Knowing how to clean furnace heat exchangers is an excellent way to ensure your heating system is fully functional for many years. Unfortunately, property owners often overlook this aspect of furnace maintenance, resulting in shorter equipment lifespans, indoor discomfort, and inefficient heating.
As one of the top providers of heating system repair in Tallahassee, FL, Cooper’s Plumbing & Air knows how to complete this project safely and efficiently. Here’s what you need to know about cleaning your furnace’s heat exchanger.
Heat Exchangers: What Are They and How Do They Work in Furnaces?
Before learning how to clean furnace heat exchangers, you should know what this component is and why keeping it in good condition is important. A heat exchanger is a component with multiple coils or tubes that hold the gas byproducts that the furnace produces during combustion.
As the hot gases flow through the tubes, the heat from the coils radiates to the metal walls of the exchanger, which separate the combustion chamber from the blower. Air then travels over the exchanger and heats up before reaching the blower, which sends the conditioned air throughout your home via ductwork.
Your furnace may produce warmth without a functional heat exchanger, but you won’t feel it around your property because the heat won’t leave the furnace. An inefficient exchanger will affect the heating unit’s efficiency and performance.
How Do You Know When You Should Clean Your Heat Exchanger
Furnaces and their heat exchangers need routine maintenance. So how do you know when to clean your system’s heat exchanger? Here are some warning signs to watch for.
- Energy bills
- Uneven heating
- Strange odors
- Reduced heating efficiency
- Visible dirt, debris, or corrosion
By keeping this component clean, you’re ensuring your heating system has excellent heating and airflow efficiency. This performance optimization often translates to improved indoor comfort, reduced energy consumption, and lower utility expenses.
Cleaning Your Furnace Heat Exchanger: A Step-by-Step Guide
Furnace and boiler maintenance ensures your home has reliable heat all winter. Without it, you risk your system failing or malfunctioning when you need it most.
Heat exchangers are important furnace components, so correctly cleaning and maintaining them is essential. Here’s how to do it.
1. Gather the Appropriate Supplies
You’ll need the right cleaning tools to care for your furnace heat exchanger. Your supplies may include:
- Protective gear like gloves, a respiratory mask, and safety glasses
- Screwdriver
- Flashlight
- Disposable rags
- Vacuum cleaner with hose attachments
- Soft-bristled brush
- Power washer
2. Turn the Furnace Off
Heating systems are dangerous to work on due to their electrical and fuel-related components. As such, you must take the appropriate safety precautions to avoid negative consequences like electric shocks or burns.
Before doing anything with your furnace or its heat pump, turn off the heating unit’s power supply. If the system runs on natural gas or propane, shut down the gas supply, too. Wait until everything cools down before proceeding.
3. Open the Access Panel
Put on your protective gear and use the screwdriver to open your furnace’s access panel. Once it’s off, use your flashlight to see the heat exchanger and its connections.
At this point, you might consider taking a picture with your cell phone to see how the component sits inside the heater. You could also create labels for the connections with bits of tape. That way, you’ll know where everything goes when you finish the heat exchanger cleaning.
4. Clean All Debris From the Heat Exchanger and Its Tubes
It’s typical for debris and cobwebs to settle around a furnace heat exchanger. You can use your vacuum to remove the mess quickly. Then, using a damp cloth, wipe down the hoses or pipes that lead into the heat exchanger. If your furnace’s manufacturer guide suggests using a mild detergent to eliminate buildup on these pipes and the heat exchanger’s exterior and interior walls, you can use some.
Switch to the soft-bristled brush if the damp rag doesn’t seem to loosen the stubborn buildup on the heat exchanger walls. Carefully scrub everything until the walls are shiny. Depending on how long you wait to clean your furnace heat exchanger, this portion of the cleaning session can take a while.
5. Clear the Heat Exchanger Tubes
Debris removal inside the heat exchanger tubes is also necessary for optimal efficiency. These coils will collect lots of debris and grime over time. Connecting a power washer hose to the heat exchanger’s intake connection can help flush the mess out of the tubes.
6. Reassemble the Furnace
After cleaning and drying your furnace heat exchanger, replace the access panels. Turn on the power and gas supply and test the furnace’s performance.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cleaning Furnace Heat Exchangers
Need more help learning how to clean furnace heat exchangers? Read these answers to common questions on the subject.
Do I Need to Clean My Furnace Heat Exchanger Every Month?
No, you don’t have to clean your furnace heat exchanger monthly. Routine cleaning should occur annually.
How Long Do Heat Exchangers Last?
Most furnace heat exchangers have an average lifespan of 10 to 20 years. Maintaining the equipment is the best way to extend its lifespan.
Can My Furnace Heat Exchanger Have a Clog?
Heat exchangers in furnaces can develop clogs or blockages over time due to accumulations of scale, dust, and other debris. Learning how to clean furnace exchangers properly will prevent them.
Let Our Professionals Give Your Furnace and Its Components the Care They Need
Even if you know how to clean furnace heat exchangers, you might not feel comfortable giving your heating system the attention it needs. That’s where Cooper’s Plumbing & Air comes in. As one of the leading HVAC companies serving Tallahassee, Florida, we offer outstanding heating services, including furnace maintenance, with affordable, flat-rate pricing.
Our licensed HVAC technicians back our services with more than 20 years of industry experience and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We’re here to help whether you have a loud furnace or simply need routine maintenance—call Cooper’s Plumbing & Air today at (866) 464-7132 for services!