Regular maintenance of your appliances allows them to run at optimal performance and extends the life of your appliances. Here are a few maintenance tips for the three most commonly used appliances; boilers, warm air furnaces and hot water heaters. You'll find maintenance items which must be carried out by a qualified technician as well as others which you can carry out yourself.

Boiler 

Maintenance by Qualified Person

• Annual maintenance of your boiler is strongly recommended for the proper operation and efficiency of your equipment. Such work should be carried out by qualified technicians. Gaz Métro Plus , or a Gaz Métro Authorized Partner , has maintenance plans for you.
   
• Annual maintenance includes water and air level checks, combustion chamber maintenance, water drainage (if necessary), conduit leak checks, combustion efficiency measurements, etc.

Maintenance by Owner

• Make sure your boiler is set to the minimum temperature required for the heat distribution system and meets your needs and final uses.
   
• Check pumps and valves to detect any water leak.
   
• Look for boiler wall and hot water distribution pipe hot points that identify insulation gaps. Remember, if it's too hot to handle, you're losing heat.

Warm Air Furnace

Maintenance by Qualified Person

• Annual maintenance of your warm air furnace is strongly recommended to ensure both its proper operation and efficiency. This is especially the case for new intermediate or high efficiency models whose electronic controls and safety devices should be checked regularly. Such work should be carried out by qualified technicians. Gaz Métro Plus , or a Gaz Métro Authorized Partner , has maintenance plans for you.
   
• Have the exhaust shaft (chimney) checked occasionally from the inside and from the outside, to detect any signs of deterioration due to condensation or corrosion. If you have a high performance condensing system, make sure the technician checks the gas exhaust pipe to ensure it follows an upright slope and the end is not obstructed.

Maintenance by Owner

• Remove any obstacles in conduits, registers and cold air return registers so that the air can circulate freely throughout the network.

Water heater

• Adopt a regular maintenance plan for your equipment.
   
• Insulate your hot water pipes, especially those that run through unheated areas, with urethane or fibreglass tubes to reduce heat loss.
   
• Repair leaky water faucets and install aerators.
  
• Have the water heater drained once a year. This will eliminate deposits at the bottom of the tank and save you replacement and repair as well as energy consumption costs.