A cracked heat exchanger in your furnace is a serious problem: so serious that if you spot it, you need to shut down your heater immediately and call in a repair service. The good news is that our winters are usually mild enough in San Antonio, TX so that it’s not a catastrophe in most cases, but it can still leave you in the lurch. Sadly, there’s not a whole lot that can be done once the exchanger is cracked. The damage can send toxic gasses leaking into your home whenever you run the furnace. A good heating service can replace the cracked heat exchange with a better one, but you can also take steps to stop a cracked heat exchanger before it starts. Here are 3 ways to accomplish that: each of them is easy to do and capable of saving you a lot of heartache down the road.

1. Change Those Filters

   Every furnace comes with a filter that needs to be changed or cleaned regularly (ideally once a month). If not, then the build-up will block the flow of air out of your furnace, leaving the heat inside and adding stress to your heat exchanger.

2. Open the Vents

   Closing the vents in your home allows you to tailor the temperatures in individual rooms, but it also traps the heat in the furnace just like a clogged filter does. Leave them open to ensure a timely flow of heat through your whole household.

3. Schedule a Maintenance Session

   An annual maintenance session from a trained technician can do a lot of things for your system:” helping it perform more efficiently and extending its lifespan, among others. But it also lets the technician spot the signs of excessive stress and replace the heat exchanger before it becomes a problem.

For more on replacing heat exchangers, give the pros at [company_name] a call.