54 THE QUEENS COURIER • AT HOME • OCTOBER 12, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
at home
It’s time: Signs your heating system needs a tune-up
Temperatures are falling, pumpkin
spice everything has reappeared and
stores have already put out holiday displays
- all signs that winter is either on the
way, or already here, depending on where
you live. If you haven’t already had your
heating system tuned up, now is the time.
Neglect is a top cause of heating system
ineffi ciency and failure, according
to ENERGYSTAR.gov. Proper maintenance
can help ensure your system works
as effi ciently and cost-eff ectively as possible
throughout the winter. Failing to care
for your heating system now could leave
you without heat or with heft y emergency
repair bills if the system breaks down
during very cold weather.
A tune-up is an inexpensive way to
ensure heating equipment is operating
properly, and provides peace of mind that
no potentially harmful blockage exists in
a fl ue or exhaust vent. While it’s best to
service a heating system before the cold
weather arrives, it’s also never too late to
perform routine maintenance.
According to the home repair experts
at HomeServe USA, a typical professional
heating system tune-up will include:
• Inspect safety features and controls
• Check thermostats (including adjustment
if needed)
• Inspect burners (with adjustments if
necessary)
• Check and clean the pilot light
• Check and clean any gauges
• Flush low-water cutoff
• Inspect fi lters, belts, oil motors, pumps
and condensate line (if applicable)
• Check the fl ue pipe and chimney draft
• Inspect and clean the blower assembly
A thorough tune-up before the heating
season starts can help reduce the risk
of a problem in the dead of winter, but
you should still be aware of your system’s
performance. Symptoms that may warrant
having a professional check the system
include:
• Th e system takes a long time to warm
the house aft er the furnace comes on.
• You hear unusual noises when the furnace
turns on.
• You’ve noticed an unusual amount of
dust coming from heating vents.
• Th e system cycles constantly.
• Th e burner fl ame is yellow or fl ickering.
Th e fl ame should be blue in natural
gas furnaces; a yellow fl ame means
the unit is not burning effi ciently and
may even be producing harmful carbon
monoxide.
• You notice your heating bills have
increased more than you would reasonably
expect given the temperature
outside.
• You experience excessive moisture
building up on windows, walls and
other cold surfaces.
• You fi nd visual evidence, such as streaks
of soot around the furnace, rusting on
fl ue pipes or pipe connections or the
vent pipe visible from outside the home,
or water leaking from the base of the
chimney, vent or fl ue pipe.
If you act quickly at the fi rst sign of
a problem, you may be able to avoid a
costly and potentially dangerous failure
of your heating system. For more information
about why you should schedule
a tune-up, visit www.nationaltuneupday.
com.
HomeServe off ers home heating protection
plans, including ones that cover tuneups.
A 24-hour repair hotline ensures
plan holders can be connected with local,
licensed and insured technicians 365 days
a year. Visit www.HomeServeUSA.com
to learn more.
Courtesy BPT