Barbara J. Hamby

Routine Maintenance

Three years ago when I bought the used manufactured home we live in now, I was gratified to discover how many things had been replaced and were relatively new. Plumbing fixtures in the kitchen and both bathrooms, a drop in range and wall oven, windows, drapes, flooring and carpeting, the roof, and last but not least, the gas furnace which was then only four years old.

The furnace has operated perfectly since day one, so I hadn’t felt the need to have it serviced. However, this year the company who installed it called and suggested I should have it checked out to the tune of $100. plus. Since it is a gas furnace and I’ve never had gas before, I reluctantly agreed. Yesterday the service man came and looked over the furnace and central air conditioner thoroughly. He had warmed the house up considerably testing the furnace, so he ran the air conditioning long enough to cool it off. Our weather has been unseasonably warm. I paid him and he left.

This morning the temperature in the house had dropped to the 60 degree level where we set the thermostat over night. We cranked it up to 70 degrees and nothing happened. I called and reported that fact to the service organization After three phone calls from their office, a service representative was reportedly on the way. When he arrived, he found a wire that had caught on something and pulled loose after it had been tested and put back in place. He repaired it, turned on the furnace, and remarked: “I keep telling those guys to always have the furnace running when they leave.”

I have a year to decide whether to have it checked again.