Furnace maintenance in St. Paul, MN

Why heating-season maintenance matters

Your furnace runs for months at a time during a Minnesota winter. Over a season, dust builds up, parts wear and connections loosen. Those changes make the system less safe and less efficient, often without any obvious warning.

The EPA's guidance on carbon monoxide calls for a professional tune-up of central heating systems each heating season. That includes inspecting and cleaning the furnace, flue and chimney. The Minnesota Department of Health also advises having a qualified heating contractor check your furnace each heating season.

A heating-season visit also finds worn parts while they are still small problems. That makes a no-heat call on the coldest night of the year less likely. A clean, properly adjusted furnace also tends to use less gas to heat your home.

What a tune-up covers

Our visit includes a precision tune-up, a professional cleaning and a safety check. We inspect, clean and adjust the system and replace any worn parts. Before we leave, we explain what we found in plain terms. If a part needs repair, you get the price before any work starts.

For reference, ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist calls for checking gas connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and the heat exchanger. It also lists electrical connections, lubrication of moving parts, the condensate drain and the system controls.

ENERGY STAR notes that faulty gas connections are a fire hazard. A dirty burner or a cracked heat exchanger can make a furnace less safe and less efficient. The Department of Energy's furnace guide adds blower cleaning, carbon monoxide testing and checking duct connections for forced-air systems.

High-efficiency furnaces need a few extra checks

High-efficiency furnaces produce water as they run. That water drains away through a small tube or a condensate pump. If the drain clogs, the furnace can shut itself off, so ENERGY STAR includes the condensate drain in its checklist.

These furnaces also vent through plastic pipes on an outside wall. Snow, frost, leaves or animal nests can block those pipes and stop the furnace. Keep the area around the vent pipes clear, and call us if a pipe looks cracked or loose. A damaged vent pipe can let exhaust into the house.

When to schedule

Schedule maintenance during heating season, ideally early in the fall before the first cold snap. ENERGY STAR suggests checking heating systems in the fall and cooling systems in the spring. A fall visit also leaves time to finish any repairs before you need the heat.

Krinkie's Club maintenance plan members get two tune-ups a year, one for heating in the fall and one for cooling in the spring. Members also receive up to a 20% discount on most repairs and priority service.

What you can do between visits

Check your furnace filter once a month and replace it when it looks dirty. Check it more often during heavy winter use or if you have pets. A clean filter keeps air moving through the furnace and the rest of your home.

Keep the area around the furnace clear of boxes, laundry and anything that can burn. On a high-efficiency furnace, clear snow and ice from the outdoor vent pipes after storms. Test your carbon monoxide alarms, and replace them by the date the manufacturer prints on them.

Leave the inside of the furnace to a trained technician. Do not adjust gas valves, remove burner covers or work on the wiring yourself. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 and your gas utility from outside.

If your carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone outside, then call 911. When the furnace stops heating between tune-ups, our 24-hour furnace repair technicians can help.

A tune-up is for a furnace that is working. If yours has stopped heating, keeps shutting off or makes new noises, call for repair instead of waiting for a scheduled visit.

Signs your furnace is due for service

• It was not serviced last heating season
• The burner flame is orange or yellow instead of blue
• You see soot streaks around the furnace
• Heating bills are rising without a clear reason
• It makes new rattling, squealing or banging noises
• Some rooms take longer to warm up than they used to

Common questions

Sources

• U.S. EPA — Carbon monoxide's impact on indoor air quality
• Minnesota Department of Health — Carbon monoxide poisoning in your home
• ENERGY STAR — Maintenance checklist
• U.S. Department of Energy — Furnaces and Boilers