What Is Emergency Furnace Repair Edmonton
The last thing you want when the temperature dips down is to find out your furnace is not working. Now you have an issue and it not only causes you to have no heat in your home but the potential for frozen pipes is no laughing matter either. If something is going to break down it’s going to be when it’s the least convenient time, kind of like Murphy’s Law. How are you to know if this breakdown is an easy DIY fix or if you need to call the professionals? Find out more on what you can do and when it’s time to get the help of a professional furnace company.
What is considered an emergency furnace repair issue? If you smell gas in your home, you have an emergency and should leave your home immediately and call the appropriate professionals such as your local gas company and a reputable furnace repair company. Hot to Cold Mechanical at 780-965-5074 is ready to help. The furnace unit needs to be assessed and repaired before you enter your home again.
If you smell burning in your home, turn off the furnace and the gas line and check for fire. If necessary, open windows and doors and turn on exhaust fans to clear the smell. Again call the appropriate professionals.
Make sure the pilot light is on
Another scenario that requires an emergency furnace repair call is checking the pilot light on the furnace and seeing there is no blue flame burning. This applies to natural gas furnaces. If you see a yellow flame this is problematic, and you should call for a repair immediately. This scenario could mean you have leaking carbon monoxide which as we know is a poisonous gas that can cause death without you even knowing it. As you are reading this, it’s important to go and check your carbon monoxide detectors now and be sure they are working properly.
If you don’t have any, now is the time to go and get them for every floor in your home including the basement. A good rule of thumb is to place one within ten feet of every bedroom door and one near or over an attached garage. They should be replaced every five years or so. If your carbon monoxide detector goes off, open the windows and doors, and turn on exhaust fans to clear the air inside your home.
If your furnace has no power this could indicate a serious problem, but you will want to troubleshoot a little bit first before calling for emergency furnace repair. Additionally, while you are waiting for them to come, you can try a few things first. If it is colder than -20C you will want to use these next temporary fixes until you can get the professionals in so that you don’t have frozen pipes. You may have up to 24 hours before that is a serious concern depending on how cold it is, it could be as little as 12 hours.
Best Ways To Prevent Emergency Furnace Repair
Some of the most effective and creative ways to help your home in a furnace crisis are as follows. Dry some wet towels and use your dryer vent to pump out hot air into the house. Turn on the oven to 450F and leave the door open. Boil some water on the stove in open pots. Run hot water to the bath and fill it up. Use an electric heater if you have one and place it near the exposed water lines so they don’t freeze up as quickly.
Obviously if you have a wood burning or gas fireplace, use it. If you have some warmness being pumped into the air by way of any of these methods, turn on the furnace fan, so that you can circulate the warm air until you are able to fix the furnace.
Most common things to check
Your furnace has shut down and doesn’t work, but what could be happening? Some things could be DIY fixes, but some most definitely are not. If you are unsure which way to go, call the furnace repair company to get some troubleshooting advice right over the phone. Hot to Cold Mechanical is ready and willing to help.
The first thing to do is check the power switch to the furnace. You should also try turning it off and back on to see if cycling the power is the answer. Often this fixes the glitches in electronics. There are a lot of electronic components in furnaces.
- Check for clogged furnace filters too because if air is restricted it can cause overheating and the furnace will turn off as a safety feature.
- Check that the batteries are good in the thermostat and if needed replace them. If the furnace turns on and is functioning within an hour, then you have solved the issue.
- Check that the pilot light is on. If it is out, it may be due to it being an older furnace. The new ones have electronic ignitions.
Blocked air intake and exhaust pipes could also be the problem. Something as crazy as an animal or a bird’s nest could be causing the block and you will want to check for that.
If you are hearing troubling noises from your furnace do not ignore them. This could spell trouble. Grinding, popping, squeaking, hissing, rattling and banging noises can be an indication that there is a serious issue. If they are exceptionally loud or frequent you will want to shut off the furnace and call for an assessment by the professionals. In addition to this if your furnace blower fan is running constantly you will need to get it checked. This is not something to ignore.
If dirt builds up in your furnace it can keep the burners from igniting the gas and then gas builds up. Once that happens and it eventually lights it becomes a big bang which in essence is a mini explosion. This is not to be ignored either. Call for an emergency furnace repair appointment in this case.