Furnaces are great for ensuring the comfort and safety of your household in the winter. A well-maintained furnace delivers reliably hot air in the most frigid outdoor conditions. Forced air heating is one of the quickest ways to warm up your living spaces. However, a neglected furnace can also decrease the comfort of your home by lowering your indoor air quality (IAQ).
Residents of Franklin, Wrentham, Medfield, and other towns in our region spend more time indoors at this time of year. Indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air. In certain circumstances, it can be up to 100 times more polluted! Airborne pollutants can lead to dry skin, itchy eyes, respiratory issues and more frequent illnesses.
At TF Complete Heating & Cooling, we want you to feel warm and healthy in your home. Here are five ways to ensure your furnace is not negatively impacting your IAQ.
Your furnace’s air filter is the first line of defense, preventing dust, dander, mold and other pollutants from entering your living space. The filter is generally located in a slot near the blower compartment of the return air duct. It’s best to check this filter once a month in the winter and summer to ensure it’s not dirty or clogged. You can clean reusable filters and replace disposable filters.
It’s also worth considering upgrading your filter. Many heating systems use basic filters that miss some airborne particles. Upgrading to HEPA filters can greatly improve indoor air quality (IAQ). HEPA, or High-Efficiency Particulate Air, filters trap 99.97% of particles!
Simple as it may sound, keeping your HVAC vents clear of dust, dirt and grime can do wonders for your IAQ. Your forced air heating can blow this debris into your air. Removing it from the path of your heated air stops the issue before it can happen.
Your furnace pulls in air, heats it in a compression chamber, and distributes it through your home’s ductwork with a blower fan. The fresh air intake vent — a hooded vent on the side of your house –brings in outdoor air to be heated and circulated. This reduces reliance on air from crawl spaces or attics, improves indoor air quality and reduces debris buildup in your heating system.
Keeping your fresh air intake vent clean and clear is crucial for your furnace’s efficient and clean operations. Don’t block it. Take a moment each season to clear away any vines, weeds, or wind-blown debris near the vent. To keep things running smoothly, occasionally vacuum the vent to remove dust and dirt.
If you’re really concerned about the healthiness of your home’s air, it could be worth adding an IAQ product to your ductwork. Some of the most popular options are whole-house air purifiers and air cleaners. These systems use filters, UV light, ionization and other means to eradicate virtually all the airborne pollutants that pass through them.
If you want to ensure your furnace is running as cleanly as possible, you must arrange professional maintenance for it once a year. Thorough cleaning, calibrations and testing yield many benefits, including better fuel efficiency, a lower likelihood of breakdowns and a longer system lifespan. TF Complete Heating & Cooling is the region’s most trusted furnace maintenance provider. Our extensively trained and experienced staff will ensure your heating system is running cleanly and reliably.
Reach out to TF Complete Heating & Cooling today to arrange maintenance service for your home’s furnace.
Contact us today to schedule a routine maintenance visit. If you need an emergency repair, please call our office right away at 508-507-6702, and we will get to your home as soon as we can.