A furnace is excellent to have around when cold days arrive in winter. This appliance will keep you warm easily, ensuring you feel cozy and warm. However, homeowners often complain that their furnaces may start producing way too loud noises that are pretty irritating!
So what shall you do to stop your furnace blower motor noise?
This article will share a few handy tips with you on this subject. You will learn what tricks can help you with the furnace blower noise reduction and keeping your furnace quiet.
In addition, we will tell you what kind of noises you may hear from the appliance. Like this, you will know for sure when there is no reason for worries.
How to Make Your Furnace Quieter. DIY Methods and Life Hacks?
If you have a noisy furnace blower, it can become a problem for the whole household. A noisy furnace sounds irritating, plus the noise it is making often disturbs the dwellers, making it hard for them to fall asleep or rest, for example.
So how to make your noisy furnace quiet?
The easiest way to fix your loud furnace blower is usually to have a professional inspect it for issues. This check will allow you to ensure that there’s nothing mechanically wrong with your furnace.
If no problems are found, and the unit is working correctly right now, you can search for some simple DIY soundproofing tricks, and life hacks to keep it quiet.
Below, you can check out a few ideas for bringing down the noise from your furnace unit while still enjoying the warmth it gives.
- Try filling the gaps in the ducts with a soundproofing sealant. Just make sure it’s suitable for being used on furnaces and is heat resistant!
- Clean the filters regularly
- Check any unit parts that might need to be tightened or repaired. If you can’t fix them, have an expert do that for you.
- See if the air ducts of your unit need to be repaired or resized.
- Try using sound-blocking tools. A white noise machine or acoustic panels can help if you want to block some of the furnace noises while you sleep.
These are the simplest things you can do to keep your noisy furnace blower at least a bit quieter! However, in some cases, you might have to ask a specialist to give it check and fix the noisy parts.
Reasons For Your Furnace Blower Motor Making Noises
In the section above, we have explained what to do if you hear noises from your furnace. Here, you can find more information on this subject. In particular, we will explain what other reasons can make your furnace blower sound annoying and how it can be fixed.
With the help of this information, you will know what the reason for those sounds could be, and also be aware of the steps that should be taken to bring the sounds down and make your furnace work quieter.
Furnace Is Howling? Check Insulation!
If your furnace has damaged insulation, it may cause the howling noise. It happens because air flows through the insulation. If this is the case, you will need to replace the damaged parts of the insulation with new and suitable materials to prevent it from moving again.
As an option, for a quicker fix, use some insulation foam spray or expanding foam. They can become handy for fixing small crevices around your furnace fan blower.
Make Sure Motor Mounting Grommets Are Working Well
Sometimes, it can help you eliminate annoying noises from your furnace if you try replacing the motor mounting grommets. When they are worn out, it could be the cause of howling sounds coming from the blower.
Luckily, fixing or replacing the grommets is relatively quick and easy. You only need to make sure you shut off your furnace before you begin!
Try Attaching the Furnace to Support Beams
Although this is a more costly kind of fix, it can be highly effective. If your furnace has been howling and noisy for a while, this could have caused damage.
If that’s the case, you should try attaching the blower motor to support beams securely. It will ensure no movements make your furnace produce howling noises.
Check the Belts In the Blower
Loose fan belts can also make your furnace blower make noises (mostly clicking). It happens when the fan belt eventually starts fraying apart, develops cracks, and comes loose.
So, if you hear clicking sounds and/or harsh slapping and clanging from your furnace blower, it is almost always the sign of a loose belt. In this case, it must be repaired immediately.
Replace Fan Blades
Sometimes your furnace may become noisy due to malfunctioning blades. Typically, it happens when the blades become bent due to debris and dust. It happens if the air filter becomes clogged and debris/dust reaches the blades.
So, if you hear the noise of striking or clanging from the air handler, you should call for repairs immediately.
Clean the Fan
Your furnace may produce noises due to a noisy blower fan. Usually, it’s because the bearings of the motor need lubrication. Luckily, you can lubricate them yourself or ask someone to do it if you are unsure you’ll do it right.
Also, the reason for the howling sounds could be the wrong speed of the fan. E.g., if your furnace blower makes noises when it’s on medium, turn the speed down gradually to see at what point the furnace starts working quietly.
Loud Furnace Blower. When to Call For a Specialist?
Even if your furnace is not making any disturbing, annoying, or strange noises, it should receive an annual check-up from an HVAC specialist, just like any other heating unit in your home. Also, your furnace should have an automatic renewal scheduled in advance so it is continually inspected on time.
What furnace fan noises should make you feel worried?
Usually, you should call for an HVAC specialist if you hear any of these coming from your furnace:
- humming
- scraping
- rattling
Please keep in mind that a faulty furnace can be dangerous! If something in the unit furnace is not working or working improperly, the furnace can explode! In this case, you will not be able to avoid some severe damage anyway.
What Kind of Noises Your Furnace Can Make?
Having a noisy furnace fan is annoying because, typically, your furnace makes loud and monotonous sounds. However, if it’s just a sort of low humming, people don’t take it seriously and don’t think it’s scary. However, there are certain noises that can make you start feeling worried!
Below, we have listed some of the most common noises people can hear from their furnaces. Also, you can find an explanation of what each noise could mean. It will help you figure out the source of your furnace’s noises.
What Does Rattling Mean If You Hear It From Your Furnace?
If you hear a rattling sound inside the furnace, it can be coming from several parts inside the unit. But in most cases, it indicates that they simply vibrate while the unit is working.
However, sometimes a part may come loose or fall off entirely, so you should look inside and check it when the unit is turned off.
Why Your Furnace May Be Rumbling?
Sometimes a furnace may develop a loud rumbling sound. This often happens and might be caused by the burner or the fuel ignitor. Either way, it is a severe problem that should not be ignored! If you hear a noise like this coming from your furnace unit, you should call for an HVAC specialist to come immediately, as leaving it can cause an explosion or fire!
What Do Banging Noises Mean?
Your furnace may produce banging sounds (sometimes accompanied by a whistling or whooshing sound) due to a problem with vents, filters, and ducts. Most of these can be easily cleaned by yourself.
Once you are done cleaning, try it again to see if that helps. If cleaning didn’t work, the ducts might need to be replaced to those of a more suitable size.
What Is Humming About?
A loud humming sound can come from the fan, transformer, or capacitor, and it’s hard to know while looking at it while it’s turned off.
Thankfully, replacing either part is cheap, and you can easily clean the fan with good results, but it will likely take an experienced technician to determine what it is.
What Does It Mean When a Blower Motor Makes Scraping Noises?
If your furnace fan is making scraping noises that sound like metal scraping, know that this is often due to a part coming loose inside of the unit. This could be anything from the motor mount, a loose pulley to a wheel.
No matter what it is exactly, it should be inspected while the furnace is turned off. Replacing these parts is typically an easy thing to do, but if you are not sure where it’s coming from or are unsure you will manage to fix it, ask a professional to do it for you.
What Do Squealing Noises Mean?
The squealing blower fan noise usually comes from a loose belt that has come unstuck. If you hear this sound coming from your furnace, you should remove the belt and look at it to check if it has indeed come loose. This is usually easy to do.
If you are still determining whether you will manage or are unsure about the belt’s condition, call a pro for help. It may happen that squealing is coming from your unit because of a lack of lubricant.
This is a common issue if you have an older furnace. In this case, you will need to add lubricant yourself.
What Makes Your New Furnace Louder Than the Old One?
Sometimes, people notice that the new furnace unit is much noisier than the old one. Of course, it always becomes a point of concern. So here are a few reasons why your new unit might sound louder than its “ancestor.”
- You might have a smaller duct system built for your old furnace. As a result, all of the parts of the old furnace could have contributed to it working quieter.
- Your new furnace is noisier because it’s more efficient than your old unit. The sound that you are hearing could simply be more airflow!
Anyway, if the noises you hear sound way too odd to you, it’s always better to call for an HVAC specialist to come and check your new unit! At least, you will know for sure that everything is ok with it.
Now you know why your furnace blower fan might be making loud and annoying noises. You have learned what factors can result in a noisy furnace blower and what you should do in this case. As you are aware, a noisy furnace is not always dangerous!
However, it’s good to stay alert and act wisely. If you are absolutely sure the noise source is harmless and this can be easily fixed by yourself, do it. But if there is a chance that you are dealing with a potentially dangerous cause, call for an HVAC pro to come immediately!
Remember that your furnace can turn into a potentially dangerous thing if left unattended in case of any malfunction!
Conclusion
Now you know why your furnace blower fan might be making loud and annoying noises. You have learned what factors can result in a noisy furnace blower and what you should do in this case.
As you are aware, a noisy furnace is not always dangerous! However, it’s good to stay alert and act wisely. If you are absolutely sure the noise source is harmless, and this can be easily fixed by yourself, do it.
But if there is a chance that you are dealing with a potentially dangerous cause, call for an HVAC pro to come immediately! Remember that your furnace can turn into a potentially dangerous thing if left unattended in case of any malfunction!
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