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Tip to help keep homes warm: Keep furnace running

PITTSBURGH — With temperatures reaching dangerously low levels, experts say it’s more important than ever to keep your furnace running.

Channel 11’s Renee Kaminski has compiled a list of simple steps to help keep homes warm.

According to the professionals at Climatech, step No. 1 would be to check your air filter, which is located on the return of the furnace.

“You’re going to want to take a close look at that to make sure it’s not plugged up with dirt because what that’s going to do is keep the furnace from running at full capacity,” said a Climatech employee

Kaminski reported most home furnaces are designed to handle temperatures as low as zero, but with wind chills running well below that for the next day or so, furnaces will work hard to keep up.

Another piece of advice is to seal off drafty areas. That will help your furnace do its job.

“The older the house and older the windows, the more draft you’re going to see. A suggestion would be to drop some old rugs or towels along the bottom of the window to keep cold from coming in the house,” said a Climatech employee.