Does a Gas Furnace Need to be Cleaned?
Can I Clean It Myself?

In a simple word, yes! Regular cleaning and maintenance of your gas furnace can help extend its lifespan- and save you significant money as well! Well-maintained gas furnaces can last up to 15 years or more! With regular maintenance and tune-ups, homeowners can improve their indoor air quality, help prevent emergency repairs, and save money by keeping their systems running at peak efficiency!

Cleaning your furnace yourself isn’t something we’d recommend. While we would definitely recommend you change your air filter regularly on your own, most gas furnaces these days have a lot of delicate components, and it requires some experience to both clean and inspect various components for wear. It’s not as simple as just vacuuming the dust out of the system! 

A qualified technician, like our staff here at John Cippilone, will look at the burners, ignition system, flame sensor, and blower assembly, and if necessary, the heat exchanger as well, cleaning each part and checking for signs of wear.  This is important since issues like cracked heat exchangers can leak dangerous carbon monoxide into your home.

How Often Should You Clean Your Furnace?

You should have your furnace cleaned once a year. It’s rare that you’d need it done more often than that. Perhaps if your system is a big, commercial furnace, it may need to be cleaned more than once a year. If you have a typical furnace for your home, one cleaning a year should be just fine.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should change your filter only once a year. That’s totally different. You should change the filter in your system about once every 3 months, based on use and how quickly it gets dirty. Changing your filter is easy and inexpensive, and something you should be able to do on your own!

Heater Tune-Ups: Furnace Cleaning And More

Regular maintenance and tune-ups are the keys to extending the life of your HVAC system and your gas furnace here in the Havertown area. We recommend making sure your system gets a tune-up at least once a year. This check and preventative maintenance is usually under $200 and can help make sure your system is running well, saving you money each month on energy bills. Getting a tune-up before the season starts is always a good idea, so scheduling a visit in late Summer/Early Fall will make sure your home is ready and your furnace is working well when you really need it.

Benefits Of A Heater Tune-Up

As we mentioned earlier, getting your furnace cleaned and tuned up annually has a lot of benefits including:

• Better Heating
• Lower Energy Bills
• Keep Warranties Valid
• Longer Lifespan

You can read more about that by clicking here to read our article on Pre-season Heater Tune-ups. 

How To Know If Your Furnace Needs To Be Cleaned

If you can’t remember the last time you had your gas furnace serviced, it’s probably time to give us a call! That said, signs your system is ready for a tune-up and cleaning include:

• Visible Dust Buildup
• Furnace Flames Are Yellow
• Gas Bill Keeps Going Up

Visible Dust Buildup

If there is visible dust build-up in and around your heater, this is a sign you are probably due for a cleaning! Especially if you have had any work done in the house involving drywall, flooring, or wood trim, there’s a pretty good chance you have a lot of the dust particles in your HVAC system.

Furnace Flames Are Yellow

Most of the time, the flames for your gas furnace should be blue. If the flames are yellow, that is a sign of dirt build-up on your burner or other potential issues. An unstable yellow flickering flame is a sign that there’s not a good mix of gas and oxygen, and ignoring this sign can lead to a gas leak and MUCH bigger problems.

Gas Bill Keeps Going Up

If your gas bill seems higher than ever, that’s a good sign that you need to get your system checked. Making sure there are no leaks, and doing preventative maintenance can help your heater work more efficiently and save you money every month on gas bills. Plus, it keeps your family safe!

Heater Service In Havertown, PA

If you’re looking for help with cleaning and maintaining your HVAC system and gas heater in the Havertown area,  our expert staff at John Cipollone would love to help!  Just give us a call at (610) 446-7877 or click here to contact us online. We want to help you maintain your home comfort by keeping your HVAC system running properly all year long!