Winter has just come to an end and spring is already here knocking at your door. Are you prepared to take on the seasonal change?

The only way to know is to look around your house. Are your home comfort equipment ready and fine tuned?

That said, your furnace and heater have kept you warm all through the winter and now it’s your turn for some payback.

Here we’ll help you with some DIYs so that you can successfully tend to your furnace.

Homeowner’s Guide to Furnace Maintenance

1. Turn the power off

Before you go ahead with even thinking about working on your furnace, simply ensure that you’ve turned off the power.

Start by removing the combustion chamber door by lifting it up and pulling it out. Then remove the burner cover, which is screwed down at two ends.

2. Inspect Flame Color

Now it’s time to activate the burners to inspect the flame. To do this, turn the power switch on and turn up your thermostat.

Once the flame comes on, observe it carefully. Your burner is in good condition when you notice that its flames are fairly even and blue.

In case the flames are yellow, it is a sure sign that your furnace burners are dirty. You may not be the best person here to clean your burner.

Because, blowing on it will simply add extra oxygen, which will only add to the yellow flame. Thus, the best thing to do here is call a professional to have it fixed.

3. Vacuum the Burners

You can use this very useful technique to clean your furnace. Start by turning off the power switch and shutting off the gas by giving the valve one-quarter turn.

Then go ahead and vacuum the burners and the furnace base. You might want to vacuum behind the burners as well.

To do so, simply take a thin long drain line and tape it to your vacuum hose. Run the vacuum wherever you see dust.

You should also vacuum the blower compartment. To find the blower, simply lift up the lower door inside and have the area cleaned.  

4. Clean the Blower Blades

You shouldn’t ignore your blower blades, as they deserved to be clean too!

You simply need to use a small brush and vacuum to do this. However, while doing so, you need to take care not to stress the wiring or disturb the counterweights that are on the fan blades.

If you’re finding it difficult to clean without disturbing the wiring, then do not clean at all as it may go out of balance. Simply call a pro to get the job done.

5. Adjust the Seasonal Settings

If you live in those areas where you experience extreme climatic changes, from snowy winter and super hot summers then you probably have heating and cooling systems installed in your home.

In such cases, you are more likely to have your ducts serve as both, heating as well as air conditioning medium.  

If so, then they may have dampers that require adjusting for seasonal changes. Seasonal settings should be marked.

If you have a two-story home, you might have separate supply trunks to serve the upstairs and downstairs.

You might want to send more warm air downstairs for the winter setting or more cold air upstairs to tune it for the summers and adjust the damper handle on each supply trunk.

6. Keep an Eye for Frayed Areas

You should remember that the belts on belt-driven blowers need occasional adjustment or replacement.

Ensure that you set aside some time to inspect the drive belt for cracks or frayed areas.

In case you happen to notice it getting all worn out, you might want to consider replacing the belt. A new one barely costs $5 and you might find it anywhere in your nearest HVAC centre.

If you are unable to find any or are second guessing your ability to repair or clean any of your furnace components all by yourself, then do not worry.