Doesn’t it always seem like smoke detectors start beeping at night? Or that the neighbor’s dog waits until your lights are out to start barking? It’s much the same with heating repair in Bethesda…furnaces and other types of HVAC equipment just seem to wait until the middle of the night before they give out.
But unlike those first two examples, it actually makes some sense that you’re going to need HVAC repair first thing in the morning. The middle of the night is when the temperature is coldest, which means your heating unit is being taxed the most. It pumps out heat until the thermostat tells it to turn off, but then the house loses that heat so quickly that it has to turn on again in under ten minutes. During the coldest nights, this can happen dozens of times, putting stress on the electrical components of your heating unit.
So now it’s one of the coldest mornings of the year and you wake up to a much colder floor than usual (even if it’s carpet!). What are the steps to take to get your heater back up and running, whether you’re in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Beltsville, or Potomac? Let’s take a look.
Put On Some Slippers
This might seem like a simple step, but it can actually help. If you make yourself more comfortable, you’re more likely to do a more thorough inspection before immediately calling for furnace repair. Put on a robe as well, because being comfortable will help you think more clearly and not make any rash decisions.
Check the Power
The battery backup on your alarm might have woken you up, but the power in the rest of the house might be out. Before you start worrying about your furnace, check the lights to see if power to your entire home is out. If the entire neighborhood is without power, you’ll have to wait for it to come back on. Here are some tips on what to do in the meantime.
Check the Thermostat
Sometimes the problem is just with the thermostat. While electronic thermostats are harder to accidentally change than the ring types that could easily get “bumped,” it’s possible that someone in the house changed it without your knowledge. It might just require you to touch run program (or equivalent button) in order to tell the furnace to return to its regular settings.
Check the Ducts
One of the easiest ways to see if there’s something wrong with your furnace is to simply stand over the ducts that the heat usually comes from. If you feel a good deal of heat coming out, your house could be so cold because the outside temperature is making it nearly impossible for your heater to keep up. If you feel that it’s less warm than usual, your furnace isn’t working as efficiently as it should and you should call for heating repair (see below).
If you’re getting cool air, head back over to the thermostat. Did it accidentally get switched from heat to air conditioning? If so, that’s a very simple fix! But if it’s still on heat and there’s cool air coming out, you’ll almost certainly need a heating technician to visit your home.
If there’s no air moving at all, it’s possible the fan in your HVAC system has given out. (Again, check the thermostat to see if someone turned off the fan). If you can’t get the fan to put out air, it’s certainly time to contact a heating contractor in Bethesda.
Check The Furnace Unit
If everything looks good at the thermostat, you might want to check your actual furnace unit. First of all, are the power switches on? We’ve heard from people who have woken up to a cold house and thought “oh no, my furnace has given out! Well, that’s gonna cost me hundreds of dollars!” Then, upon further reflection, they realized that they changed the furnace filter the previous day and simply forgot to turn the unit back on! A “broken” furnace isn’t always a need to panic.
Take a Look At The Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Your home should have carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. If it doesn’t, we urge and implore you to head to a local store and pick some up today. Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas that’s produced when the natural gas in your furnace isn’t being burned properly. It’s odorless, colorless, and tasteless and can kill everyone in the house in high enough concentrations.
Some CO detectors are like smoke detectors, in that they only signal when there’s a problem. But other CO detectors have a digital display that shows if there’s a level of CO that’s present but not yet dangerous (in other words, there’s no alarm). If you see any number above zero on those, we’d suggest leaving the house and calling for HVAC repair from outside.
Call a Heating Repair Company
When you’re looking for heating repair in Bethesda, Silver Spring, or Potomac, don’t just type “heating repair near me” into your search engine. Your heating needs shouldn’t just be based on how much a company paid to be at the top of Google. While getting your heat back up and running is something you want done as quickly as possible, it’s also important to find a heating contractor who can get the job done correctly so your problem doesn’t happen again anytime soon. Spend a few extra minutes to find an HVAC company with excellent reviews so that you can feel good about the people you’re inviting into your home to work on your largest appliance.
At JC & JC HVAC Mechanical Contractors, we have a 4.6/5 on Google reviews, which we’re very proud of. People in Maryland trust us, and we take that trust very seriously. When you need emergency heating repair, here’s our number: (301) 246-0916
Call Work
With any luck, the emergency heating contractor will be able to fit you in within a few hours. You’ll probably want to call work and let them know that you’ll be in late and might not be in at all. Maybe you’ll be able to work from home if your job allows.
Remember, the same conditions that caused your heating unit to give out almost certainly affected other Maryland citizens as well. Call as soon as you can in order to get as close to the front of the line as possible. Still, we hope you’ll understand if we prioritize senior citizens and other high-risk individuals.
Open the Sink Cabinets
Hopefully, you’ll be able to get an emergency heating repair expert to your door before the temperatures in your home get low enough for the pipes to freeze. But just in case, open up the cabinets under the sink in order to let the air from the room circulate around the pipes.
If it gets really cold, turn on the sinks to a slow drip. As long as there’s any water moving through a pipe, it’s much less likely to burst.
We’re Here For You
JC & JC HVAC Mechanical Contractors has been helping the people of Potomac, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and our hometown of Beltsville for a long time, through the coldest winters and the hottest summers. When you’re in need of emergency heating repair in Maryland, we’re ready to be your HVAC contractors. Contact us today for your furnace, geothermal, or boiler repair, whether you’ve woken up to a cold room or are experiencing any problem with your HVAC system.
