Keeping your home cozy in the winter in Michigan is not just critical to your comfort; it can be a serious health and safety issue as well. So when something is wrong with your heating system, you need to take it very seriously.
A furnace is a complex system, and there are a lot of ways that things could possibly go wrong. So when there is an issue, it can be hard to know how urgent it is. What furnace concerns require emergency repair, and which can wait for a regular appointment? We’ll help you weigh some factors and make that decision.
Definite Emergencies
In certain circumstances, you can’t take your time to weigh your options. You need to treat the situation like a very serious emergency.
- A Gas Leak: If you smell a sulfurous, rotten-egg smell, you’ve got a gas leak. (It’s actually a chemical called mercaptan you’re smelling, which is added for your safety because natural gas is odorless.) Turn off the gas if you can do so very quickly, and then evacuate your home and call for help from elsewhere. Don’t hesitate to call your gas company or even 911 to get an immediate response.
- A Carbon Monoxide Leak: If your carbon monoxide alarm goes off, it’s quite likely to be caused by a problem with your furnace such as a crack in the heat exchanger allowing combustion gasses to be released. Turn off your furnace if you can do so quickly, get your family and pets out of your home, and call for emergency furnace repair in Lansing, MI.
Possible Emergencies
When your furnace won’t start, or if it does start but keeps stopping right away, or is blowing only cold air, is it an emergency? Here are a couple of factors to consider.
- Temperature: What’s the weather like outside? Is it below zero, or 45 degrees? In a well-insulated home, you may be able to wait until regular business hours if the temperature outdoors isn’t too extreme.
- Timing: Is it 5 am, when waiting just a few hours would make it possible to schedule a regular appointment? Or is it the beginning of a long holiday weekend, when your home will have days to freeze before regular office hours?
Things to Check First
If you’ve decided that you can’t wait for help, take a quick moment before requesting emergency repairs to check some things yourself. First, if the furnace won’t start at all, take a look at your electrical panel. Could a circuit breaker have tripped? Then check your thermostat. Did a mischievous child or pet or an accidental elbow-bump switch it to “cool” or engage a lower-temperature vacation setting?
Finally, if your furnace keeps starting and stopping, you can check the air filter. This short cycling could be caused by reduced airflow, which can happen if the air filter is heavily clogged with dust. But if none of these things resolve your problem, it’s time to get emergency repairs.
Contact A-1 Mechanical Heating & Cooling for furnace repair in Lansing, MI. Comfort and Character You Can Depend On.