Your Furnace Maintenance Checklist for this Year’s Heating Season

As the temperatures continue to fall here in the Oklahoma City area, now is the time to make sure your furnace is ready for winter. That's because the care you put into your heating system now will save you from high energy bills and unnecessary repairs during the coldest days of the year.

There are many things that need to be done to your heating system in order to make sure its running efficiently. Some of them can be done by you, while others should be left to the experts.

Along with following the furnace maintenance checklist below, it's very important that you have preventive maintenance performed on your heating unit by a certified technician to ensure that you avoid safety hazards and wasted energy.

So without further ado, here are the things you can do on your own to make sure your furnace is running safely and efficiently.

The Do-It-Yourself Furnace Maintenance Checklist

• Check your air filters once a month. This is by far the most important thing a homeowner can do to increase the efficiency of his or her furnace. A dirty air filter can block air flow in your unit, which forces your furnace to work harder than it needs to in order to heat your home. Take out and inspect your filters once a month and check for dirt and build-up. Some filters can be cleaned and put back to use for up to three months, while more inexpensive filters should be replaced every month.


• Install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. If your heating unit has cracks in the heat exchanger or loose ductwork, it runs the risk of emitting carbon monoxide into your home. A well-trained technician should be able to catch any of these dangers during his or her preventive maintenance checkup, but it's always best to be on the safe side because too much exposure to carbon monoxide can be deadly.


• Install and properly set a programmable thermostat. A programmable thermostat allows you to have "set-it-and-forget-it" control over the temperatures in your home. Be sure to set it at lower temperatures while you're sleeping and when you know you'll be out of your home for more than four hours.

If you have any questions about how to best take care of your furnace this winter, contact Comfort Incorporated, your Oklahoma City heating and cooling company.