How to Cope with a Broken Down Heater

The last thing any Oregon homeowner wants to face during the fall or winter is a broken down heater. Of course, this is a lot less likely to happen so long as you keep up on your heating maintenance appointments. Maintenance lets our trained professionals comprehensively inspect your entire system for potential problems, make any adjustments needed, and thoroughly clean the whole unit. If you’re behind on annual service, now is the perfect time to schedule your essential heating maintenance and avoid unexpected breakdowns in the future.

This helps the heater perform more efficiently and powerfully, plus it helps you avoid sudden and urgent emergencies.

Of course, if you’re reading this post there’s a good chance that you’ve already had a heating emergency occur. Be sure to give us a call! In the meantime, we don’t want you to be too chilly while you wait for your repair tech to arrive. Read on for some tips on how to cope.

Quick DIY Fixes to Weatherproof Your Home Without Heat

This may not even have to be makeshift if you have some caulking on hand. If you have drafty windows, grab that tube of caulking and apply it. You don’t have to do your whole house or anything. Pick the smallest room in your home, and hunker down in there for the time being.

Don’t have any caulking available? We get it: this isn’t something that’s really common in the average home. But you can still block off drafts! Grab some blankets, pillows, or even towels and use those to block drafty windows and doors.

Simple Ways to Keep Warm Using Body Heat

Okay, so maybe this sounds silly, but a fun way to stay warm and get your mind off your heater troubles for a bit is to get your body moving! Whether it’s dancing around the living room with your kids or finally taking the clothes off your treadmill and going for a run, there are a number of ways to get your body temperature up.

Heat Your Space While Cooking Safely

First off, we would never suggest that you use your oven or cooktop as your primary source of heating. This can end up being dangerous should you forget to turn it off. But if you have something to cook or bake anyway, get to it! This is a great, natural way to heat your home. While cooking can provide temporary warmth, it’s not a substitute for a safe and reliable heating system—if your unit is older or breaking down frequently, it may be time to consider whether you need a new heater in 2024.

Plus, so long as there aren’t any pets or small children in your home, you can leave your oven cracked open as it cools off so the heat dissipates into your home.

Generate Supplemental Heat with Incandescent Lights

This is not the most energy-efficient tip we’ve shared with our readers. In fact, it’s not an efficiency tip at all. After all, LED lighting has become more and more popular for good reason—it is energy efficient.

But we are talking about ways to stay warm for now. And if you have incandescent bulbs in your home still, that’s one way to do it. Switch out your lighting in a room or two with these bulbs, and turn on the lights. You’ll find that a decent amount of heat gets generated. While this tip may help in a pinch, a better long-term solution for consistent warmth is upgrading to an energy-efficient ductless heating system that can keep your home cozy even during the coldest nights.

For reliable heater repair in Cottage Grove, OR, look no further than Comfort Flow Heating! Contact us today.