Furnace Troubleshooting: What to Do Before Calling for Furnace Repair

October 07, 2015

The fluctuating weather in West Jefferson can mean a host of things, from the changing color of leaves to turning on your furnace for the cooler months. Of course, complete home comfort is your year-round goal, but sometimes our heating and cooling equipment doesn’t feel like helping us out. That doesn’t mean that you’re predestined for furnace repair though.

When your furnace quits working or you notice it operating weirdly, there are a few things you can check on before calling in the team at West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. for furnace repair. Here are a few troubleshooting tips to try before giving us a call. 

1) Check your thermostat

This is one of the simplest checks that homeowners can do independently, and might solve the issue more than they’d like to admit. Be sure your thermostat is: 

  • Set to “heat”
  • Set higher than the room temperature
  • Working with a new battery

2) Look at the furnace filter 

Dirty filters can cause furnaces to act erratically, making them shut down without notice and without making a sound. Furnace filters have been the cause for many furnace repair calls in the past, but there’s no reason to pick up the phone when you can exchange it yourself. Not to mention that a dirty furnace filter decreases your system’s efficiency and harms airflow.

3) Find and inspect your furnace’s switches

The majority of the time, switches to your furnace are found:

  • Around the furnace and usually look like your everyday light switch.
  • At your circuit breaker panel. Pinpoint the breaker that controls your furnace and determine if it is in the middle position or the Off position. If it is, cycle the breaker to Off and then flip it back to the On position. 

4) Open all of your vents

A typical blunder among homeowners is to close vents in unused rooms, but this may actually lead to a need for furnace repair. Closing these vents may potentially cause your system to be less efficient and stop working because of added airflow pressure.

If you’ve tried these four troubleshooting tips and still aren’t having any luck getting your system back operating, it’s probably time to give us a call. The experts at West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. in West Jefferson are here to ensure all of your furnace repair needs are met, so give us a call at 614-879-9091.