What should I do if my furnace breaks down this winter?

You wake up in the morning and realize the house is colder than it should be. You feel the air coming from your vents and it is cold. A quick check of the thermostat confirms your observation, the temperature in your home is dropping. Your stomach tightens and you exhale deeply as you realize your day is getting out to a horrible start. You put your mind to work and start looking for a fast, easy and cost effective fix to the problem. 

Trouble Shoot the Issue

Start by protecting your family's safety. Check to see if you smell gas. Go to the furnace room, if you detect a sulfuric or "rotten egg" odor you have a natural gas leak. You need to alert your family and leave the house immediately. Call your gas company and AEM Mechanical Services Inc. and stay away from the house until professional help arrives. Remaining in your home will expose you to the dangers of being overcome by the fumes or caught in a natural gas explosion. Both are potentially fatal. 

If you do not detect the odor of natural gas, you should then look for the obvious and check the simple things first.

• Check to see if the thermostat set temperature has been altered. 
• Check the breakers or fuse panel for older homes.
• If your furnace has a pilot light check to see that it is lit.

If the issue is more complex, you should call a trusted HVAC service provider, such as AEM Mechanical Services, Inc. They will get over to your home as quickly as possible and track down the issue. AEM Mechanical takes emergency calls and responds anytime day or night. There first concern is your family's comfort and safety.

In the meantime you should consider using an alternative heat source to keep your home as warm as possible. A sudden cold snap may cause the same issue for many of your neighbors as well, which means you may be added to a list of people that need rescuing. 

• Electric space heaters
• Light a fire in the fireplace
• Use electric blankets

You should place a space heater near the main pipe for your water line to help prevent frozen pipes. The last thing you need to deal with while your furnace is down are frozen pipes. Running a slow stream of water from the faucets in your home will help prevent frozen pipes as well. 

Avoid The Issue All Together

Of course the best course of action is to avoid the issue in the first place. Each fall you should have your furnace inspected and have any maintenance issues taken care of. Not only will this help to avoid coslty emergency repairs, but it can also save your life. 

Your AEM Mechanical service technician will make sure everything is working properly and look for signs indicating much more serious issues like a cracked exchanger. This type of equipment failure can result in carbon monixide leaking into your home. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that is responsible for many fatalities each year. 

With a properly maintained furnace you may never need to deal with a failure on a cold winter night. If it does happen remember that the professional furnace technicians of AEM Mechanical have your back.

To have your home heating system readied for winter, or in an emergency when your furnace has failed call AEM Mechanical Services, Inc,    320-587-0991.