Most people don’t do any kind of maintenance on their heatings systems in Los Angeles during the summer months. Heck, most of us don’t even remember we have one in July, when the average temperature is like 90 degrees. But come December, boy, it sure can come in handy to have a working heater. And what do you have if you flick on the thermostat after 8 months of silence and absolutely nothing happens? An emergency, that’s what. But try googling “emergency furnace repair Los Angeles,” and you get 2,700 companies to choose from—and that’s just in Los Angles proper! How do you make sure you get the best deal, and don’t end up getting ripped off?
First of all, and most importantly, if you smell gas, LEAVE THE BUILDING IMMEDIATELY. Do not wait to call anyone, certainly DO NOT light any matches and try to light the pilot light, just leave as quickly as possible. You can call the furnace repairman from the neighbor’s house, if necessary. If you don’t smell any gas, but the furnace doesn’t light, check the switch (usually a blue or red switch located near the boiler). A second thing to try is that the circuit breaker or fuse is not blown, usually located with the rest of the house circuit breakers. If neither of these problems is apparent, a good idea is to check around with people you know, and see if any of them have had a particularly good experience with HVAC (that’s “heating/ventilation/air conditioning) repairmen that they could recommend.
