5 Tips for a Safer Service Call During COVID-19

You’re doing the things you need to keep you and your family safe during COVID-19, but what happens if your furnace stops running or your water heater starts leaking? A technician will need to come to your home for a service call, so you want to make sure that the company you call has taken all the necessary precautions to keep you and your family safe during that service call.

Here are 5 things that your HVAC service providers should be doing to make sure your safety is their top priority when making a service call.

Virtual consultation

Your service provider should be doing as much of the pre-service consultation as possible, virtually, before they arrive. For example, discuss the details of the service request on the phone or by email, and send pictures ahead of time. LG Home Comfort, offers virtual assessments to cut down on the need for doing a pre-inspection in your home. Discuss any COVID-19 precautions the service provider is taking, including the use of masks for the duration of the service visit and any pre-screening procedures (such as temperature checks). 

Technician screening

Your HVAC service provider values their staff as well, and part of that is making sure their technicians are healthy and safe to go on service calls. A good company will make sure that their technicians have daily check-ins prior to working to make sure that if they do not feel well, they stay home. For your safety as a customer, Your HVAC service provider should be doing daily temperature-checks on every technician before they go on a job. HVAC maintenance is necessary for keeping you healthy, and you want to make sure your contractor is taking the same precautions to reduce exposure.

Entering your home

According to new Health Canada guidelines, HVAC technicians entering your residence must adhere to the safety standards as prescribed by Health Canada, specifically: 

• Maintaining social distancing of two meters
• Regular and thorough hand washing
• Disinfecting surfaces prior to and after making contact with them and additional disinfecting and cleaning of fleet vehicles
• Wearing protective personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, shoe coverings) while on-site

Your technician should adhere to a “hands-free” approach during a service call to reduce as much contact as possible between themselves and their customers. As much as we like to be friendly, you should expect that your technician will not be shaking hands or engaging in long conversations with you.

While in your home, the technician should be wiping down whatever they touch, whether a thermostat or other types of equipment. A good HVAC service provider has their technicians do a regular cleansing of their equipment, including their work vehicle. Frequent hand-washing has become a way of life now for you and your family, so you should expect the same from your technician.

Although gloves are mandatory for any technician, in some cases, specifically when working on small parts, they may have to remove them. A good technician will have sanitizer at hand, to keep you and themselves safe at all times.

Related Article: The Benefits of Air Purifiers During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Touch-free transaction

Request a touch-free transaction. Your HVAC service provider should offer an electronic or touch-free option to signing off and paying for the service call. Ask in advance whether documentation and sign-off can be done without exchanging paper or using a pen. Again, the goal is having as little physical contact with your technician as possible.

Consider your health

Your HVAC service provider is doing everything they can to keep you healthy, so you should do the same. If you’ve got an upcoming HVAC repair scheduled, and you suddenly are sick, reschedule. It may be inconvenient, but it is important that the health and safety of technicians must also be preserved.

HVAC technicians also will make an on-site assessment when they first arrive. According the According to the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI), HVAC technicians will ask and should be made aware if anyone in the residence:

• Has been travelling out of the country within the last two weeks
• Has been ill or is currently feeling ill and showing symptoms
• Has been in contact with anyone who has been (or suspects they may have been) exposed to COVID-19

Based on the information provided, it is possible that HVAC technicians may determine that it is unsafe to enter the residence or that extra precautions may have to be taken.

Your Comfort

Ultimately, you have to feel comfortable with a technician coming into your home. With proper social distancing and with the necessary precautions, you should feel assured that your HVAC service provider is putting your safety as their top priority and will do everything they can to make sure you feel at ease.

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Regular maintenance ensures there are no problems with your furnace and that it is running smoothly. Avoid heating unit repairs by contacting LG Home Comfort to know more about how to maintain your furnace and heating unit and save you money.