We have a Ruud Silhouette II Gas Furnace. One winter it simply wouldn't start, so we called a Furnace Repair Company to come out and fix it. The repairman and his assistant blew dust off the furnace and charged us $150.00. I was shocked to find out that dust can keep a furnace from starting and even more shocked that a repairman charges $150.00 to blow off the dust. After this, I decided to find out some furnace basics that I could do the maintenance on myself and save my hard earned money.<br /><br />The first thing I found out is to always gently keep your furnace filters clean- there are more washable filters underneath and on the inside that I never knew about. I only knew about the main slide out one that we change every other month. Keep the dust out and use only a gentle rag- never use any electrical blower, as it will damage your furnace. When your furnace keeps trying to ignite repeatedly, but won't or eventually will, it's usually a dirty ignitor AND sensor. You can keep these clean for a while until you replace them. They are both little metal rods- the ignitor has 2 rods close together and the sensor is one rod.<br /><br />They make non abrasive sponge type pads for cleaning that are perfect for cleaning these rods. You want to cut this non abrasive sponge into strips that make it easy to wrap around the rods for cleaning. You just gently rub the sponge strip over the rods back and forth with these non abrasive, non metallic pads to get some of the baked-on soot off. Never use anything metallic or abrasive for cleaning- you will damage the furnace with metallic dust! This gentle cleaning will work for a while to get your furnace ignited, but eventually you should replace the ignitor AND the sensor, as they both get gunked up at the same time. It's a good idea to always keep a back up ignitor and sensor at home so you'll never freeze should they be worn out. Installing them is tricky as they are in tight spaces, but you can do it- just take a photo of things before you take it apart, and don't forget whether you are cleaning or repairing your furnace- turn off the electrical and gas to it first. This is a huge 5 STAR part that will save you huge money!
Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]