FURNACE FUN

 

          My thermostat has been blinking at me since June. It wants to have its filters cleaned. This morning it was 63 degrees in my house and I really wanted to turn the heat on but will not until I clean the filters.

          Back in January of 2001, I had to stay home from work for a week because I had a radiation burn under my right boob. When I called in sick, I jokingly told my boss I had to hang from the rafters by my knees so my boob would fall in the right direction and the burn could heal…and then I burst into tears. Little did I know then the house would become as cold as the attic. Anyway, I’m digressing from my furnace tale.

          I was always the first one up because I was the only one with a job that required my presence at 8;00 am. John worked for himself so he could set his own hours and was almost always still in bed when I left…more digressing. Anyway, I kept smelling something in the morning when the furnace came on. Since I had to stay home from work, I thought I was doing a good thing by calling the gas company…WRONG.

          This was Monday morning and my perception was that someone would probably come during my week at home. Instead, they came almost within the hour. I found out later it was because I said I smelled something. The serviceman checked things out, showed me how flames were climbing up the outside of the furnace, turned off the gas and locked up the furnace. There would be no heat until we either fixed the furnace or bought a new one.

          John was absolutely furious when he came home to find out we had no heat because I’d called the gas company. He told me he was aware of what was wrong and was “taking care of it.” When flames are climbing up the outside of the furnace, how can you be “taking care of it?” I was absolutely amazed at how angry he was, especially since I needed warmth since I had to stay at home. And it wasn't like we couldn't afford a new furnace. I thought we were really lucky the house hadn't burned down. 

          Since John had a project, he was working on, and since he was hugely pissed, he told me it was up to me to take care of the problem. What did I know about furnaces? Absolutely nothing. So, I called around and found a company that could give us a new furnace that week (the one that died was installed when the house was built in 1963). I opted to go for the electronic filter. I’d heard about them and it sounded like it would be perfect because it would eliminate a lot of dust. It cost extra.

          Meanwhile, it’s January and it’s cold. John remained furious and finally brought a couple of electric heaters home on Wednesday. I was pretty cold by then. I was also pretty pissed at his attitude because, after all, I was sick and should be taken care of...you know, "...in sickness and in health." I arranged for the new furnace to be installed on Thursday at 9:00 am.

          On Thursday, the furnace installer arrived at 8:15 am, and John quite rudely informed him he’d have to come back at the scheduled time of 9:00 am because he (John) wasn’t ready to leave home yet. I was positive John’s rudeness would cause the installer to not return that morning or to come back and install the furnace incorrectly.

          Fortunately, the man returned at 9:00 am and I apologized on my husband’s behalf. He took out the old one and installed the new furnace. By the end of the day, we had heat flowing through all the vents. I was very happy about that.

          Unfortunately, the electronic filter wasn’t a good choice. Every time something hit the wires, there was a noise like you heard with those bug zappers. It wasn’t long before John disconnected the electronic part…money down the drain, really, or would that be out the vent?

          I have no idea how often John cleaned the filters in the furnace. I wasn’t around when or if he did it. Eventually, a new thermostat was installed (by my HVAC son) that now flashes red when there’s a problem or the filter needs cleaning. I think it was the year after John died that AJ showed me how to remove the filter in order to clean it.

          There are actually four pieces to the filter. I take off the furnace front and remove the front large piece and then remove the back large piece. Then, I remove the two small metal screens which are the ones that are coated with yukky stuff. I don’t remember who told me I should put them in the dishwasher in order to clean them, but that’s what I do. It works really well and once they’ve cooled off and are dry, I can then reinstall.

Once that’s all done, it will be time to tell the thermostat I’ve cleaned the filter. What I wonder is if it is smart enough to tell me the filters need cleaning, why can’t it figure out the filters are clean? Instead, I have to go into the thermostat and confirm I’ve done my job.

The dishwasher just beeped that it’s done its job and the dishes are clean. I’ve opened the door and while everything cools off, I guess I’ll begin dismantling that electronic filter. I’ll feel accomplished once the filter is clean and back inside the furnace. Still, it’s just another one of those jobs I’d be happy to not have to do, but that’s the way it is when it’s just me, myself and I (and Kuma, but he has no cleaning skills) living the good life.