GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- The temperature outside is dropping, and many around West Michigan are cranking up the thermostat. That means furnace repair companies are gearing up for the busy season.
"Earlier in the season tends to be a lot of intermittent issues," said Dave Drescher of GRapids Heating and Cooling. People tend to forget to maintain their furnaces, he said, "a carry over issue from last year. Later on in the season, as we get to where the systems are wearing more, are running a lot more, we tend to find hot surface igniters or flame starters tend to go bad."
But what should you be doing to make sure you're not left in the cold as the winter wears on?
"Change the filter on a regular basis," Drescher said. He recommends checking the filter on a monthly basis.
"Dirty filters, especially once we start a fresh season and somebody maybe forgot to change their filter, we're going to take a look and see if the filter is dirty. Can we see through the filter?"
And unless you're a handyman, Drescher says, don't try to be a "Mr. Fix-it."
"Not only is it a potential danger to a homeowner, it can be a situation where if you start monkeying around inside your furnace, you can end up damaging more than what's already been broken," he said.
