Change your furnace filter... it is the first Friday of the month.
Last month I declared the first Friday of every month Furnace Filter Friday when I Re-Blogged Jay Markanich a Virginia home inspector's post:
Replace Your Air Filter Regularly! OR The Mystery Of the Rotting Door Trim
Furnace Filters
We primarily have gas forced air furnaces in Central Ohio. Very little oil... no coal? I seldom see radiators, hot water heat is uncommon. It surprises me reading posts about furnaces across the US, how common oil heat is in some areas.
We do have electric furnaces in a few Central Ohio neighborhoods, rural areas, homes built in the 1970's. Even in neighborhoods built in the 1970s there are usually homes where the furnace has been replaced with a gas furnace. Most people find gas heat warmer than electric heat... I believe.
Winter will be here before we know it... brrr I hate to think about it. The high yesterday was 94°... tomorrow's forecast?
Five posts about furnaces this Furnace Filter Friday:
#1 From Omaha Nebraska, home inspector, Greg Wayman, shared Home Inspection - Furnace Red Flags Yea, yea, yea his title was Omaha Home Inspection - Furnace Red Flags... most of it probably applies to Ohio furnaces. Written for home buyers? Home owners might see something there that could help them too. Red flags...
#2 and #3 From Minnesota where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average" and the winters are darn cold, Reuben Saltzman wrote two posts I want to share with you:
Are High Efficiency Furnaces worth it?
Gravity Furnace? get a new one
I have not seen a gravity furnace in awhile in Central Ohio. The big octopus in the basement? I had a listing with one early this decade. They are there lurking in basements in older neighborhoods in Central Ohio. Perhaps with tax incentives home owners have recently replace them.
#4 is a furnace post from a real esate agent!?! Lyn Sims Chicago's Northwest Suburbs shared this with her readers: Winter and Summer Furnace Settings
#5 And finally, If the furnace can’t vent----I will from Charles Buell, Seattle, a Washington home inspector. Those stickers on the furnace showing it's been serviced?
The furnace image is from Reuben Saltzman's post on high efficiency furnaces. I believe that is Reuben's old furnace. It looked pretty good if you ask me... but that's why you need a home inspector when buying a home. *'the women are strong, men are good looking' is Lake Wobegon MN not Minneapolis MN... but the winters are still darn cold.
Remember change your furnace filter regularly!
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OK...I'm heading out to the store to get a super-duper filter. I may make a stop along the way to pick up some reading material on high performance, energy -efficient furnaces, too =)
It is cold here today, already. When the calendar flips to September, the cold starts creeping in. People should be reminded about furnace filters-you see some horrific examples on home inspections sometimes!
Only had two homes with gas furnaces in a 30 year real estate career to sell. Wood and oil are the predominant here. And once a year filter change for only winter use is all that is needed. No need for central air in Maine.
Great reminder. I have never heard of "furnace filter Friday." It's perfect.
Terri It's mine, mine all mine!
Andrew
2 in 30 years is funny. I love wood furnaces... I have run into a few here. My granparents farm in southern Wisconsin was heated with wood when I was a kid. Later in the 70s my parents built a house in the woods in Central Wisconsin and heated with wood primarily.
I am not an air conditioning lover usually. There are people here that probably personally need the AC as much as they need heat in the winter and their furnace filter needs changing year round. Their pipes, etc. need the heat.... we get very cold in the winter, not as cold as you or Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc. I like windows open when possible but a lot of homes here are not built for catching a breeze...
Barbara I love Jay's post about the rotting door trim... it's a furnace filter issue. Forensic inspection...
The AC goes off today.
jane-Anne Did you get rain from Earl? Are you far west NC?
Maureen, thanks for including my post in here----nice to see an old post get some extra mileage :)
Thanks for the wonderful furnace post Charles... It is certainly worthy of traffic.
Maureen, nice to see agents reminding owners to do home maintenance. Thanks, makes our job easier.
Jack... I will have to see if you've got any good furnace stuff on your blog.
You have inspired me Maureen...furnace filter Fridays are now going on the calendar....we have some that are "industrial strength" and can be vacuumed/cleaned...i am not the mechanical Hanson...no such thing as tooo much maintenance !
Wow Maureen reading Reuben blog I'm amazed his average annual heating bill is only $468, now that's low. Gotta go back and discover what else he's doing, thanks for the links.
Oh by the way on Jack's blog his dog Izzy writes some of his posts, I'm sure of it.
Izzy sure is cute. And a writer? WOW.
My poor old dog may be going into bed bug sniffing training to earn his keep, welcome to bed bug country... in the US Cinci is #4, Columbus is #7, Dayton is #8, Cleveland is #14 according to Terminix. No reports in movie theaters, stores, like NYC... that I have heard of locally. Bedbug blogging has consumed me recently...
I saw your comment on Reuben's post but not this one... oddly. He says your heating will not be as high?
Yep he's a good writer & Izzy has siblings too, they are just as cute too.
Oh man when I stayed at a place very near here when house hunting I got bit by those icky things, not fun. Why not blog about the great corn here instead, give yourself a break.
That's what Reuben said...I'm be finding out soon enough. In GA the monthly heating cost was $200's/ to the high $300's, and I kept the stat low, the home was new and well caulked so who knows?
Maureen, haven't written about furnaces for a long while. Guess it is getting that time of year. Will have to work on one. Although, I've already had several calls about heating systems, you would think I'd get the hint. Oh, and btw, Izzy does all the dog biscuit and girl blogs (in that order), he has his priorities.
Cynthia we insulate the homes in Ohio....
Time to write about furnaces Jack. The chill is in the air ... actually although there is a gorgeous breeze it is going up to 91 today. The leaves are blowing in the street... some of the early droppers are started... I think Lindens??? My inner Druid is kinda groggy this morning... Locusts, Sycamores, Ashes... are dropping leaves.
Don't tell Izzy I thought he was a girl.
LOL really insulation who would have thought????
Too bad a day of the week doesn't start with I.
inSulation Saturday or inSulation Sunday? only a weekly post would be hard to come up with ... Insulation is just kind of there. I was showing a house Monday or Tuesday and the buyers looked in a crawl space and asked if I thought there was asbestos... really how would I know? The pink I am sure was fiberglass... the grayish? Cellulose? I was looking for a duct I thought there was a pipe / duct with wrap on it because that is where I am used to seeing asbestos insulation wrapped around ducts coming off the furnace... does it lie around in attics? I did not think so..
If I ever write an inSulation Sunday post I will dedicate it to you, inSulation Cynthia.
One if my nicknames was Sid as a kid, I cannot think of one w/ an I....at least not one would say to my face or friends.