Lately, it seems that your floors, bookcases, coffee table and most every other surface in your home are covered in dust and dirt faster than you can clean them. No matter how frequently you sweep, vacuum and clean, you still seem to have an inordinate amount of dust all around. So what’s behind the dust-bunny boom? The culprit could be your furnace.
Every furnace could probably use a good wipe-down, but when people refer to cleaning a furnace, they are generally being more specific and talking about cleaning the filter. A dirty filter in a furnace can be responsible for extra dust throughout your house. So by replacing or cleaning your furnace filter, you could be cutting down on your cleaning efforts elsewhere. In addition to keeping the air (and surfaces) in your house clean, routine furnace cleaning can cut your energy costs by 5 to 15 percent. If you have pets – pay special attention to the filters. Your pets’ fur can easily get into the system and cycle dirty air throughout your home.
Cleaning a furnace filter is pretty simple, especially if you use disposable filters. It shouldn’t require any special tools. The most complex thing you might have to wield is a screwdriver, and, depending on the model, that’s most likely to remove the front panel of your furnace to get to your filter. Permanent filters require a little more elbow grease, but many would agree the health of our environment is definitely worth that extra effort.
A regular vacuum or a shop vac and a sink or garden hose are some of the most important tools for cleaning a permanent furnace filter. Beyond that, simple household items like toothbrushes, scrub brushes, toothpicks and cotton swabs are also useful to clean the furnace and its vents. All these items can be used for a do-it-yourself clean up.
With any home maintenance work, especially when dealing with appliances, there are safety concerns to consider. First, always make sure the furnace is off before you do anything, even before you open the front panel. When you are cleaning the filter, be sure not to let any water drip everywhere. Water and electricity do not mix. The process of cleaning your furnace does involve a lot of dust and dirt. Make sure to wear a safety mask. Once you’ve cleaned your furnace, make sure you put everything back to its proper place.
Having a professional service technician come to your home or work to do a pre-cooling and pre-heating maintenance every year is very important. This service helps your system get ready for the hot and cold weather to assure quality, efficient, operation. King’s technicians are always honest about what is going on with your system to prevent any unwanted surprises from happening in the future. Having annual furnace maintenance is just as important as getting an oil change done on your vehicle.
