Furnace Season Prep: Ducts, Filters and Vents

The first cold night of fall usually catches someone off guard. The thermostat clicks over to heat, the furnace kicks on for the first time in months, and a few minutes later the house smells faintly of burning dust. Most of the time that is normal. But it is also a good reminder that your heating system has been sitting idle all summer, and a little attention now can make the winter go more smoothly.

Here is a simple checklist for getting your home in Thornton ready for furnace season, along with a clear line between what you can do yourself, what an HVAC contractor handles and where duct cleaning fits in.

Start with the filter

The filter is the cheapest and most important part of your system. It catches dust, lint, pet hair and pollen before they reach the blower and the ductwork. A clogged filter restricts airflow, which makes the furnace work harder and can leave rooms at the end of long runs feeling cold.

Before you turn on the heat:

• Find the filter slot. It is usually at the furnace itself, or behind a large return grille in a hallway or ceiling.
• Check the size printed on the frame and buy a couple of spares so you are not caught short in January.
• Look at the arrow on the frame. It should point toward the furnace, in the direction the air flows.
• Write the date on the new filter with a marker so you know when it went in.

How often to change it depends on the filter type, pets and how dusty your home gets. Follow the filter maker's guidance and check it monthly through the heating season. If it looks gray and caked, replace it, even if the calendar says you have time.

Walk the house and check every register

Summer rearranges furniture. A couch slides over a floor register, a rug gets laid across a vent, a box ends up in front of the hallway return. Take ten minutes and walk every room:

• Make sure supply registers are open and not covered by furniture, curtains or rugs.
• Keep return grilles clear. Returns pull air back to the furnace, and blocking them starves the system.
• Pull off a register or two and look inside with a flashlight. A light film of dust is normal. Thick, matted dust, debris, droppings or anything that looks like water damage is worth a closer look.

Closing registers in unused rooms is a common habit, but it does not always save energy in a forced-air system and can upset the airflow balance. If you want to heat parts of the house differently, ask an HVAC contractor about the right way to do it for your equipment.

The first-run smell

That burning-dust smell on the first cold day comes from dust that settled on the heat exchanger and burners over the summer. It usually fades within an hour or so.

A smell that hangs around is a different story. A persistent burning odor, a smell like hot plastic or rubber, or anything that smells like gas is not a duct cleaning issue. Turn the system off and call an HVAC contractor or your gas utility right away. If you smell gas, leave the house first and call from outside.

What belongs to an HVAC contractor

Getting the furnace itself ready for winter is a job for a licensed HVAC contractor. A fall tune-up typically covers the burners, the heat exchanger, the flue, the blower and the safety controls. The EPA advises having fuel-burning furnaces, stoves and fireplaces inspected and serviced before each heating season to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning, and a working carbon monoxide alarm is an essential backup in any home with gas heat.

So while you are prepping:

• Test your carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, and replace batteries as needed.
• Make sure the area around the furnace is clear of storage, paint cans and laundry piles.
• Book a furnace inspection if it has been a while.

Better Air Duct Cleaning Thornton cleans ducts and dryer vents. We do not repair or service furnaces, so for the equipment itself, an HVAC contractor is the right call.

Where duct cleaning fits in

Duct cleaning is not something every home needs every fall. The EPA's guidance is to consider it when there is a clear reason, such as:

• Dust and debris blowing out of the supply registers.
• Ducts clogged with heavy buildup you can see.
• Signs of insects or rodents in the ductwork.
• A recent remodel or construction that sent dust into the system.

The EPA also notes that duct cleaning has not been shown to prevent health problems, so we do not promise that. What a proper cleaning can do is remove built-up dust and debris from the supply and return runs, so less of it gets pushed around when the furnace runs all winter. If you see one of the signs above, fall is a practical time to deal with it, before the heating season is in full swing.

Our basic air duct cleaning is $199 for up to 10 vents, plus $29 for each additional vent. If just a few rooms are the problem, deep duct cleaning at $59.99 per vent lets you focus on those runs.

Don't skip the dryer vent

Winter means more loads of heavy sweaters, blankets and towels, and fewer days for drying anything outside. That puts more lint through the dryer vent at the same time the house is closed up tight.

The U.S. Fire Administration recommends cleaning the lint filter before or after every load, using metal vent material rather than plastic or foil, and checking that the outdoor vent flap opens when the dryer runs. If clothes are taking longer to dry or the laundry room feels unusually hot, the vent may be partly blocked. Dryer vent cleaning is $99 for up to 10 feet, plus $15 for each additional foot.

A short fall to-do list:

• Replace the furnace filter and buy spares.
• Clear and check every register and return.
• Test smoke and CO alarms.
• Schedule a furnace inspection with an HVAC contractor.
• Look inside a few ducts for heavy dust or debris.
• Clean the dryer lint screen every load and check the outside vent flap.

If your inspection turns up more dust than you expected, or the dryer is slowing down, request an estimate from Better Air Duct Cleaning Thornton. We serve Thornton, CO and nearby communities, and we can talk through whether a cleaning makes sense for your home.