It’s a busy world, and everyone wants to get things done in as little time as possible. Since it’s good to have your furnace cleaned by a furnace service provider, you will often hear homeowners asking, how long does it take to clean a furnace?
This is because they want to know whether they will have to open up the entire day for the technician or just a few minutes.
It’s hard to tell how long it will take the technician to get the work done as this depends on plenty of factors such as the design of the house, the condition of the furnace, the technician’s proficiency, among many other things.
While you may want a technician who gets the work done fast, that’s not the important thing. The important thing is to ensure the technician does perfect work. You should note that even if the contractor completes the work fast and they don’t do a thorough job, it will only be a few days or weeks, and your appliance will start developing problems.
For peace of mind that the service will last for a long time, you should ensure that the technician does all the necessary furnace maintenance tasks that include:
Clean or replace the air filters
The air filters are the heart of the furnace. When they are dirty, they trigger the furnace to overwork, which leads to increased energy consumption and reduced furnace lifespan.
The first thing the technician should look at is the air filters. How are they? If dirty, he should clean them. The contractor should also inspect them and if they are too dirty or worn out, replace them with better, higher quality pieces.
Clean and inspect the blower assembly.
The blower assembly contains the motor, fan, and squirrel cage. The technician needs to remove it from the furnace and inspect the parts, and if in perfect shape, continue with the cleaning.
The contractor needs to use the right cleaning tools such as a vacuum, toothbrush, or paintbrush. The vacuum comes in handy at cleaning the blower cabinet, the toothbrush ideal at getting in between the fan blades, and the paintbrush perfect for dusting the blower housing and other parts.
When it comes to cleaning the furnace fan, the contractor can use a paintbrush or toothbrush. The technician should thoroughly clean the motor housing, fan blades, and squirrel cage.
Pull and clean the burners.
Two of the most common problems with burners are contamination and misalignment. Most modern in-short burner designs incorporate the carryover mechanism into the burner itself with slots or wings in the burner that align with the burner next to it.
The technician needs to inspect these and ensure they are free from debris that could disrupt gas and airflow.
The contractor can use plenty of things to clean the burners. He can use a stiff-bristled brush to clean superficial rust or soot from the burner face, an air pressure, or dry nitrogen to blow out burners and burner vestibule area.
Check the igniter using an ohmmeter.
The technician should measure the resistance through the igniter. If your furnace has a silicon nitride igniter, you should see 11-17 ohms. On the other hand, if the furnace has a carbide igniter, you should see 50-100 ohms.
If the readings are outside these parameters, replace the igniter.
Inspect the heat exchanger
The cool thing is that inspecting the heat exchanger doesn’t require a lot of expertise. For an experienced technician, the process is easy as it only involves looking at the exchanger. The contractor can also use inspection cameras and dye penetration inspection systems to inspect the metal flue for rust or holes.
Check the flame sensor.
If your furnace has a flame sensor, the contractor should inspect it and ensure it’s in perfect working condition. The furnace repair services Falls Church should hook up the multimeter with the flame sensor and the sensor wire and fire the furnace in a heat cycle.
In a properly functioning appliance, your reading should be 1.5 to 4 uA. If the sensor tests at less than 1 uA, you have a problem, and it’s a matter of time before it stops sensing completely.
