You must have woken up in the middle of a cold winter. If you hadn’t accidentally left the window open, the furnace might have broken down. Furnace repair services providers are often busy at this time; therefore, you have to wait a few days for them to repair your appliance.

It’s grueling waiting for the repair professional in the cold.  If you can tell when your appliance is having issues, you can hire a repair technician early enough to fix them so that you don’t suffer in the cold. To help you out, here are signs that your furnace is on the verge of taking its last breath:

Dust coming from the vents

If you notice a lot of dust coming from the vents, it means that the furnace isn’t cleaning the air as properly as it should. This problem often comes about due to dirty air filters. If you go for a long time without cleaning the filters, they clog up restricting airflow.

Replace the air filters. If the problem persists, contact a repair technician to inspect the unit and fix the source of the problem.

Unusual sounds

Aging and improperly maintained appliances make strange sounds. The most common ones are rattling, popping, banging, and squealing noises. In some cases, you may have the furnace blower running excessively. It also might turn on and off frequently. The blower even sometimes blows cold air.

A noisy furnace means that something has gotten loose in your appliance and you need to repair or replace it. Many people ignore the noises especially if they aren’t loud, but don’t do this. Regardless of how minor the problem is, contact a repair professional to fix it as soon as possible.

Yellow pilot light

If you take a look inside the front panel and notice the pilot light yellow, it’s a sign that carbon monoxide is leaking from the heat exchangers. The gas is highly toxic and you should contact a repair technician to stop it as soon as possible.

Other signs your appliance is producing carbon monoxide include:

• Soot streaks around the furnace
• Excess moisture on the windows, walls, and other cold areas of the house
• Water leaking from the base of the flue pipe, vent, and chimney
• Rusting of the vent pipe

Furnace blowing cold air

The furnace is supposed to blow hot air; therefore, when it blows cold air, you obviously have a problem you should address immediately. This issue comes about due to a malfunctioning blower fan where it fails to blow the much needed warm air.

Contact a furnace expert to inspect the issue and fix it.

Increasing heating bills

Are your heating bills increasing every month and you haven’t installed a new appliance? It means your appliance is functioning inefficiently. Hire a repair contractor to identify the faulty parts and fix them.

Constant breakdowns

You shouldn’t call a repair professional to fix your furnace more than once every two years. If you find yourself hiring the professional a few times a year, you have a problem. An appliance that keeps on breaking not only brings about a lot inconveniences; it also tends to be very expensive to keep. This is because you have to keep on hiring expensive emergency appliance repair professionals.

Ask a professional to take a look at the unit. The expert might tune it up or ask you to get another one.

Old Furnace

Sometimes all of the problems you are having are due to an old appliance. Furnaces have a life expectancy of 16-20 years. If you have had your unit for this long, it’s time to think about getting a new one. If you moved to a new house, take a look at the back of the appliance for its date of manufacture.

Old appliances keep on breaking down. Don’t waste your money fixing the unit as you will be pouring your cash down the drain.

The best way out is to get a new furnace. When buying the appliance, pay attention to the SEER rating. The higher the rating, the better the appliance. While a unit with a high rating will be expensive, it will serve you better and for a long time.

For proper installation, ensure the unit is installed by an expert furnace service Falls Church professional.