. If that’s not happening, you can attempt a repair, but there’s a good chance it’s a product of an outdated heating system.
Your Furnace Turns On and Off
Many things can cause a furnace to cycle frequently. If you find yourself restarting your heater over and over through the course of the day, it may be due to a broken thermostat, improper air circulation, or a dirty filter.
If none of that is the culprit, it’s possible that your furnace just might be too small for your home. When that happens, the furnace in question will push itself more to meet demand, causing it to run on and off.
A heater that doesn’t heat has no place in your home. Repairs are an option, but eventually, the cost of these fixes will outweigh the unit’s worth. When that happens, Sitton Mechanical can perform a furnace installation you’ll love.
What You Can Gain from a Furnace installation
New things are fun—new toys, clothes, gadgets. It seems like the things important to us are getting better and better with each passing year. And HVAC appliances like your furnace are no different.
The technology behind heating and cooling systems is constantly changing. They run faster and stronger, and they’re more efficient as they do so. And a new furnace is better across the board. You’ll be able to warm your home quickly however much you may need it.
It will also give you a fresh start when it comes to furnace maintenance. Gone will be the days of waiting on edge for a costly heating repair. When you upgrade your furnace, all you need to do is keep up with regular tune-ups to make sure it stays running smoothly and cleanly.
Benefits of a Furnace Tune-Up
A furnace tune-up is the single most effective way to make sure your heating system is ready when you need it. Ideally, it should be done in the hotter season, when you’re a fair deal away from relying on your heater to stay comfortable.
But what if your furnace was working perfectly fine last season? Even if that’s the case, you should still seek a furnace tune-up. Over a year of unuse, your machine will gather dust and get a little rusty. Even if it’s perfectly healthy, the best heating system can always be running a little better.
When you go through Sitton Mechanical for your furnace tune-up, we will send a professional from our team to inspect your furnace from every angle. They will tighten, lubricate and clean anything that may need it. At the end of the session, you’ll have the peace of mind that comes with knowing your heating system is perfectly maintained.
Indoor Air Quality with Your Furnace
Another sign that your furnace needs maintenance is if you’ve found an excess of dust and grime around your home. That is a problem with the state of your filter. When your furnace’s filter gets clogged, it loses the ability to take the particulates out of the air that it warms. Dust that the filter doesn’t catch will instead circle back into your home’s air system.
Contaminated air will, needless to say, lower the air quality in your home, which may prove a problem if you or someone in your house has a history of respiratory illness. The best way to keep this from happening is to change the filter on your furnace regularly. You should replace it every few months at least, and more than that if you have pets in the home. Keeping regular filter changes will keep your home’s air fresh and prevent excess dust from damaging your heater’s internal components.
Furnace Maintenance vs. Heating Repair
What’s the difference between a furnace tune-up and a heating repair? In simple terms, a furnace tune-up is what you do so that you don’t have to do a heating repair. You do maintenance before there’s a problem, and in that process, a qualified technician can find potential issues and solve them before they turn into bigger problems. If your system hasn’t broken down and is still functional, you need furnace maintenance. If it’s no longer working, you need repair.
Many of the problems that usually point to a furnace replacement could potentially be solved by a repair, depending on the case. That includes insufficient heating or lower quality of air. But you should also seek a repair with Sitton Mechanical if you’re experiencing:
Unpleasant Furnace Odors
When you turn on your furnace for the first time in the new season, you may notice a slight smell as the fuel starts flowing again. That’s perfectly normal, but if the smell in question is pungent or sudden, or if it doesn’t go away, that’s a problem. It could be a sign of a gas leak or an excess of dust within the unit, but it’s worth contacting an HVAC technician either way.
Strange Noises
Furnaces usually aren’t totally silent; that’s just a fact. Though a new loud noise, especially a persistent one, is an issue. There’s a broad spectrum of unpleasant noises that connect to problems in the furnace. A whistling or squealing sound could indicate a damaged belt or fan, while loose or broken internal components usually cause a banging or groaning.
Amateurs shouldn’t attempt to repair these issues. The most helpful thing you can do is describe the problem to the best of your ability and let one of our professionals handle the rest.
Running Short Across the Country
There’s been a new development in the HVAC supply chain across the United States. Due to extreme weather in the South and the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a major shortage in supplies and a spike in service calls.
The South is perhaps the most affected by this shortage, where there has been unprecedented weather in both extremes. You may remember the frightening winter storms around Texas earlier in the year, which resulted in a massive bottleneck in the core materials used in HVAC equipment. And with dangerous heat waves now circling the country, providers have been hit with a staggering amount of work.
We can all agree that no one really knows what the next season will look like, both in terms of climate and supply. Because of that, it’s absolutely vital to get as much of your HVAC needs taken care of as soon as possible. A furnace tune-up planned ahead of time may be the frontline defender in whatever winter brings this year.
Sitton Mechanical for “HVAC Service Near Me”
At Sitton Mechanical, we’ve spent the past decade providing top-tier quality services for homes across Oklahoma. Whether you’re in Cushing, Perkins, or Sumner, we are here to work in all aspects of heating and air conditioning. We can do repairs, replacements, and installations. Whatever your home’s HVAC needs are, we’re ready to work.
We’re living in very unprecedented times, and it’s hard to really think or trust any prediction of what the future holds. At Sitton Mechanical, we keep our hearts on what we know for sure the homes in our community deserve to feel safe and comfortable come rain or shine. And at Sitton Mechanical, we aim to do everything we can to make sure that’s a guarantee.
Don’t wait to know for sure that you’ll have a warm winter. Contact Sitton Mechanical today for your furnace tune-up, and we’ll put the effort in now to put your mind at ease tomorrow.
