Preparing Your Home Heater for Cooler Temps

Heating and air experts want people to make sure their home heaters are ready for cooler temperatures in the forecast.

Mike Clark and his kids worked in the yard Thursday night.

“Right now I’m getting my yard prepared so I don’t have to do it when it’s raining, cold,” said Clark.

Fall weather is here. Blaylock Heating and Air technicians checked a heating system in Fort Smith Thursday to make sure it is ready for winter.

“Sometimes you’ll get spiders or bugs in the vacuum tubing,” said Mark Jones, a service technician.

Expect a funky smell when the heater first turns on. “The smell is dirt and lint that’s in the duct work and stuff,” said Jones.

Technicians say open windows as a safety precaution, especially if you have a pilot light.

“Say if it’s not gonna light then you spray gas and it doesn’t light then you have a gas smell,” said Jones.

Change dirty air filters to improve efficiency and make sure vents are opened before turning on the heater.

Clark says he is getting his heaters ready. “I am ready for the cold weather,” he said. “I’m tired of the heat that we’ve been having.”

The experts say a heater can still turn on, even if it is not working properly.

If you have a pilot light the flame should burn blue.

It is also a good time to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.