I was working on a furnace last week, and the owner of the house sat on the steps watching me the entire time.
He kept telling me, on the double, like he was a staff sergeant working with his new recruits. I wanted to tell him to stuff his ‘on the double’, but I was the HVAC technician and he was paying me. I was sure that if I said something to him, he would call the HVAC company and I would be in a lot of trouble. I held my temper and continued working on the furnace. When I checked the air filter, I almost laughed out loud. I asked the owner when he last changed the air filter in the furnace? He looked taken aback and told me he changed it regularly. I showed him the air filter and said I thought it was time to have the ductwork cleaned if there was this much dirt in a month. It was a laugh out loud moment when he said he changed it regularly, but he didn’t say they changed the air filter monthly. It was just three people in the house, and he didn’t think it was necessary to change the air filter once a month. I still thought it would be a good idea if we were to call the HVAC company and have the ductwork cleaned. Even if he had the air filter changed every six weeks, there shouldn’t be this much dirt in the air filter. He agreed with me and headed upstairs to make the call to the HVAC company.