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What is Furnace Maintenance (and why is it important)?

by | Feb 8, 2021 | HVAC Services Tulsa

Furnace maintenance is the complete and total cleaning and inspection of your heating system which consists of three main parts – the filter system, the blower, and the motor. Furnace maintenance is a preventative measure and helps prolong the life of your investment. Some homeowners do not understand how important furnace maintenance truly is because dirt is the “biggest enemy” of your heating system as it requires everything to work harder and affects all parts of your furnace.

We get it- service calls can be a pain to take time out of your workday to be at home while a service technician cleans and checks your furnace, which could only be a couple of years old. However, just like going to the dentist or having the oil in your car changed, it is necessary for the life of your furnace, which is a major home investment. After all, preventative care is less expensive and painful than costly repairs or even having to replace your entire furnace!

This article covers what happens during furnace maintenance, the benefits of regular furnace maintenance, how often it should be done, and the average cost!

What Happens During a Furnace Maintenance Service Call?

There is currently no industry standard for checking and cleaning a furnace. It truly varies on the HVAC company you hire. A typical furnace clean and check can include:

  • Checking gas pressures
  • Evaluate thermostats
  • Change batteries in thermostats
  • Clean and adjust blower components, if needed
  • Clean and flush condensation drains, if needed
  • Check heat strips
  • Clean or replace filters
  • Lubricate all moving parts
  • Measure for correct airflow
  • Measure temperature difference
  • Measure all volts and amps
  • Test starting capabilities
  • Test safety controls
  • Tighten all electrical connections

Benefits of Regular Furnace Maintenance

Regular Furnace Maintenance Advantages

There are several benefits of regular furnace maintenance.

1) Saves Money 

A yearly maintenance call can save you hard-earned money on two fronts. First, having your furnace serviced before the cold front hits every year will ensure your system is working as efficiently as possible. Your furnace makes up about half of your energy bill, so if it is not working correctly, your energy bills will be much higher.

In addition to saving money through your utility bills, furnace maintenance also extends the life of your costly heating system. Annual furnace maintenance will make sure your furnace lives a long life for you and your family!

2) Stay Eligible for your Manufacturer’s Warranty

Did you know most manufacturers will not cover your furnace if it breaks down due to a lack of regular maintenance? There is typically some verbiage in the warranty which states this. Be prepared to provide detailed service records if your furnace completely stops working for any reason. You do not want to be stuck with a surprise bill if the warranty ends up getting voided due to improper care of your HVAC system.

3) Identifies Potential Dangers

When having your furnace maintained, the service technicians check for gas leaks and carbon monoxide leaks. As you know, gas leaks or carbon monoxide leaks going undetected are highly dangerous and could cause death. Having your furnace maintained can potentially be lifesaving.

  • Signs of a gas leak include:
  • The smell of sulfur
  • Whistling sound near the gas line
  • Bubbles in water
  • Dead houseplants
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • And more…

Carbon monoxide is both odorless and colorless, which makes it incredibly dangerous!

Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Weakness
  • Upset stomach
  • Vomiting
  • Chest pain
  • Confusion

Frequency of Furnace Maintenance

Furnace Maintenance Timeline

The good news is you only need to have your furnace cleaned and checked annually! It is best to do right before the cold weather hits, just to make sure your home is prepared to handle the winter weather. While you only need to have your furnace checked yearly, it is also important to change your air filters too. HVAC experts recommend changing filters quarterly, but the technicians who are performing yearly maintenance should be doing this for you. Animals and allergies will require homeowners to change their filters more often.

  • Homes without pets: change filters every ninety days
  • Homes with one pet: change filters every sixty days
  • Homes with more than one pet or people with allergies and/or asthma: change filters every twenty to forty-five days

The reason why it is so important to change the air filters so often is that excessive dust and dirt will block the airflow, which forces your unit to work harder than it needs to, which can lead to breakdowns.

The Cost of Furnace Maintenance and Maintenance Agreements

The cost of furnace maintenance can vary greatly, depending on the region of the United States and the company you hire. It is typically more cost-effective to explore a service or maintenance agreement with the HVAC company of your choosing.

The cost of a single furnace clean and check, without a signed agreement, can cost a homeowner anywhere from $90 up to $130.

For instance, at Dowd Heat & Air in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we have a couple of different options for Maintenance Agreements- a Gold Package Service Agreement or a Standard Service Agreement!

Dowd Heat & Air’s Gold Package includes:

Dowd Heat & Air Furnace Maintenance Service

  • Quarterly Service Calls to Replace Filters
  • Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter Clean & Checks
  • Complimentary 2-inch Pleated Filters
  • 10% Discount on ALL Service Calls
  • 10% Discount on Materials and Labor
  • 5% Discount on New Equipment

We also check your Condensation Lines and change the batteries in your thermostats!

Pricing starts at $285/year for one unit! Our Gold Package saves you at least $200/year!

Dowd Heat & Air’s Standard Package includes:

  • Spring/Summer & Fall/Winter Clean & Checks
  • Complimentary 1-inch Pleated Filters
  • 10% Discount on ALL Service Calls
  • 10% Discount on Materials and Labor
  • 5% Discount on New Equipment

We also check your Condensation Lines and change the batteries in your thermostats!

Pricing starts at $160/year for one unit!

Interested in trying us out, but not ready to commit to a full-year agreement?

We have a Clean & Check Value Package.

These include ONE Clean and Check with complimentary 1-inch pleated filters for $92.00!

On top of furnace maintenance, we also do furnace installations and furnace replacements in the Tulsa, OK area!

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Ami Williams

...Grateful is too small for a word to use but describes best how I feel about Dowd Heat and Air.

“I’ve never experienced such honesty in a field where they could have not been. My a/c quit working, so they came out to look at it. I know nothing about a/c units whatsoever and I thought I was going to have to purchase a new unit. I was so surprised when the nice gentleman told me it just needed to be cleaned out. He was there 10 minutes and left. Grateful is too small for a word to use but describes best how I feel about Dowd Heat and Air.”

Ami Williams

Patricia Fisher

...We highly recommend Dowd Heat & Air.

“Dowd Heat and Air saved the day! They pretty much reinstalled our new unit that was installed incorrectly and made it right. Terry invested his time in explaining to us the problems and what he would do to fix them. Rusty and his team was professional, courteous and clean. They cleaned up so well, you couldn’t even tell they had been there. We highly recommend Dowd Heat & Air.”

Patricia Fisher

Butch Payton

...I would recommend Dowd heating and AC to anybody.

“We purchased a new hearing and air conditioning system a couple years ago, and let me just say that the installation went very smooth and was done very professionally and service after the fact has been the best!!! I would recommend Dowd heating and AC to anybody in need of a new system! Service is right on, thanks for the prompt professional job!!”

Butch Payton

Doug Longnecker

...I have nothing but good things to say about Dowd Heat & Air.

“Rick came out and fixed a shaking problem for me; in a very timely, and professional manner. I have nothing but good things to say about Dowd Heat & Air”

Doug Longnecker

Andrea B

...Dowd Heat & Air have been our go-to in the past couple of years.

“Great service and would highly recommend. They will even come out on a Sat. without the crazy fees. They have been our go-to in the past couple of years”

Andrea B.

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