What Loud Sounds from your Heater Could Mean
During our cold Missouri winters, your furnace is probably the hardest working thing in your home. You likely are hearing it kick on and off periodically to keep up with making your home reach and maintain your desired temperature. But while those soft hums of a working furnace may be easy to ignore, some sounds are not.
Is your furnace making weird noises that is causing you concern? Are loud bangs or booms coming from your ducts? If so, you may be wondering if these sounds are something you should worry about. Well, they might be. Depending on what you’re hearing and where the sound is coming from, these odd noises could indicate problems with your furnace. At Jon Wayne Heating & Air we’ve encountered all sorts of furnace problems and sounds.
Is your furnace making weird noises? We break down some of the common loud sounds that heaters can make and what potential problems each could mean.
Troubleshooting 4 Types of LOUD Furnace Noises
Heater turns on with a BANG!
You turn up the heat and you hear what could be described as a gunshot! That’s definitely a startling sound. If you hear a loud bang or boom, you might have a serious problem. If a loud bang comes from your furnace when it first turns on, that could indicate a gas build-up. However, a bang could also indicate an issue that isn’t all that severe. If you heard the sound coming more from your ductwork, that could simply be the loud sound of your ducts expanding or contracting. But if you’re not sure whether this sound came from the ducts, you don’t want take any chances.
What should you do?
Turn off your heater and get it fixed. This is potentially a dangerous problem that requires professional help. Call us at (417) 831-9500 and we will come out and inspect your heating system. If you do have gas building up inside your furnace, this could cause more serious (and expensive) problems like a cracked heat exchanger. So getting this addressed ASAP is important.
How to keep this problem from happening?
The good news is that a gas build-up is a preventable problem. It can be caused by dirty burners, so maintenance on your heating system may stop it from occurring. Cleaning furnace burners is part of the maintenance service we provide at Jon Wayne Heating and Air. Call us at (417) 831-9500 for maintenance service.
Is a rattling sound coming from your furnace?
Are you hearing a persistent rattling coming from your HVAC system? This is probably an annoying sound and one that is hard to ignore. It could indicate a few things, including something as seemingly minor as a loose screw or panel that needs to be tightened or secured. However, there are other issues that can cause a rattling sound, such as a cracked heat exchanger. Have you recently heard a loud bang before the rattling began? That combination of sounds could happen when a heat exchanger has become, which puts your home at risk for a carbon monoxide leak.
What should you do?
If you feel confident in your repair skills, you could examine your furnace for any loose screws or panels and tighten as needed. But if you can’t find anything loose or if that doesn’t stop the rattling, contact us. What’s causing your heater to rattle may be hard for a homeowner to diagnose on their own, so let one of our experienced furnace repair technicians inspect your system to uncover the real problem.
Do you hear grinding metal?
If you hear a noise coming from your heating unit that sounds like metal on metal, that is a sound you shouldn’t ignore. It may sound like metal scraping or even clanking. Those metal sounds could mean you have a serious problem. It’s possible that your blower fan has gotten out of place and is banging up against the blower house casing.
What should you do?
Turn off your furnace and get it fixed quickly or at least before needing to use it again. You will want to call a heating and air professional to check it out. There may be problems inside the blower. These could be minor issues requiring little repair or it could be something more problematic like a broken blower fan. In that case, it may need to be replaced.
A squealing sound is coming from your furnace
It’s quite a shocker to suddenly hear a squealing or screeching coming from some part of your home. Problems with your furnace could be making this sound. While this may be quite an annoying sound to endure, the good news is that it could indicate some pretty minor issues. But it’s still not something you should ignore. Your heater may have a faulty belt or there could be a problem with your fan motor. It’s possible some components in your system need to be lubricated. Regular maintenance could help prevent this problem from happening.
What should you do?
Contact us. While this sound could indicate relatively little issues, you will want a trained HVAC technician to accurately diagnose and fix. Most likely you are needing repairs that we can handle very quickly and easily. But even little issues, when left ignored, can turn into big, expensive issues. So while this may not be as urgent of a problem as other furnace sounds would indicate, you will want to get it handled before it turns into something worse.
Furnace Making Weird Noises or are they Normal Furnace Sounds?
Did you hear some other loud sounds coming for your furnace? Your system is going to make sounds from time to time, and many of them aren’t indicative of a problem. You may hear chirping, humming or even a pinging. These sounds are usually harmless and normal for a furnace to make. But if you’re ever in doubt, or if the sounds are getting louder, you can always contact us at Jon Wayne Heating and Air. It’s always best to check out potential problems that may be fixed easily and cheaply before they become big and expensive.
