Furnaces should be inspected at least once per year. However, anytime a furnace or boiler is being serviced or repaired, a safety inspection should be done to ensure the safety of the home and to check for carbon monoxide leakage.
Contractors who conduct heating equipment inspections have specific guidelines and code that must be followed for the safety of the home, as recommended by the State of Minnesota, the International Fuel Gas Code and the American Gas Association.
Contractors who are called out to service heating equipment, either as part of a tune-up procedure or a during a repair, must conduct a safety inspection on the heating equipment. The State of Minnesota and the International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC) recommends that as part of a safety inspection:
If the contractor finds fault during the safety inspection, the contractor is required to leave the unsafe equipment temporarily disabled as per the recommendations of the IFGC, the State of Minnesota and the American Gas Association (AGA), by turning off the electrical power and gas to the equipment until the equipment is repair or replaced.
Note: It is never ok to leave a heating system running with a safety failure, even for a short period of time.
The steps below are recommended to help contractors build trust the homeowners, but are not required by code. These steps include:
It is important that contractors and homeowners alike are educated on proper inspection guidelines to ensure procedures are followed correctly. To learn more about these guidelines set forth by safety codes, visit References for detailed resources, guides and fact sheets.