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Written by Kendall Richards | October 2, 2019
Thermostat Maintenance: Every fall when you change your clock, change your batteries. If your furnace stops working, first change your batteries to see if that works.
Check the exhaust and intake pipe.
Go outside and remove vegetation from around the exhaust and intake pipe and from around your air conditioner (while you’re out there). These units need to breathe. During the winter, check the exhaust and intake pipe periodically so that snow does not block the pipes.
Check and change the filter. To change your filter, first, turn off your furnace and then pull out and replace the filter.
There are many different kinds of filters. The higher the MERV rating, the more particles are removed. MERV is an acronym for Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. Or in English, “how well does your air filter work?” MERV ratings have a range from 1-16.
The higher the MERV rating, the more efficient it is at removing dust particles and other contaminants that exist in the air. The MERV scale was designed to represent a filter’s best possible performance at removing odors and particles .3 to 10 microns in size, which is microscopic! Some of the everyday things that filters remove from the air are pollen, textile and carpet fibers, dust mites, mold, dust, spores, pet dander, and bacteria.
Activated carbon filters are an excellent choice to remove tobacco smoke. Most homes can adequately remove airborne contaminants with a filter rated MERV 7-12 but for people with bad allergies or an acute sense of smell MERV 13-16 can also be used in the residential setting to maximize the removal of contaminants from the air. Changing your filter frequently provides better filtration.
Go to our Indoor Air Quality page for more information about filtration and indoor air quality.
Check your return registers.
If you have high and low returns, open the low return register during the cold season because cool air settles on the floor and the low return needs to capture the cool air to be heated and run through the system. Make sure nothing is in front of a return register. Blocking a return register will cause issues.
When do I service my unit?
If your furnace turns on and you have heat you can schedule an appointment to have it serviced any time now through the winter. Right now heating companies are taking appointments to schedule heating units, but if it’s working fine you can schedule anytime in the winter.
What should a service company check on my gas furnace?
At a minimum have a service company check:
With over 50 years of experience, All Comfort Services is ready to help if you’d like to have maintenance on your gas furnace.
Call All Comfort Services at (608) 838-7300 or contact our team online for furnace help today. We proudly serve homes in The Greater Madison Area, and we can help you with your furnace problems.
Kendall was president of All Comfort Services for 18 years and retired in 2023. “My best experience here is working as a team to serve customers by responding to their requests along with our team,” says Kendall. “I believe in servant leadership, and I am responsible for every team member and every customer.” He says, “Great customers make the daily demands of running a fast-paced business easy. It’s rewarding when a customer shows us they appreciate the extraordinary effort we put forth.”
