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Heating · MaintenanceFurnace Tune-Up & Annual Maintenance
A furnace tune-up is a 45–90 minute service visit where a licensed technician cleans, tests and measures the furnace — combustion, ignition, airflow and safety controls — so it starts clean in October and is far less likely to quit in the first −15°C week of January. Standalone tune-ups run $120–$250.
The point of annual furnace maintenance is the measurements, not the vacuuming. We read the flame sensor in microamps, put a combustion analyzer in the flue to check CO and oxygen, measure temperature rise across the heat exchanger and check static pressure at the blower. Those four numbers tell us whether the furnace is healthy, drifting or about to fail — a visual once-over tells you none of that.
Condensing furnaces have one maintenance item the old mid-efficiency units never had: the condensate trap. Every 96% furnace makes litres of acidic water a day in winter, and the trap and drain line fill with a grey sludge that eventually backs up far enough to hold the pressure switch open and shut the furnace down. It is one of the most common no-heat calls we get from the 2000s+ builds in Alton Village and Waterdown, and a tune-up clears it in ten minutes. Left alone it becomes a $150–$450 repair in the coldest week of the year.
Timing matters more than most people think. Late September to mid-October, before the first lake-effect cold snap off Lake Ontario, is when the schedule still has room and a tune-up in Roseland, Tyandaga or Bronte can be booked for a day that suits you. By mid-November the board is no-heat calls, and a tune-up waits. Our note on when to book pre-winter HVAC maintenance explains the seasonal queue.
If you would rather not remember to call, a maintenance plan bundles the fall furnace visit with a spring AC tune-up for $150–$350 per year and puts you at the front of the line when something does fail. Book a standalone tune-up through our contact page or by phone.
What a proper tune-up includes
- Combustion analysis in the flue: CO, oxygen and flue temperature, recorded on your invoice
- Flame sensor cleaned and its microamp signal measured against the manufacturer's minimum
- Burners, igniter, inducer motor and pressure-switch hoses inspected and tested
- Condensate trap and drain flushed, filter checked, blower wheel and temperature rise checked
- Gas pressure verified at the valve, venting and combustion air checked, a full thermostat cycle run
How it works
Fall slots fill from mid-September. Tell us the furnace age and brand and we bring the right filter and the common parts.
The technician runs the furnace through a full cycle, cleans and tests each component, and records the readings.
You get the numbers, what they mean, and whether anything should be fixed now, watched, or left alone.
Brands: We maintain every major furnace brand — Lennox, Carrier, Trane, Goodman, Rheem, Daikin, York, Amana, KeepRite and Napoleon — regardless of who installed it.
Common questions
Is a furnace tune-up really necessary every year?
For a gas furnace in a six-month Ontario heating season, yes. Flame sensors coat over, condensate traps clog and heat exchangers can crack without any visible sign; annual service is where all three get caught early. Some manufacturers' warranty terms also call for documented annual maintenance. How often to service a furnace in Ontario lays out the reasoning.
What does a tune-up include that I cannot do myself?
You can change the filter and keep the area clear. What you cannot do without instruments is measure combustion, gas pressure, flame signal and temperature rise, or safely inspect the heat exchanger. Our answer on what's included in a furnace tune-up lists the full checklist.
Will you try to sell me a new furnace?
No. A tune-up is a service visit, not a sales visit. If we find a cracked heat exchanger or a failing inducer on a 20-year-old unit we will say so in writing and give you the repair and replacement numbers side by side, but the decision is yours and there is no follow-up pitch.
Do you tune up furnaces in Hamilton and Oakville, or just Burlington?
All three, plus Waterdown, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek and Milton. We work out of North Service Road in Burlington, so most of Halton and Hamilton is a short drive via the QEW or the 403.
Can a tune-up find carbon monoxide problems?
Yes. The combustion analyzer reads CO in the flue gas, and we inspect the heat exchanger and venting for the cracks and disconnections that let it into the house. If the readings are unsafe we shut the furnace down and explain why. Ontario's fire code, amended under the Hawkins-Gignac Act, requires a working CO alarm next to the sleeping areas of any home with a fuel-burning appliance, so we check yours while we are in the house — see can my furnace leak carbon monoxide.