One of the most important parts of your HVAC system is the furnace. It supplies you with a reliable source of heat when the temperatures plummet. So, what do you do when you turn on your furnace, and it makes a clicking sound? Is it trying to tell you something about the heater failing?
This post explains what that noise might mean and how you can get it fixed without delay. Keep reading to learn more about when to call and who to have help you with the issue. By the time you’ve finished reading this guide, you’ll know when to seek help for a clicking sound.
What the Noise Might Mean
A noise coming from your heater can be due to several things. One may be that something got dropped into the grate and caught in one of the moving parts. The clicking that you hear is the object trying to move while an obstruction is blocking its pathway. Having a professional pull off the part of the furnace where the sound is prominent and removing the object takes care of the issue rather quickly.
Other culprits causing the furnace to click include possible problems with various parts inside the heater. A skilled professional knowledgeable about HVAC systems have the tools needed to isolate the issue and come up with remedies that work best for you and your household. The next section of the guide goes over the potential problems you’re experiencing and what to do at the first signs that something’s wrong with the furnace.
How to Tell If the Noise You’re Hearing is a Big Problem
The noise you hear may be minor. To an untrained ear, however, it’s hard to tell. The best course of action is to allow a professional to diagnose the problem once they’ve had a chance to listen to the sound themselves.
Here are some of the things that could be going wrong when you hear a clicking noise coming from your furnace:
- A faulty gas valve. If you can hear the clicking at various intervals, it can be due to the gas valve. It cannot feed gas to the furnace, which is why you’re hearing it click. It’s trying to but not being successful at it.
- A flame sensor failure. A part located at the back of the furnace controls whether or not the flame ignites. If it doesn’t sense a flame present, it shuts off.
- An ignition issue. It’s what keeps the pilot light burning. If the ignitor isn’t working correctly, the furnace will never warm the air.
- A draft inducer that’s come loose. Upon further inspection, the technician finds what caused it to become a problem. They eliminate the root issue and reattach the draft inducer so that the furnace works better than ever.
- Blower bearings that have become blocked. A service tech must unblock them so that the blower continues to work. Even if the air heats up, there is no way to distribute it from the furnace into the home.
- Ductwork that’s cracked. It needs a contractor to replace it. All the warm air escapes through the cracks, making it impossible to heat the home efficiently.
Knowing how potentially threatening a clicking noise can be to your furnace’s internal parts ensures that you’ll act quickly at the first signs of trouble with the heater. You’ll know to act right away, so you don’t further damage the furnace or cause your home to become unsafe. The next section of the guide explains how to respond to a problematic sound without a nuisance for long.
What to Do If the Noise is an Issue of Concern
Upon further investigation of the noise, you’ll notice that it’s something that you cannot diagnose without the help of a professional. Considering you know little to nothing about repairing furnaces, it’s best to trust an expert. The service tech that arrives at your home thoroughly inspects the furnace to see where the sound is coming from currently. They then investigate the noise carefully by seeing what’s causing it and what they can do to stop it.
Calling a service tech when you first hear an odd noise coming from your furnace prevents costlier repairs from occurring. If you ignore the problem until the heater no longer turns on, you’ll need to replace it. The issue will be beyond repair, making it increasingly difficult to stay within your household budget for the work needing done to the HVAC system.
How to Prevent Your Furnace from Having Problems in the Future
Regular maintenance services prevent you from having a furnace that breaks down or quits entirely. Making it a point to call a professional and schedule service every few months is something we highly recommend. It makes it much easier for you to get the help you need with your furnace before a minor problem becomes a major expense.
Some other things you can do to keep your furnace in excellent working order are:
- Keep the area around it as clean as possible. Make sure to vacuum and dust regularly. There mustn’t be foreign objects present to clog up the furnace and cause mechanical problems. You’ll want to take the time to clean the area thoroughly before turning on the heater each day. That way, nothing catches on fire, too.
- Do not put items on top of the furnace even when it’s turned off. You’ll avoid items being dropped into the heater that way. If something small were to break off a larger item, it may fall into the furnace and cause a costly and unnecessary repair bill.
- Prevent young children from accessing heating grates. The same goes for kids. Keeping them from going near the furnace while it’s turned off prevents small toys, rocks, and other items from being dropped into the grates of the furnace and causes repair bills.
- Schedule regular preventative maintenance services whenever you can with a service tech. They’ll take the time to get to know you and your furnace. They make suggestions that help you avoid expensive repairs long into the future.
As you can see, you have options that save you significant sums of money throughout your years as a homeowner. When dealing with an older furnace, you may find replacing it is the best possible solution. It’s more cost-effective than sinking more money into a failing heater. You’ll have fewer visits from an HVAC company and more money in your pocket because some repairs may be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
Replacement Furnace Tips for Your Consideration
If a service tech recommends replacing the furnace, there are a few things you’ll want to do before finalizing your purchase. The first is to consider the overall cost of the installation, including the heater’s price and the labor expended to put it into your home. You’ll also want to know if the company is willing to haul off your old furnace for you and how much that costs. You may not have access to a vehicle large enough to put the scrap metal into and haul it to the junkyard.
Shopping around for the best prices is something we highly recommend. You want to make sure the furnace is one that you can reasonably afford to pay for that day. You may not want to finance the expenditure. Knowing what options exist makes a difference by helping you discover the ideal way to purchase and pay for a replacement furnace.
Once you’ve figured it out, you’ll need to select the company to do the job for you. After receiving several price quotes, you should know what to expect from the company you select of the candidates you’ve chosen. Transparency is a trait you want in the company you have replacing your furnace. A surprise bill from a contractor isn’t something you want to deal with at all.
Now that you’ve got an idea of what to do in the worst-case scenario, it’s time to schedule that follow-up appointment with a company that you trust. Doing so keeps your new furnace in excellent working order year-round. You’ll have something you feel good about keeping your home nice and toasty when the temperatures drop.
Get the Help That You Need with Your Furnace Today by Calling Us
If you’re experiencing strange noises from your furnace, it’s important to determine whether or not they represent a problem. Our team at Delaware Heating and Air can help you do just that. We offer comprehensive furnace services, from diagnostics and repairs to replacements and installations. Contact us today to schedule an appointment, and we’ll help you get your furnace back up and running in no time!
We’re here to make your biggest problems go away fast. Let us know what we can do to exceed your highest expectations. We’re committed to giving you the best customer service experience possible. If there is anything we can do to ease your mind, let us know, and we’ll make it happen.
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