With the recent chilly weather, your furnace has most likely been your best friend. It keeps you warm when you leave your toasty bed in the morning, and it makes sure that it’s not too cold when you step out of the hot shower. Your relationship with your home’s furnace is one that is going to last a long, long time (or at least until spring, but don’t tell it that).
You have every intention of taking care of your precious furnace by following all of the proper maintenance steps, which includes preventative care when your home is being renovated. To ensure that your furnace/best friend is safe and sound, here’s Warner Service’s guide to protecting your furnace during renovations:
Talk to an HVAC professional. Before you do anything with your remodel, review all of your renovation plans with an HVAC professional. They will inspect and offer personalized advice about the blower, ductwork and indoor coil of your furnace before anything happens. You should also make an appointment with them for a post-renovation HVAC check-up to make sure everything is still in working order.
Turn your furnace off. If there is dust in the air, turn off your furnace. (This rule of thumb should also go for your air conditioning.)
Cover up the air ducts. As you can tell, dust particles from your renovation project are your furnace’s worst enemy. It can be pulled back into your heating (or cooling) system, so it is a good idea to close off some registers and vents. Use medium-adhesion painter’s tape to hold down the edges of a thick plastic cover over your vent. Just do not close all of them at once!
Keep most of the dusty work outside. If your renovation project involves dust from sawing, cutting or sanding, ask the contractor to move into your yard or your garage to avoid making a mess in your home. If the contractor absolutely has to do the renovation project inside, make sure that the dust and debris is being swept up or vacuumed with an exhaust attachment regularly.
Check your HVAC filter more often. Despite your best efforts to keep the dust and debris away from your furnace, it is impossible to keep track of every particle. Check and replace your HVAC filter a few times throughout the renovation project to make sure it is clean enough to continue your home’s constant airflow. Once the renovation is completed, consider asking your HVAC professional during the post-project check-up if you should have the ducts cleaned.
Use a window fan. Carefully place a fan in a window before you begin your home renovations. It will create a slight vacuum that will blow dust outside, keeping particle levels down while your renovations are being completed around your home. For the best airflow, open a window or door that’s across the room from the window fan.
Lay down plastic tarps or sheets. Like big paint projects, laying down a plastic tarp or sheet will isolate the renovation area. With dusty renovations, it helps keep those pesky dust particles from floating away to the rest of the house.
It’s good to get excited about home renovations, but you should make sure that you are taking care of your existing home and its appliances, especially the furnace. Talk to a professional before your project, cover up your HVAC vents and invest in a fan and vacuum during renovations. Once your renovations are completed, contact the HVAC professional again for a check-up.
If you’re looking for that HVAC technician for your pre- and post-renovation check-up, contact Warner Service today.