Have you given your furnace a little pep talk lately, exhorting it to “keep in truckin’” for the good of your entire family?  Probably not, and for a few very good reasons:  it can’t hear, comprehend, or answer back.  And yet it does respond favorably when you take proper care of it.

Here, for example, are four important things you can do to help keep your furnace in top working order:

• Clean or replace the air filter. Such a simple step, and yet one so often ignored. In fact, you’d be amazed at how many heating repairs we perform all caused by a clogged and dirty filter.  To avoid unnecessary repair work and get the most from your furnace, start by cleaning or replacing it monthly, as needed.  If it’s not dirty the first time, check back again in a couple of weeks.  And before long, you’ll have figured out the correct cleaning or replacement cycle for your furnace make and model.

• Keep all air vents open. It’s a popular misconception that closing one or more air vents will help reduce your heating costs.  Instead, doing so lessens your system’s efficiency over time and creates inconsistent temperatures in the rooms where your vents are open.  If saving money is your goal, there are far better ways to go about it, including adding one or more zones where you can control indoor temperatures one zone at a time.

• Keep the furnace area clean. Any item kept near your furnace during the winter becomes a potential fire hazard.  So, if you use your furnace room or area for storage, keep it well organized and all objects -especially flammable ones – out of harm’s way.

• Reset your programmable thermostats.  If you haven’t already, reset the time and temperature settings to reflect your winter schedule and desired comfort levels. Looking to save money on your energy costs?  In that case, we recommend program settings of 68 to 70 degrees during home occupancy hours and 60 to 62 degrees while your home or certain zones are empty.

Here at Absolute Air, we can do a great deal to add to your family’s winter time comfort, and it all starts with our heating system preventative maintenance service.  It’s your number one assurance of problem-free performance, reduced heating costs, fewer if any repair bills, and a longer system lifespan.  Call to schedule service today, and enjoy the added peace of mind knowing your furnace is receiving the best possible care.

If your furnace 15-20 years old, it’s already reached its average lifespan.  If it’s even older and still working fine, consider yourself among the fortunate few.

But here’s the thing:  no matter how new or old it might be, it won’t last forever.  So, is now the time to consider replacing it?  It could be if you notice one or more of these symptoms of an aging furnace, or at least one in need of professional troubleshooting:

Gas & Electric Bills Going Up?
Rising gas and electric prices are not the only reason for high bills. Furnaces often lose their efficiency as they age, especially if they have not been properly maintained.

Any Furnace Repairs in the last 2 years?
Furnaces are like cars – the more your repair them, the more they need to be repaired. And once all that starts, it doesn’t take long before you’re spending $500 or more just to buy yourself a little more time.  At some time, it’s a good idea to take a step back and reevaluate whether you’re throwing good money after bad.

How’s your thermostat working?
If you raise your thermostat from 66 to 72 degrees, and your house doesn’t warm up, what are you most likely to assume?  Right – that something is wrong with your thermostat.  Well, that’s not always the case, and that’s precisely why Absolute Air heating professionals always check the thermostat while diagnosing a home heating problem.

Is your furnace making strange noises?
An old furnace can sound like a one-person band, just not as melodious.  The point is, furnaces are designed to run quietly.  If yours isn’t, it behooves you to find out why before the problem – whatever it might be – gets any worse.

Not feeling feel?
The older the furnace and its air duct system, the greater the potential for cracks in heat exchanger and in your ductwork.  A cracked heat exchanger is the more serious of the two problems as it can lead to a poisonous carbon monoxide leak.  Cracked and leaking ducts, on the other hand, cause your furnace to work harder which, in turn, puts more wear and tear on it.  Holes in your air ducts also allow dirt and other pollutants inside the ducts which then get pushed into your living spaces where you’re all too likely to breathe them in.  So, if any family member is complaining of chronic flu-like symptoms or having an especially difficult time with their allergies or asthma, it’s a good idea to contact Absolute Air to see if your heating system is contributing to or causing the problem

Remember:  a loss of heat isn’t the only reason to consider replacing your furnace.  High utility bills you can’t control, chronic flu-like symptoms, greater dust accumulation, and a noisy furnace that keeps you up at night might also be your furnace’s way of saying “enough is enough.”  Looking for answers you can live with, comfortably and affordably?  Contact Absolute Air today and give you the full benefit of our training and expertise.

Life is full of instances where, among myriad solutions, the right one is the simplest and easiest to ignore.

Take, for example, when you’re working at your computer and suddenly it’s taking forever to open a new window. You try 20 different solutions when all of a sudden it dawns on you: “Why not just reboot?” You try it, and everything’s back to normal.

The same thing applies to your furnace, as in, there are so many problems that can be solved or, better yet, prevented by taking the simplest step of all: cleaning or replacing the filter.

Read on and learn – we promise you’ll be glad you did:

• Clean or replace your filter regularly – Rule of thumb, your filter should be cleaned or replaced every 3 months. If you have smokers in your house, you should at least check it more often. If, on the other hand, you have a whole-house air filtration system, you can probably get away with cleaning or replacing it less often.

• When should I replace vs. clean my filter? If you can’t see light through your filter, you should replace it. Also, if you have the inexpensive cardboard type of filter, you should replace it every time, or replace it with a MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) that is manufactured to last and be cleaned regularly.

• How exactly should I check my filter? Before checking your filter, make sure the furnace is turned off. Next, locate the service panel which you’ll typically find on the lower front or side. After gently popping off or sliding up the panel door, look for the filter. After removing it, common sense will dictate if cleaning it is enough or if it should be replaced. In any case, do not restart your furnace until you have re-inserted the fully cleaned old or replacement filter.

• How do I choose one MERV filter over another? The higher the number on a scale from 1 to 12, the better capable it is of filtering out dirt, dust, and other airborne pollutants. Each of these is capable of limiting the efficiency of your furnace AND contributing to unhealthy indoor air quality.

• Can a clogged filter start a fire? Absolutely, and here’s how. The dirtier the filter, the harder your furnace has to work to push warm air through. Over time, furnace parts can overheat and eventually lead to a fire.

• What else can I do to prevent a furnace-related fire? To perform as efficiently and safely as possible, your furnace should have plenty of clearance around it between walls and the ceiling. And since internal combustion is taking place to convert oil or gas into warm air, you also should keep paper and any other flammable objects as far away from it as possible.

As complex as it might be, your car is useless without an ignition key. Such a simple device, wouldn’t you agree? When you think about your furnace, it’s equally important to think small first. As in, take good care of that little, inexpensive filter, and your furnace will take much better care of you.

At the same time, let’s say you’ve taken meticulous care of your filter and yet you still have a problem with your furnace. In that case, the solution is just as simple as filter maintenance: pick up the phone now and contact Absolute Air. We are your home heating specialists offering precision furnace troubleshooting and high quality repairs. Plus, with Absolute Air, you’ll receive a guaranteed upfront repair price along with our 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. For home heating at its best, contact Absolute Air today.

So what’s your pet peeve about winter?

For most people, it’s either not enough daylight, can’t (or won’t) spend as much time outdoors, icy road conditions, and so on.

All pretty good pet peeves, if you ask us! But how about having something go wrong with your furnace? Then what happens?! Do you ignore it (short of a complete loss of heat) and hope the problem “goes away”? Or are you more inclined to aggressively troubleshoot the issue, or find a home heating professional who can do so for you?

Well, regardless of who you might call for assistance, the last thing in the world you want to do is a wish a heating problem away – because that’s one wish that 99% of the time won’t come true.

And if you do have a home heating problem on your hands, there’s a very good chance the cause is one of the following:

1. Lack of ongoing maintenance. Your heating system – or anyone else’s, for that matter – can only run at its best with an annual system cleaning and inspection. Otherwise, dirt collects, electrical wiring connections can come loose, and general wear and tear can cause problems prematurely.

2. Dirty filter. Even with annual maintenance, you should clean or replace your furnace filter every 30 days or so. A clogged filter forces your furnace to have to work harder than necessary to provide the right amount of heat.

3. Older than dirt. If your furnace is at least 15 years old, it’s already exceeded the low end of its average life expectancy: 15-20 years. The older the system, the more prone it becomes to partial or complete failure.

4. Problem with your thermostat. It’s quite possible that nothings’ wrong with your furnace, but that your thermostat isn’t working correctly, thus causing your present discomfort.

5. Frequent “on and off” operation. Is your furnace constantly turning itself on and off? If so, chances are the filter is clogged, you have an airflow imbalance or, once again, something’s wrong with your thermostat.

6. Way too loud! Furnaces were not made to rumble, squeak, bang, rattle, or make any other unpleasant noises. If, on the other hand, yours didn’t get that memo, it’s probably telling you it has a clogged burner or a glitch in air distribution.

Bottom line, if you have no heat at all, not enough of it, or some other perceived problem with your furnace, contact Absolute Air for an absolutely fantastic customer experience. We’ll give you a guaranteed upfront price along with our 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. At the same time, we’ll treat you and your home like gold, just as we always do. After all, that’s the Absolute Air way of doing things.