You rely on your heating system to keep your home in Annapolis, Maryland, comfortable on chilly days and cold nights. When your furnace or heat pump develops a problem, it might be tempting to consult Google and try a DIY heater repair. However, DIY heater repairs could result in bodily injury and put your family and home in danger. Consider these three reasons to avoid performing a DIY heater repair:
Risk of Fire
Tinkering with your heating system increases the risk of a fire in your home. Furnaces burn propane or natural gas, which are highly combustible. If you cause damage to the gas supply line, ignition, safety valve or burner, you could start a fire. Damage to the wiring of a furnace or heat pump could also result in a fire.
Injury or Poisoning
Serious injuries may result from attempts at DIY heater repair. You might get an electrical shock trying to fix wiring or connections. The heating element or combustion chamber could burn you. You may also cause damage that allows poisonous carbon monoxide gas to seep into your home’s living spaces.
Increased Damage to the Heater
Finally, repairing heating systems requires specialized tools and diagnostic equipment that most homeowners don’t have. Trying a DIY heater repair with the wrong tools could result in more damage. Even attempting to troubleshoot your furnace or heat pump could cause additional damage to the unit. Worse damage could result in a need for more extensive and costly repairs. You might even damage the unit beyond repair and invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty. Trained HVAC service technicians should be the only people working on your heating system.
A DIY heater repair puts you and your family’s health and safety at risk. It could also result in higher repair costs than if you just called a professional in the first place. At Coastal Heating & Air Conditioning Co., Inc., we offer affordable and effective heater repair services that you can count on.
Image provided by Thinkstock