Not everyone wished for snow, but it is winter in Minneapolis. The snow and cold will be here for a while. Your furnace is working overtime to make your home comfortable. You might notice that your furnace is making noises that it wasn’t before. In a previous blog, we highlighted the bad noises that your furnace might be making, but we now updated it here to highlight some of the good sounds as well as an update to some of the bad noises.
Good Sounds
There are many normal noises that happen when your furnace turns on and runs. As your furnace turns on, you’ll hear a series of clicks and hums as the burner turns on to start heating the air. Air will still have to be pulled in to be heated and distributed to your home. That will often create soft rattling noises and chirps. Heat makes your air ducts expand, which creates pings and crackles with the adjusted amount of heat that goes into your home. Please note that any normal noise coming from your furnace isn’t super loud. If any of these noises are louder than normal, there could be something wrong, and you should call your HVAC professionals.
Bad Sound: Banging
While clicking or popping can be normal while your furnace is heating up, loud pops and bangs can indicate serious problems with your furnace. These sounds might mean that you have a dirty furnace burner or a combustion problem. Both involve problems with the ignition working too hard to heat your home. Either the dirt on the burner is blocking the heat from heating the air or there is a clog in the gas that lights the ignition that heats the air. In either case, you need to call your HVAC provider to find and fix the problem as soon as possible.
Bad Sound: Scraping
Metal on metal scraping noises is most likely an issue with the blower wheel or motor. They could be getting rusty and need oil, or they could be damaged and need to be replaced. Taking apart the necessary sections of the furnace to fix this is very dangerous.
Bad Sound: Shrieking
When we say shriek, we don’t mean it will sound like someone screaming. It’s more of a loud version of whining metal noises. Similar to scraping, it could be an issue with the motor being damaged, but the motor could also be loose or have a loose belt. Any loose parts can cause damage by coming apart or bumping around into other items in your furnace.
Bad Sound: Rattling
Rattling can mean many things, and they are normal when quiet. The louder it gets, the more you should worry about it. In some cases, it means that your furnace needs a tune-up. As time goes on, screws wiggle loose or just need a good cleaning. The rattling noises, like the shrieking noises, can mean that something is loose, but this time it is something smaller. Screws or other smaller parts throughout your furnace will often make rattling noises rather than shrieking noises. Other times, it means that something is off balance or installed incorrectly. This includes things like the floor your furnace is on being slanted or the filter being improperly installed.
Loud sounds generally don’t mean something good for your furnace. If you are worried about the sounds your furnace is making, call Twin City Heating, Air and Electric to make an appointment for a technician to inspect your furnace.
Have a happy holiday!
