ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The stateline could have its first freeze over the weekend.
Some places in the stateline could see upper 20s Saturday morning. This is the time for residents to make sure that their furnace is good to go, before it is too late.
Thomas Howe, owner of Allen Heating & Cooling, said that right now is the perfect time to get furnace maintenance done, or even fixed.
“We’re getting a lot of calls from people who know that they need that maintenance done, or that the furnace didn’t work so good maybe at the end of last season,” Howe said. “So now they want to have it looked at to make sure it’s going to be running for them for this winter.”
Howe has been in the heating and cooling business for 17 years. He said that now is the best time to prepare for the winter months.
“It becomes critical to have the heat back on, otherwise you could [see] more issues pop up, like pipes freezing or other issues that come from the house getting too cold,” Howe said.
He said that it is important for residents to have their furnace cleaned and checked before December every year, as it should be done before it gets too cold. It could also be a good investment to get a digital thermostat so the furnace is not being constantly turned on and off.
“Where you are shutting it completely off at night but then trying to heat it back up to 75 in the morning, you’re really wasting more gas than saving gas,” Howe said.
Howe reminds everyone to change their furnace filters and to keep the temperature around 72 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night to save money.
“Hopefully everybody has their maintenance done so they have a trouble-free winter,” he said.
Another tip for residents is to get familiar with what their unit normally sound like when it is running. The first sign of trouble is when it makes a different noise.