Now who would "forget" to shower. It's just silly to think anyone could just forget. No question someone would surely remind you after a few days once you got your funk on.

Cleaning your oil furnace and or water heater is no different. If you forget it will let you know after a while. No it won't become stinky; it will start to act temperamental. Shutting off secretly in the middle of the night and when you wake up in the morning, no heat!

The water heater will play the same nasty tricks on you. When you go into take your morning shower the water will be icy cold. That'll wake you up faster than a cup of strong coffee.

Oil fired appliances require yearly cleanings, but gas fire appliances also benefit from yearly tune ups. Not cleaning an oil fired appliance however will surely result in a unit that will not work properly. The unit will sputter and shut down constantly. No heat or hot water is no fun.

The service companies put stickers or hang tags on the unit to record when and what was done last. Inspectors love these tags, it can tell you quite a bit about the appliance. It can also tell the homeowner when it's time to call the service man.

It seems to me many homeowners aren't paying attention to those little reminders. The picture above shows that in this house the units had not been serviced in 6 years! Which would explain why the water heater and furnace would not run when I tested them both.

You would never forget to shower, but have you forgotten to clean your furnace?

James Quarello
NRSB #8SS0022
JRV Home Inspection Services, LLC

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