The gentle hum of your heating system as you start it up is, of course, nothing to be alarmed about. After all, you know the normal noises of your heating system, which means that you can typically tell when something is “off.” A strange noise doesn’t automatically mean you have a heating emergency on your hands, but it is definitely something to pay attention to, and call for Salt Lake City heating repair from a trained professional ASAP.
In the meantime, want to know what these ominous heater sounds actually mean? Keep reading to learn about the most common noises we get calls for and what they might indicate, then, give us a call so we can stop those noises once and for all!
Popping or Banging
This is probably among the most concerning sounds you can hear from a heater, particularly if it is a gas-powered furnace. It’s definitely one of those that requires a call to a professional technician right away. Even if you aren’t in immediate danger, it can lead to significant problems.
One possible cause of this noise is dirty burners. This makes it harder for those burners to light, meaning gas builds up by the time they do light. That loud popping noise you hear indicates that the burners have finally lit, but a small explosion occurred when this happened, due to the buildup of gas. Over time, this damages the system, including its heat exchanger. This leads to carbon monoxide (toxic gas) leaking into your living space.
But what if you don’t use a furnace and instead use a boiler? It could also be a burner problem, but most likely, that popping or banging you hear is form something called scaling, caused by hard water. Hard water is water with a high presence of the minerals calcium and magnesium in it. These minerals build up at the bottom of the boiler tank, and as steam bubbles try to escape from the top of the tank, the minerals rattle around, causing pressure issues. This eventually leads to corrosion and can lead to a completely unusable heating system. The good news is that this can be completely avoided with annual maintenance!
Scraping
Do you hear something that resembles scraping or screeching coming from your furnace or vents? This likely has to do with the blower fan. You might have even heard this noise when using your air conditioner. It’s caused by any one of the following circumstances:
- You have a loose blower wheel that needs adjustment.
- There is a broken blower wheel that needs replacement.
- You have a broken blower wheel mount that’s causing the fan to hit the casing.
Squealing
Again, this is likely coming from the blower fan. Though, it can be from any number of issues that can arise if you neglect maintenance. During maintenance, our technicians fully inspect the system, making adjustments and recommendations for repairs. If this service is skipped, you could have loose components or broken parts rubbing against each other that are causing this squealing sound, or the scraping we mentioned above.
