How to Tell When Your Gas Heating System Requires Repair
Problems with a home gas heating system can lead to your home feeling chilly, push up your energy bills, and even put the safety of you and your family at risk. Here are some things you can do and some warning signs you can look for to know if your home heating system needs repair.
Pay attention to eggy smells
Gas leaks are the main risk associated with gas heating systems. As the natural gas used for heating is flammable, a leak can be very dangerous. All it would take is someone lighting a cigarette to start a fire.
The tell-tale signal of a dangerous gas leak is a smell that is very similar to eggs that have gone bad. If you smell this odour, contact a gas heating repair service immediately. Until the repair service sends someone out to you, turn off the heating, open windows and doors and do not use a lighter or matches.
Check your carbon monoxide detector
A gas heating system that is not working properly can create carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal if someone breathes in a large enough quantity of the gas.
Everyone who uses gas to heat their home should have a carbon monoxide detector that can alert you to the presence of carbon monoxide in your home. Be sure to check this detector regularly and contact a gas heating repair service if it shows that there is carbon monoxide present.
Look for dirt building up around your furnace
When a furnace is working well, combustion is very clean. If your furnace regularly becomes covered in soot, that suggests incomplete combustion is occurring, likely as a result of not enough oxygen getting into the furnace.
Incomplete combustion is much less efficient than complete combustion. If you want your home gas heating system to function well, it is important to schedule a service so that a professional can tune up the system and restore its oxygen supply.
Read your heating bills carefully
Watch out for your heating bills creeping up, as higher heating costs can be a sign that your gas heating system requires repair. When a furnace is not burning fuel efficiently, it uses more gas, which leads to higher heating bills.
Contact a gas heating system repair service if your heating bills are higher than usual. A professional heating specialist can check your furnace and perform any necessary tune-ups to help it work more efficiently.
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