This is clearly a scenario that no homeowner wants to face—being home on a chilly day during the winter, with snow falling outside, when all of the sudden their furnace just stops working.
Ideally, you’d never face this kind of issue, because you’d ensure your heater was properly maintained. What we mean when we say this is that you should be scheduling professional maintenance for your furnace or boiler system once a year, and if you have a heat pump system twice a year. Maintenance allows our technicians to thoroughly inspect, clean, and adjust your heater to make sure it performs as best it can. It also extends the lifespan of your heater and makes it a lot less likely that you’ll run into something like an emergency breakdown.
Still though, sudden breakdowns happen. When they do, we’re here for you! In the meantime, however, we’re sure you’d like to know how to stay warm while you wait for our techs to arrive.
Get Baking/Cooking
Do you have the ingredients to bake some cookies? Or maybe you have a yummy meal planned for this week that you can cook on the stovetop, in your oven, or even in your slow cooker. These are all great ways to heat your home up naturally while your furnace or other heating system is down.
Take note, we are not suggesting that you use a cooking appliance as your primary source of heat as an alternative, but if you have something to cook anyway, you may as well make the best of both worlds!
Another idea is if you don’t have any pets or small children who can access your oven, leave it open as it’s cooling down after you cook. As the heat dissipates it will enter your home and help keep things warm.
You can distribute this heat even better with your ceiling fans, too! There’s a switch near the middle of the fan that allows you to change the direction of the fan blades in order to more evenly spread heat in your home. This is also a good tip for when your heater is running, as it helps the heater work more efficiently.
Layer on the Clothes
You’re already quite familiar with the concept of layering, living in a cold climate like ours. What if you applied that same concept indoors? It might seem a bit silly to keep your parka on when you’re sitting on your couch watching TV, but if that makes you more comfortable, isn’t it worth it?
Remember, heat exits your body through your hands and your feet, as well as your head. So when you’re layering, don’t forget those gloves, fuzzy socks, and a beanie hat.
Move Your Body!
2020 has been the year for finding new ways to engage ourselves indoors, right? Perhaps you finally signed up for that new online fitness program, or you bought that fancy exercise bike. Now is the time to take advantage of this! Get a workout going and build up a sweat. You’ll be glad you did for multiple reasons.
What if you have children to keep warm too? Maybe instead of a fitness routine, you throw a mini dance party in your house! Get silly with your kiddos. Pick a room, remove anything breakable, push the furniture to the side to avoid injury, and crank up the music… and most of all, enjoy.
Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning is your trusted resource for Chicago, IL furnace service. Contact us today!