You count on your furnace to keep your house warm during the winter. But sometimes your furnace is making some strange noises that may worry you. Below are three of the common noises that your furnace might be making and what you can do about them to fix them and get them to stop.
Furnace Noise – Rattling
If you’re hearing a rattling sound that is coming from your furnace, you might have a screw or panel loose. This is something you can try fixing yourself.
Turn the power off first. Then use a screwdriver to tighten the screws of the panel. This may fix the rattling sound. If that isn’t what fixes it, you may have a more dangerous and serious problem. it also can mean that your heat exchanger is faulty and is leaking or cracked.
This should be addressed fast since it can cause the leakage of carbon monoxide. So contact your professional right away if the rattling isn’t fixed by tightening your screws and panel.
Furnace Noise – Screeching
If the noise you’re hearing is a screeching sound and rattling when the furnace is turned on, it could be your motor or the bearings inside your blower motor. It’s necessary to lubricate your motor regularly so that it can work well. if not, your fan might seize up and this is very expensive to repair.
If you’re familiar with the way to do it, adding lubrication to your motor can be done by you. however, if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself, you might want to contact your local HVAC professional to inspect your furnace, lubricate it, and do other general checkups or maintenance.
Furnace Noise – Clanking/Scraping
If you’re hearing a scraping or clanking sound, and it sounds like metal on metal, this is going to likely be a very serious problem with your blower wheel. This usually means the wheel has come loose. That noise’s made when it’s hitting against the house casing of the blower.
If you’re hearing this sound, you need to address it right away. Immediately turn off the furnace and wait for your HVAC professional to fully inspect it.
If you’re following these steps and it’s caught early, chances are that you are going to have a smaller bill to pay. however, your blower fan can break completely so it needs to be replaced.
These are just three of the common noises that a furnace might make and what they often will mean. If you are ever unsure of if you can fix something yourself, it’s a lot better to call in a heating contractor to have the work done and to have your furnace looked over. Otherwise, you may find yourself dealing with something that you don’t know how to fix and you may make things much worse in the long run.
