Well, the weather is finally cooling down around here and so it’s almost time to turn on the furnace for the first time this year. I always make it a top priority to go downstairs to the furnace room to check everything out before I turn the thermostat over to heating. I learned the hard way a few years ago that there might be things lurking in your furnace system that you don’t really want there! Several years ago when the weather started cooling off in the fall, I decided that the temperature outside was cool enough to warrant my turning on the furnace. I went over to my thermostat unit in the hallway and clicked the switch which changes my HVAC system from air conditioning to heating, but then there was a terrible sound from the furnace room in the basement. This clunking sound was closely followed by some black smoke coming from the heating vents in the floor of the hallway. That’s when I realized that something was very wrong! I ran down to the furnace room in the basement and there was smoke everywhere. I turned on some fans and opened a window and eventually, I figured out what the problem was with the furnace. There was a big rats’ nest built in my electric furnace and I guess whenever I turned it on for the first time that year, I incinerated them. It was disgusting. Now, every year, I make sure to check out the furnace thoroughly before I turn the heating system on for the first time!