Winter is nearly here in McHenry, and with it always comes frigid temperatures that can leave us bundling up with additional layers. Furnace service and more layers are typically reliable ways to keep warm on chilly days, but there are a number of other tips floating around out there that you could be trying that are simply making you colder, not warmer.
Common Myths:
- Hot drinks will make you warmer: while the first sensation of a hot drink can help you feel like you’re warm, your brain will sense that it needs to start cooling off your body, generating cooling mechanisms.
- Alcoholic drinks will warm you up: the reason we normally feel warm after a few cups of holiday cheer, it’s only your skin warming. Alcohol can actually lower your core temperature, making you colder. An efficient furnace, thanks to having annual furnace service done, is a more sound bet.
- Hot showers heat you up: similar to hot drinks, the heat of your shower is merely a fleeting feeling that goes away when the water is dried up and toweled off. That’s why opening the shower curtain is so difficult.
- Wearing only a hat will handle your warming needs: while there are a number of sources that say that a great deal of body heat is lost by your head, it’s critical to remember that any part of uncovered skin contributes to heat loss. Therefore, while it seems clear, if you’re only using a hat and not a coat or gloves, it’s more likely that lose body heat quicker.
So now that you know about a couple misunderstandings surrounding staying warm this winter, it’s not tough to realize the importance of something as simple as furnace service. Of course there are other ways to stay warm this winter besides furnace service, but there may not be many that have such a great impact on your daily comfort. Give Jett's Heating & Air Inc. a call at 815-410-1128 or schedule an appointment online to learn more about what furnace service can do for you in McHenry.