When And How To Service Your Gas Heating Appliances

Late Fall: time to cover the outdoor grill, in most of the country. It’s also a great time to have the barbeque serviced, so it will be ready to go next Spring.

It’s also time to think about your fireplace insert or gas stove. If you’re planning to be indoors for the next few months, you’ll want to make sure that your indoor hearth is as safe and clean as possible.

Gas fires burn cleaner than wood, which emits polluting smoke and lots of greenhouse gases. One sign of the difference is that gas stove chimneys typically do not require cleaning as long as the burner is correctly adjusted, while wood fire chimneys should be checked annually for soot and creosote buildup that can cause chimney fires. So your chimney should be fine – as long as your gas fire is operating properly.

A gas fire or other hearth appliance can provide a beautiful and warming focal point to a living room or bedroom. But as the price of fuel continues to increase, you’ll want to be sure that your gas fire is delivering all the heat you paid for. This is not a DIY project. Whether your fireplace or stove burns natural gas or propane, it’s a precision instrument that requires special tools and factory training from the manufacturer to make sure that it is burning fuel cleanly and efficiently.

The safety of your family and home are at stake, so don’t put them at risk by playing with fire: hire a qualified service person. Hiring an NFI Certified Chimney Sweep is the best route to go to ensure effective maintenance and your own safety.

Only a select few retailers have NFI Certified Specialist on staff. The National Fireplace Institute is a non-profit agency that operates independently of manufacturers to create standards for certification of installers, designers and service technicians. NFI certification is your assurance that the person working on your gas heating appliance has passed a rigorous exam. You should also ask about factory training by the manufacturer, since every make and model of gas heater is a little different.