3 Tips for Preventing Chimney Fires

4/25/2019 (Permalink)

Your furnace has gotten you through some pretty tough winters in Chicago, IL and continues to help make your home a comfortable, great place to live for you and your family. Unfortunately, no furnace is a self-sustaining system, and you’ll need to maintain yours to avoid a number of serious issues, such as:

* Smoke damage to your home and belongings

* Blockage of the vent, which can lead to a buildup of unsafe air in your home

* House fires

Luckily, maintaining your furnace correctly is a fairly simple task when approached properly, and costs much less in the long run than paying for professional fire cleaning or smoke cleaning services when things go wrong.

3 Tips for Preventing Chimney Fires

1. Filtration

The easiest thing you can do to prevent the need for fire cleaning in your home is inspect and change your furnace filter regularly. Your filter prevents dirt and debris from entering the furnace. An extreme buildup on these filters can lead to furnace malfunction, which may, in turn, lead to a house fire.

2. Clean Your Vents

If your exit vents become clogged with dirt and dust, the hot air your furnace creates will have nowhere to go. The buildup of heat in your ducts can not only damage the furnace and its channels, but can very well lead to more serious issues down the road. Cleaning your vents is a quick, easy way to reduce strain on your furnace.

3. Inspect the Fan

Your furnace fan is, of course, the component that gets warm air moving throughout the vents to warm your home. If the fan is malfunctioning, hot air will simply stay in place and may cause overheating of various furnace components. Having a professional check out your fan or ensuring it’s working correctly yourself is always advisable when maintaining your furnace.

Following these steps helps to reduce the likelihood of furnace-related fire and smoke damages occurring. At the end of the day, spending a little more time on maintenance is much better than spending your hard-earned cash on fire cleaning services.