Your gas furnace can become potentially dangerous if you are not vigilant about its repair and maintenance. Therefore, it's important to know the warning signs that something is wrong with it. Here is more information about the signs that your furnace is in trouble and some of the ways you can protect yourself from harm.
Signs That Your Furnace is in Trouble
Broken or blocked furnace components can cause gas leaks and potentially cause fires or worse. Here are some signs that your furnace needs attention right away.
Pilot Light Trouble
The pilot light should be mostly blue with a small, steady-burning flame. The more yellow your flame is, the more likely your heater is poisoning your home with carbon monoxide. Often, a little cleaning can help alleviate this problem.
Gas Smells
Gas smells indicate that something is broken inside your heater. It could mean a broken heat exchanger or a bent gas pipe or nozzle. These problems can put your home at risk for fire or explosion.
Weird Noises
Knocking, rattling, or banging is often a sign that something is either broken or restricted. Examples include, but are not restricted to, broken fan blades and delayed ignition problems.
Flu-Like Sickness
If you've been feeling excessively tired or sick at home, and you feel better when you are away, then you may have carbon monoxide poisoning from your heating unit. Carbon monoxide output means that your heater could have numerous issues, including all of the problems listed above.
Ways to Protect Yourself
Put carbon monoxide detectors in all your rooms so that you have an early warning of a potential problem. If you suspect you have carbon monoxide poisoning, immediately shut off your heater and see your doctor. Do not use your heater again until the unit has been inspected. Keep the area in front and around your unit clear so that air flows freely. During the summer, turn off the pilot light if you are not planning to use your unit. You will need a heating technician to turn it back on for you, but you should have it inspected before doing so, anyway.
If you take steps to protect yourself, and have your furnace checked and maintained on schedule, then it should give you years of trouble-free heating. However, if your furnace is getting up there in age, or you've found that you're paying a lot of money to maintain the unit, then you may want to consider replacing it with a new, more efficient model. In either case, if you think that you have furnace trouble, have a professional, such as from Aggressive Mechanical Contractors, Inc., check it out before it starts to make you sick or becomes dangerous.
