After a great Superbowl party, the family went to bed with warm bellies, only to wake up to a COLD house this morning... it was 45 degrees inside. Apparently the heater decided to go on vacation last night without giving us any advanced warning. I looked at things and didn't find anything obviously wrong, so it's a call to the heater repair folks. It's going to be a chilly wait, but fortunately my coffee pot and fireplace still work.
... a little later the same day...
It's started warming up in the house. The furnace guy was in and out in ten minutes. I felt like he should have stayed a little longer, considering how much I got charged. Here's what was wrong...
The furnace has a safety switch that cuts off the heat if the furnace gets too hot. This usually indicates an airflow problem. I had seen this switch once before, when the furnace guy was out a couple of years back, but I forgot where it was located. After hitting the reset switch, he asked me if I changed my furnace filters regularly, and I admitted that I wasn't very good about it.
He opened up the ductwork and showed me that my Air Conditioning coil was plugged. He said this frequently happens if you don't change your filters regularly -- especially if you have pets (and I have two dogs). He kindly offered to clean the coil for a mere $150.00. I declined his offer, pulled out my vacuum cleaner and cleaned it myself.
So, for all of you homeowners out there, change your furnace filters regularly. If you don't, you'll clog the a/c coil, which will reduce the efficiency of your heating and cooling system. The fix is easy, but trying to tell you how is something I'll leave to the professionals.
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