Artist Doug Weaver (@dougweaverart) had a single furnace maintenance tip for his TikTok followers that he swore could save them thousands of dollars.
The scoop
"Do this right now, you will thank yourself later," Doug says. He goes on to turn off the power to his furnace and remove the cover. From there, he tells viewers to take a picture of the inside and order one of every part that was under $20.
@dougweaverart The furnace always breaks on the coldest day of the winter, and if the technician happens to have the parts to fix it, you will pay at least ten times what they are worth! #homeowner #hvac #diy #thisoldhouse #maintenance ♬ original sound - dougweaverart
This is helpful for saving time on repairs when they need to be done quickly and allows homeowners to skip contractors by making fixes themselves. Even when contractors are involved, having the parts on hand can save money.
"It's important to have them break down what the costs are before they know that you have the part," Doug warned. This is because contractors will typically increase costs on parts rather than labor.
How it's helping
Gas appliances pose a range of health and safety threats during normal day-to-day usage, and having one malfunction only increases those risks. Being able to address those problems quickly helps to save money on technician costs, if nothing else.
If you're looking for a cheaper, more reliable, cleaner way to heat your home, consider upgrading to a heat pump. They cut down on much of the maintenance hassle of gas furnaces while working equally well for heating and cooling. Check out The Cool Down's HVAC Explorer to find the right heat pump for you. Once it's all set up, a heat pump can save you up to $10,000 in energy costs.
What everyone's saying
Doug's followers were thankful for his forward-thinking advice on furnace maintenance. Even the professionals weighed in on the practice of buying furnace parts in advance.
"You are a lifesaver," said one community member. "I literally have a call scheduled because our furnace is acting just a liiiiittle wonky. But now, that service call is gonna wait (at least a day or two more)."
"As an HVAC tech my only thing to add to this is double verify those serial numbers when shopping for parts online," replied another. "I've had customers do this thinking they have the right part and it's not. Just cause it's the top result on Google doesn't mean it's right. Also check the model & serial of the unit itself and verify on either the install manual or owners manual."
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