Charles Buell Consulting LLC

Consulting on Building Science and Forensics in the Seattle Area (Formerly Charles Buell Inspections INC)

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When your lungs become the furnace filter

Furnaces need to be cleaned and serviced.

After a furnace is 5 years old it is considered good practice to have them serviced every year.

In spite of the fact that the furnace in the following picture had not been serviced for quite some time it is “relatively” clean.  Visible in the picture is the remains of the furnace filter that has been sucked into the blower.  All that remains is the cardboard frame marked “16x20x1.”  I did a previously post about this called, Why is there a squirrel in my furnace? Time to get your furnace serviced.

Missing furnace filter
What happens when the furnace filter is missing?

One can also see the return air duct entering the furnace compartment at the left—just the other side of the ruined filter—-it is relatively clean looking.

The return duct in this next picture is not so clean looking.  The view is looking straight down, eight feet, from the living room floor.

Ductwork full of debris
Missing filters can allow the ductwork to fill up with debris

From this view I know I am in for a “treat” inside the furnace compartment.  This next picture is looking inside the furnace compartment and there is no filter in sight.  All air in the home circulates through this mess and back into the house.

Debris recirculated thoroughout the home
With no filter, debris can be recirculated throughout the home

At this point your lungs are filtering the air.

“Cough.”

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Why is there a squirrel in my furnace? Time to get your furnace serviced.

It is very common to open up the furnace and find the furnace filter out of place—-or worse, just plain missing.

 

Filter sucked into furnace
Filter sucked into furnace

This furnace was a little less usual in that while the cardboard frame was where it was supposed to be, the innards of the filter had been sucked into the blower fan and looked like some kind of furry beast (squirrel) attempting to use the blower like a treadmill.

 

Furnace filter sucked into blower
Furnace filter sucked into blower

This being an electric furnace, much of this filter had passed through the blower and some of it was hung up on the heating elements.  Not too difficult to clean—but not something for the average homeowner to attempt.

 

Filter sucked into heating elements
Filter sucked into heating elements

Obviously when the filter gets this bad, not much of the air is being filtered.  Just like gas and oil furnaces need servicing—electric furnaces need routine maintenance as well.

When was the last time you had your furnace service?

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

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Cross-training amongst the trades—it ain’t gonna happen.

I could do endless numbers of posts about how the trades don’t talk to each other.  We have become so compartmentalized in the building trades that I am wondering how it is possible to get anything done right.  I think a certain amount of basic info about all of the other trades should be incorporated into the training for each individual trades—it seems there either isn’t enough or “somebody” just doesn’t care.

Otherwise we would not end up with plumbers installing stuff like the picture below.

Poor plumbing installation
Plumbing installed in the way of the heating equipment

I that it will be very difficult—if not impossible—to get this burner out of the furnace for repairs or servicing.  A different configuration of fittings could have allowed for both trades to do their job, but because the plumber didn’t know the requirements of the Heating Contractor, didn’t care, or hadn’t had his coffee yet, they have made the job of the Heating Contractor very difficult.  Whatever the reason—-the Heating Contractor is not going to be very happy.

Of course the other possibility is that this was the work of some homeowner that was even more clueless.

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Charles Buell, Seattle Home Inspector

If you enjoyed this post, and would like to get notices of new posts to my blog, please subscribe via email in the little box to the right. I promise NO spamming of your email :-D