Do-It-Yourself Checklist

• When buying a home or a heating system, make sure you receive the system's maintenance and operating manual. Keep it in a safe place for future reference.
• Have your heating system serviced by a qualified contractor at least once a year.
• On boiler heating systems, ask your heating contractor to examine and clean the boiler flue passages. In some cases the boiler or boiler vent may need to be partially dismantled to see the top part of the fin tubes or flue passages. Plugged boiler flue passages can result in the release of CO.
• Examine the heating system occasionally for signs of deterioration, such as water stains, corrosion or leakage. In forced-air systems, clean the furnace air filters frequently - at least twice a heating season.
• Make sure warm-air outlets and cold-air returns are not covered by carpets or blocked by debris.
• Keep the area around the furnace free from dust, lint, rags, paint, drain cleaners and other materials or chemicals that could catch fire or explode if they become too hot.
• Make sure walls, other obstructions or new renovations do not block the heating system's air supply.
• If the heating system stops working, check the electrical fuse, the switch and the thermostat, and then call a qualified heating contractor.
• Ask a heating contractor or building ventilation expert to check that your heating appliances will not be starved for combustion air if:
  1. You install an attic fan, a wood fireplace or other device that exhausts large amounts of air or;
  2. If you seal your house tightly to save energy
• Keep bleaches, paints, paint strippers, varnishes and water softeners away from the heating system.
• If snow or ice covers your outdoor regulator, contact your fuel supplier. Be sure to repair a defective or leaking eaves trough.

Under no circumstances should unqualified people tamper with heating systems. If you have questions or concerns, contact a qualified Heating Contractor, or call TSSA at (416)734-3300 or 1-877-682-TSSA(8772).