Winter is just around the corner and the furnace in your rental property will soon be called to action. The last thing you and the tenants want is for the furnace to break down or perform below expectations. A malfunctioning furnace is no fun in the cold Canadian winters. Neither is it amusing to be woken up in the middle of the night to see to a furnace emergency in your rental.
Most issues with a rental’s heating system can be averted if you start preparing the furnace before the icy onslaught begins. Issues with your furnace after the onset of winter are a lot harder to deal with.
That’s because the best technicians will often be out of reach because they will be fully booked elsewhere. But if you do manage to lock down an HVAC repairman, they will almost always charge you twice the normal rate.
All this is apart from the distress a broken-down furnace will cause your tenants as well as the damage it will do to your rental property business. You can avoid all of that by simply taking steps to get the furnace into a top condition long before it will be needed during winter.
You will be saving yourself, your tenants, and your business a lot of pain if your furnace is in sound condition going into winter. The good news is that this is not so hard to do.
Tips for maintaining the furnace in your rental property
Timely maintenance and a decent level of familiarity with the features of the furnace will prevent major issues with the rental’s heating system. For natural gas furnaces, the maintenance routine is easy enough that you can do some of the tasks yourself.
Oil furnaces and heat pumps, on the other hand, are more complex systems and you will be better off letting a pro handle them. But regardless of what kind of furnace you have, these are the things you need to do to get it ready for winter.
- Clean or replace the filter
The purpose of the filter is to remove impurities from the air before it enters the furnace to get heated. A dirty filter will increase the strain on your furnace because it will impede airflow into the equipment. Impeded airflow will push up your heating costs and shorten the life of the furnace.
During the cold season, you want to check your furnace filters every month, to either clean or replace them. Permanent filters should be washed every month. Disposable filters should be changed every 30-60 days, depending on their quality. The filter area should also be covered.
- Check the operation of the blower motor
The furnace blower works the fan that drives air through the furnace. It is responsible for pushing heated air through the heat exchanger and distributing it throughout the home. Even if the heating element of the furnace in your rental property is working properly, your tenants will not get any warm air if the blower is out of order.
This part of the system is prone to fail because it has a lot of moving parts; you should give it more attention. A common issue with blower motors is a frayed fan belt.
- Keep the exhaust flue clear
This applies to gas furnaces only since they need to get rid of fumes from the combustion process. If the exhaust flue is blocked, toxic gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide will build up inside the home. These gases can cause a range of health problems for people who inhale them. To prevent this, ensure there is no blockage or back-drafting so that the combustion gases can draft up the flue safely.
- Reset the dampers
Every time you transition your HVAC from air conditioning to furnace heating, you should reset the dampers for the system. Dampers help tenants take better control of the heating or cooling in the rental by letting them channel cooled or warm air where they want it.
Dampers play a similar role as floor registers. But since they are closer to the heat source, they do a better job of controlling heat or cold. The dampers should be reset before the start of winter.
- Clean your vents and ductwork
The furnace does not work independently of the other part of the home’s HVAC systems. Vents should be accessible and free of dirt. Anything that is allowed to get into the vents will clog the ductworks.
Floor registers also need to be cleaned; do this with a vacuum cleaner. If the ductwork has not been cleaned in one or two years, it should be cleaned; doing so will increase airflow, improve heating, and lower energy costs.
- Keep flammable objects from the furnace
Objects around the vent may not only impede airflow, but they can also constitute a fire hazard. Typically, the furnace is located in the same part of the home that is used for storage; the basement or crawlspace. It is not unusual for flammable items like paint, aerosols, paper, and clothes to be stored in close proximity to the furnace. Make sure this is not the case with the furnace in your rental; educate your tenants about the risks.
