Valley Services Blog - The Heating Guys » Dirty Furnace

Air therapy, Air in your home making you sick?

Valley Services HVAC — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:59:43 +0000

Your furnace, air conditioner, and duct system function as the respiratory system of your home. When it becomes contaminated and congested it should be cleaned so it can “breathe” normally and efficiently.

Take the survey below, don’t worry it is easy it only has YES or NO questions. If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, it may be time to get your furnace or air conditioner clean and maintained (now ONLY $73 (reg. price $128)! Call Valley Services, Heating and Air Conditioning Specialists!

715-386-7131

Indoor Air Quality Survey

Does anyone in the house have any allergies, asthma, or other respiratory health problems?

Does anyone in your family suffer from headaches, nasal congestion, or other sinus problems at night or in the morning?

Is there a smoker in the house?

Do you have dogs, cats, or other pets?

Do you notice a musty or stale smell when the furnace or air conditioner runs?

Do you notice dust on your furniture shortly after cleaning?

Does it seem like there is not enough air flow coming from your vents?

Is your furnace equipped only with a standard “throw-away” fiber glass filter?

715-386-7131

Dust, dirt, pollen, animal dander, and other airborne contaminants are pulled into your duct system every time the furnace or air conditioner runs. These contaminants build up inside the ductwork over time and can help make your duct system an ideal breeding ground for mold spores, bacteria, fungus, mildew, and other microbes. The removal of contaminants (HEPA Filtration) from the entire HVAC system is recognized by industry experts as the most effective way to eliminate air duct pollutants.

During these Furnace Maintenances (aka Furnace Clean and Tune) we also check the heat exchangers for cracks which can leak Carbon Monoxide into your home and clean out the blower so it circulates cleaner air.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Best Christmas Gift…Comfort

Valley Services HVAC — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:35:32 +0000

It’s the holidays, your whole family is in the living room, huddled in the corner. Why you ask? Because for some reason your furnace is not running. Luckily you have the fireplace for back-up heat. Or do you? Now, you could call our Emergency On-Call Technician for $110/hr, he would be happy to come out and fix your furnace. But that is not exactly one of the holiday bills you will be looking forward to paying on the spot.

Alleviate some of the stress this year by getting your furnace maintained. Also, our technicians test your Carbon Monoxide level by thoroughly inspecting the Heat Exchanger for cracks or weak spots. To ensure that your furnace is working at peak efficiency, our technicians clean out the blower motor and lubricate where needed.

No only do we ensure efficiency but air quality as well! The cleaner the air, the healthier you and your family will be!

Set up your Gas Furnace Preventative Maintenance! Change you filters regularly!

Basic Furnace Troubleshooting: Volume 2, Not Enough Heat

Valley Services HVAC — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:53:30 +0000

Hello again, for our second addition of Furnace Troubleshooting 101. Being that time of year (winter and cold) I am going to keep these installments going. Hope they are helping and saving you money. Here at Valley Services our primary concern is that everyone has heat during the winter. Now if you can fix it on your own, that is great! If you need us, we are a phone call or a click away. 715-386-7131

This session will be shorter but no less important. It focuses on your furnace not producing enough heat. Now one of the reasons for this could be your furnace filter needs to be changed. It may be clogged with debris, dust, hair, and whatever else you are attempting to remove from the air. If this is the case, you need a new filter.

To find the old filter and remove it, you may need a screwdriver depending on how you furnace is set up. Most filters are located between the return air duct and your furnace blower motor. If you are able to do this, find the correct size and put your new filter in and off you go! Your air will be cleaner and your furnace running more efficiently!

Hint: Most thermostats have a setting that will alert you when a filter needs to be changed. This depends on what type of filter you have. View Valley Services Filter Page and the FAQ Page for more!

Another possible problem if your furnace is not producing enough heat is that your gas burners are dirty and need to be cleaned. This is something that should be done by a professional technician, so click here or call now! 715-386-7131

Hope this helped you get a little more heat in your life!

Until next time!

Bryan Corbett

Basic Furnace Troubleshooting: Volume 1-Furnace Not Producing Heat

Valley Services HVAC — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:52:24 +0000

You know me, I am not a technician nor have I ever been. But being my prideful self there are things I try to do on my own. I like to learn new things but I also want to be safe as well. Working with furnaces, or any part of the heating and cooling systems, you want to be safe. So when you do anything with wires or electricity, please shut off the breaker to the furnace. Thank you.

There are a few problems with a furnace that you might be able to fix on your own. It could do with the thermostat or maybe just a switch could be turned off. Now I think we can agree that you do not want to pay $85.00 plus tax to have someone flip a switch. As much as I want your business, I never want to bill someone for something like that!

Pictured below is the basic view of the inside of a furnace. It demonstrates where the cold air is sucked through the return air filter, then travels up the furnace to the heat exchanger where the air is warmed. Then it travels throughout your home in the ductwork.

That is the basic purpose of the furnace. Now, there are about 300 things that go on behind the scenes to ensure that your furnace starts up and heats your home for you and your family.

Now, if your furnace is not producing heat, let’s discuss a few things that you might be able to fix on your own:

One of the problems might be that your thermostat is not set to a high enough temperature, which means your home is the temperature that your thermostat is set to. Try to turn your thermostat up to a higher temp. If your furnace starts up, you should be all set. Good Work! Cost to you $0.
If you turn your thermostat up and nothing happens, your thermostat might be broken and you could need a new one. Now, this is where it might be worth contacting your local HVAC service provider. If you wish, you could try to put in the thermostat on your own, but that is also assuming that the thermostat is the problem. A qualified technician would be able to troubleshoot and find exactly what the problem is.
Another problem could be that your circuit breaker tripped or the fuse was blown. If the circuit breaker tripped, these easy steps will help you to get it going again. First find the Electrical Service Panel (usually a gray box in your basement). Open it and find the tripped breaker, it is not going to be in the “On” position but tilted toward the “Off” position. To Reset the breaker, push the switch all the way to “Off” and then back to “On”. If your thermostat and furnace are communicating correctly and your stat is calling for heat, your furnace should start up. Good Job! Cost to you $0.
- If your furnace still does not work, contact you local HVAC service provider. Valley Services is proud to service Eastern MN and Western WI. 715-386-7131
If you are not getting heat, your pilot light could be out and it might just need to be relit. If you are not sure how to do this please ask someone who does or call us! 715-386-7131

Hopefully this helps you now that heat will be needed all the time. It is getting cold out!

Thanks again for reading

Bryan Corbett

Furnace Tune-Ups, Preventative Maintenance

Valley Services HVAC — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:46:08 +0000

Let me just start by saying honestly I knew nothing about furnaces, air conditioners, or basically anything in the area of HVAC before I started working with Valley Services. Luckily, I still landed the job somehow (wink wink) and have picked up on some facts that could come in handy to my fellow laymen out there.

First of all, furnaces are not perfect, hence how we are in business. With that being said, think of your furnace as your car, and 3,000 miles is equivalent to a year. If you change the oil on your car every 3,000 miles, normally your car will work more efficiently and less unexpected things will go wrong. The auto mechanic will alert you if he finds something that needs to be fixed or at least mention that it needs to be taken care of soon. Now, say you didn’t change your oil for 6,000 miles, maybe you added your own oil, but did not clean it out or look at any other parts of your car to see if it is working correctly. Then your car breaks down in the middle of winter on the interstate and now you are not only paying to fix your car but you are hit with a towing bill as well.

This is a practice that many people take with their furnace. Now, do not get me wrong, if my furnace is working correctly (or at least it is heating so I think it is working), I do not usually jump up and down to pay $100 to get a furnace tune up. If you only change your filters and go about your business, there are things that are being missed. Take a look at our comprehensive 16 point Winter Tune Up. The technicians take a little over an hour ensuring that your furnace is wired correctly, that the blower motor is clean and functioning, that it is burning the fuel efficiently, and much more that I know nothing about.

But that is why I understand now, this is something that needs to get done. Valley recommends a maintenance once a year, even for new furnaces because, like I already said, furnaces are not perfect. Someone out there is manufacturing the parts and they make mistakes as well. Now that is why Valley supports Goodman Furnaces, with some of the best quality furnaces and best warranties in the business. Goodman has top of the line HVAC equipment and support which makes it easy to get parts in the unfortunate case something goes wrong.

Part of life is understanding what is a necessary cost and what is important for you and your family. I can say that here in the Midwest, heat is a necessity and when things go wrong it is not cheap. Parts are more expensive than before and that means prices go up. Valley’s maintenance prices have done the opposite, they are lowering their prices to entice people to get this done. It helps you ( by having a comfortable home) and us from having to hit you a large bill for parts and labor.

Lets just stick with the annual cost of the maintenance rather than a emergency overtime call Christmas Eve that will run you $110 plus any other costs!

Click here if you have other questions concerning HVAC systems.

Thanks for reading!

Bryan