When they told me that my entire family and I would die, they got my attention.
Believe it or not, that was a sales pitch. The owner of a local heating and air-conditioning company that has been in business for more than 30 years told me and my wife that we could die if we did not replace our furnace, which he offered to do for $2,300. He told us this not once but three times in the course of a four-month period. It happened to us; it could happen to you.Fumes leaking into your house from a gas furnace can be lethal. It is a serious problem and absolutely warrants immediate attention. But remember, the seriousness and immediacy of that threat is what scam artists prey on.
The heating company people were very convincing, even after we knew that we had no "cracks" in our furnace's heat exchanger cells - they were weld marks - and there were no fumes leaking into the house.
Our problem began when our gas furnace could not be restarted after we shut it down during a warm spell. It appeared to be a minor problem.
It was a Sears furnace, under warranty with a Sears service contract. But when we called, Sears' repair service was backed up. We then called an "established" local firm to get our heat turned back on. Enter the threats to our lives - buy a new furnace or you may die.
Even though we already had been using the heating system in our tightly sealed house, we had none of the symptoms associated with carbon monoxide poisoning. We were not sleepy or nauseated and we had no headaches. We were suspicious. We then called Sears again. This time we made the dispatcher fully understand that this potentially was a life-threatening product liability problem.
Sears reacted immediately and gave us an emergency call. Ultimately the repair was minor and would have cost us about $80 but cost us nothing because we had a service contract. And, because the local firm was insistent about their strange claim, Sears made three separate inspections to reassure us. They even sent out a supervisor who not only knew the type of furnace we had but also had maintained the furnace for the previous owners of our home. Sears was great; their customer service was the antithesis of the characters we stumbled into.
Just to be on the safe side, we called yet another heating firm, Ravinia Plumbing. They had served us well when we lived in our previous home. They sent a man out who concurred with Sears - no carbon monoxide leak, no problem.
If you are told that you have a furnace leak in your home, don't panic and don't buy too quickly. If you do, you may be had. You should act quickly. This is what experts recommend:
- Get the sniffer. Call your local gas company immediately and tell them that you believe that your furnace may have a carbon monoxide leak. They will quickly send someone to test your furnace and the air.
"There is no charge; it's part of the public responsibility of a public utility," said E. Ruffin, customer service representative for People's Gas of Illinois. "Normally we would respond in one hour, or less, from when you call."
- Check warranties. If you do not know, or do not have the documents, call the firm that manufactured and installed the furnace. They will have the records.
In our case, we were "completely covered. If there were cracks in the heat exchanger, Sears would have replaced the whole thing at no charge," said Joel Zink, our inspecting Sears supervisor. The local boys never suggested that we check our warranties and service contracts. They would rather take our money.
- A second opinion. If someone is rushing you to buy, get a second or a third opinion. Ask questions while they are inspecting: What you learn could save you money.
- The smell. It is true that carbon monoxide is odorless, but some of the other materials that burn with it are not. For example, you can smell auto exhaust, which contains carbon monoxide.
"After years of experience I can usually tell if there are fumes leaking into a home the moment I walk in. There is a sort of heavy sweet smell," said Zink. "Lack of the smell does not mean that there is no problem, but you can usually tell."
- The symptoms. Key warnings that your family is getting gassed by your furnace will be drowsiness, headaches and nausea. The leak may only be in one part of your home and may affect only one member of your family, or it may affect everyone - you cannot tell.
If you have any of those symptoms, open your windows and cut your furnace back as low as possible - before you finish this article. Then leave. Call a repairman from your neighbor's house. Ultimately we may never know if the local heating company and its staff were fraudulent or grossly incompetent. But we will let the facts speak for themselves: The firm made three separate "inspections" and had been in business for decades.
Reader questions will be answered and may appear in this column, when mailed to Gary S. Meyers at 308 W. Erie, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60610