When you first turn your furnace on for the winter, you may hear some unusual sounds. However, they shouldn’t last long as your furnace begins working out the kinks after being off all summer. If your furnace continues to make unusual sounds into the winter season, something is wrong with your furnace.
You may need furnace repair in Oregon City. But how do you know what noises are OK to hear and which ones your furnace isn’t supposed to make? Understanding what different sounds mean is a great place to start. You can identify problems sooner and prevent too much damage to your system.
Rattling in Your Furnace
If you hear a rattling sound coming from anywhere in your furnace, there’s a good chance that something inside the system came loose. But sometimes a rattling sound is more serious because it can also indicate that your heat exchanger is cracked. Either way, you want an expert to come out and assess the problem. Small problems – like loose bolts – can lead to big problems if you let them continue on without being fixed.
Chirping in Your Furnace
If it sounds like there is a bird somewhere in your furnace, you definitely want to investigate. It’s not likely that you have a real bird in the system, and the problem could be something completely normal. Sometimes your furnace makes a chirping noise when it first heaters up after being turned off for a while. But if you hear a persistent chirping then the blower motor pulley may not be in alignment. When this happens, the sound can also sound slightly squeaky, but with a metallic quality to the sound.
Booming in Your Furnace
Some other sounds are less alarming because they can be quiet. But booming is always an alarming sound. Your furnace should never make a booming sound during normal operation. If your furnace booms when it first turns on, this is a sign that the system is experiencing delayed ignition.
Gas can build up and lead to a boom when ignition doesn’t happen right away. Then when ignition does happen, lighting an excess of gas leads to a boom – like a small explosion. It’s not dangerous as a one-off instance, but allowing the problem to continue can lead to bigger problems and leave your family at risk. Excess gas can leak out into the air you breathe and also cause fire hazards.
Squealing in Your Furnace
A high-pitched sound that is similar to a screech or squeal is a sign that something is wrong with your furnace. The motor bearing could be grinding and causing the sound from within the blower. This is common as your furnace ages because dirt builds up and bears wear down so that they don’t work quite as well. If you allow the sound to continue on, your system may overheat and need even more repairs.
If the squealing sounds more like whistling, there may be an issue with the airflow. You could have a dirty filter that needs replacing and is blocking air from entering the system. If you change the air filter and still hear the sound, it could be something different that requires expert care.
Contact Chase Heating and Cooling today to schedule an appointment with our professionals. We’re “Keeping Homes Comfortable In All Seasons.”