Each year, there are several steps you should be taking to help extend the life of your heating system.
Turning on the furnace on the first cold day of winter and nothing happening is every homeowner’s worst nightmare. The furnace is blowing cold air into your face, and you already have plenty of icy temperatures to spare.
Let’s take a look at several troubleshooting tips you can do to try and get your furnace up and running.
What to Do if Your Furnace Is Blowing Cold Air
Winter is here, and your furnace seems intent on making a go at freezing you to death. There are a few troubleshooting tactics you can try to get your furnace working. If after running through several tests you still can’t get it to work, the next step will be to call in a professional for repairs.
Here are our tips for troubleshooting your furnace:
1. Off and On Again
You might be rolling your eyes at this suggestion. After all, when you call a computer tech for help, this is the first thing they ask if you’ve tried. There’s a reason for it, though!
A computer board controls newer furnaces. Sometimes they can experience a glitch. To see if this is the problem, find the Off-On switch and flip it. Count to ten, then turn it back on. Like with any computer, sometimes a furnace needs a reboot.
2. Thermostat
Sometimes the problem is the most obvious one right in your face. Make sure the thermostat fan setting is turned to Auto. This will turn the blower off once the furnace is done heating.
Remember, a furnace will blow cool air for a couple of minutes when it’s first turned on. It needs time to heat up.
3. Check the Filter
If you haven’t changed your filter in about a year, go check it. When an air filter becomes too clogged with debris, air can’t pass through.
Once the furnace is deprived of airflow, it can overheat, and the limit switch will turn off the burners. Professionals recommend you change the filter every 1-2 months.
4. Faulty Ductwork
The ductwork that runs through the underside of your house is what carries the hot air to all the rooms to be blown out the vents. If any of the ductwork has come loose at the seams or has cracks, then the hot air is leaking out before it makes it to the vents.
Go into your basement and check over all the ductwork. If you notice any areas that have gaps, use a bit of duct tape to patch it up.
Call in the Experts
If you’ve run through all of our troubleshooting tips and your furnace is blowing cold air still, then it’s time to call in a professional. A service technician will be able to perform a variety of tests on your furnace to discover what the problem is and then fix it.
Trust R&R Heating and Air to handle all your HVAC repair and replacement needs. We’ve been serving the metro Atlanta area since 2010.
Contact us today to get your furnace fixed!
