DIY guideFurnace

Look the furnace over before the heating season (cabinet shut)

Clear round it, start with a fresh filter, watch the flame through its window, look at its pipes inside and out, and test the CO alarms.

8 steps

Tap a step to watch it again.

Move boxes, paint, laundry and anything that burns well away from the furnace.
Start the season with a new filter, its arrow toward the furnace.
Turn the heat up. Through the small window, the flame should be steady and mostly blue.
Look only: never open the furnace's panels.
Follow the metal pipe from its top to the wall. Joints tight, no rust, no gaps, no soot.
A high-efficiency furnace has two white pipes instead. Look for sags, cracks or loose joints.
Outside, the pipe ends should be clear of leaves, nests and snow.
Press the test button on the CO alarm near the furnace and on each floor.
A yellow or flickering flame, soot, a rusty or loose pipe, or a smell: turn it off at the thermostat and ask Handyman for a heating tech. A gas smell: leave and call the gas utility from outside.

Handyman says: Yellow flame? I'll find a heating tech.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.