My Furnace Was Just Red Tagged. Now What Do I Do?

It is no secret that furnace repairs or replacement can be a major expense. However, a second opinion may save you thousands of dollars, and reassure you that you are making the right decision for your family’s home comfort and safety. Our certified technicians will arrive quickly, and even bring heaters to ensure your warmth and comfort while we inspect your furnace and confirm the information listed on your warning notice.

At Reliable Home Environment, our customers are our friends and neighbours. Top rated and trusted in Ottawa, we want you to feel fully informed so that you can make the right decisions for your home and your family’s comfort.

A warning tag, commonly known as a “red tag” may be applied to your furnace or any other gas appliance in your home. Essentially it is an official notice alerting you, the homeowner, and anyone who might work with the furnace that it is unsafe and may present a hazard.

By law, if a licensed gas technician finds a gas appliance in unacceptable condition, they are required to red tag it. The technician’s license is at risk if they fail to do so.  However, a second opinion may determine that the appliance’s condition is not so unacceptable. That’s right. It may come down to a judgement call. If you have any doubts about the technician’s determination, you may want to bring in a second opinion. Perhaps your furnace was recently serviced, or you feel that the technician did not do a thorough combustion analysis. These are perfectly valid reasons to question the technician’s assessment.

In most cases, the technician inspecting your furnace is fully accredited by the TSSA (Technical Standards & Safety Authority) and is well trained to make the best decision when applying a warning tag to your furnace. However, there are some less-than-reputable operators out there who engage in nefarious practices. They may even hire less scrupulous technicians who may be motivated by sales incentives. Some of these companies have unusually high ratios of condemning furnaces. Surely, these cases are few and far between, but they do happen. Therefore, we recommend that you enlist a second opinion if your furnace has been red tagged.

In the province of Ontario, a warning tag will reflect one of two categories, Type A and Type B.

• A Type A warning tag indicates that the appliance or related work presents an immediately hazardous situation. The gas supply to the furnace will be disconnected right away, and a notice of the warning sent to the gas company. The furnace may not be operated until the problem is rectified and the situation deemed safe again. In this situation, your safety is a legitimate concern, as some serious furnace problems may cause deadly carbon monoxide to spread throughout your home.
• A Type B warning tag may indicate that the furnace is in unacceptable condition, however, it does not present an immediate safety hazard. The situation must be corrected before the expiry date noted on the tag, or the gas to the appliance will be disconnected. These issues are a little less serious, but still must be addressed in a timely manner.

If your furnace has been red tagged, put your mind at ease by calling Reliable Home Environment for a second opinion.