Think about Your High Efficiency Furnace while Raking Leaves

What do raking leaves and taking care of your high efficiency furnace have to do with each other?  It may seem like nothing.  However, during the fall it is important to think about your high efficiency when clearing your leaves off of your lawn.

There are two reasons to rake leaves:

1. For a pretty, nice looking lawn

2. To protect your lawn

For whatever reason you choose to get rid of the fallen leaves in your yard, know that there are many tips and tricks when it comes to leaf removal.

For example, Organic Life suggests, “Always rake with the wind, and rake downhill whenever possible.”

Popular Mechanics offers, “Clear your pathways and high-traffic areas of leaves on an ongoing basis, but don’t bother raking your whole yard until all the leaves are down.”

Also, Popular Mechanics reminds us to rake when it is dry out, “Wet leaves are heavier than dry ones, so try to do your raking during a dry stretch of weather.”

At FLAME, we would like to add another tip:

If your home has a high efficiency furnace (90% AFUE or above), keep leaves away from the PVC intake and outtake pipes on the side of your home.  These pipes are usually located fairly low to the ground, and during the fall, leaves can accidentally be raked or blown into them.  When they become clogged with things such as leaves, it causes the furnace to malfunction.  If you notice your high efficiency furnace having some trouble this fall, check to see if those pipes are blocked by leaves or anything else.

As you can see, it’s not so crazy to think about your high efficiency furnace when pulling out your rake or leaf blower.  In fact, thinking about where your leaves end up, could save you a lot of hassle in the long run.  For more information about taking care of your high efficiency furnace, contact FLAME!