The leaves are still falling outside, and although they’re pretty to look at, they can cause quite a hassle for homeowners! Many of us have already tuned up our furnaces and have them running and ready to go for the winter ahead, but leaves could actually be the culprit behind forcing your furnace to stop working.
But how exactly would falling leaves be to blame for your furnace to stop working?
Most furnaces these days have one or two PVC pipes sticking out the side of your house. One is exhaust and one is intake. The intake pipe brings the air to the furnace for combustion. Unfortunately, sometimes when the weather gets cooler and the leaves begin to fall they can clog up this intake pipe.
What makes them especially tricky to deal with is that leaves gather moisture in the fall from frost in the mornings, meaning they stick together and make a big mess for homeowners. The heavy, sticky mass of leaves within a chimney or PVC pipe makes intake and outtake nearly impossible and can eventually force your furnace to breakdown.
So what can you do? Rake your leaves often!
Avoid having piles of leaves on your lawn that the wind can pick up and swirl all over the place, and try to check on your chimney or PVC pipes regularly for leaf blockages.
*Remember to keep safety in mind first, and always completely power off your furnace before checking for and cleaning out leaves.*
Not quite sure how to check and get started? Delta Air Systems can help. Our experts can help you clean out your furnace pipes and demonstrate how to properly check and clean out leaves in the future so your furnace is up and functioning well in no time.