Furnace out or AC down? Sioux City heating & cooling help, free to call.

Call (555) 010-0142
Call
Call (555) 010-0142

Safety first, then warmth, then repair. Work down this page in order, and when the house is safe, call HVAC Sioux City to get the heat back on.

House buried in snow at dusk during a no heat emergency in Sioux City

First: is anyone in danger?

In any no heat emergency in Sioux City, two situations come before any furnace repair. If either applies, stop reading after this section and act.

You smell gas (rotten eggs)

  1. Get everyone out of the house now. Leave the door open behind you.
  2. Don’t flip light switches, use the thermostat, start a car in an attached garage, or light anything.
  3. Once outside and away from the house, call the gas utility’s emergency line or 911.
  4. Don’t go back in until the utility or fire department says it’s safe.

A carbon monoxide alarm is sounding

  1. Get everyone, and pets, outside into fresh air right away.
  2. Call 911 from outside. Mention if anyone has a headache, dizziness or nausea.
  3. Don’t go back in to open windows or turn things off.
  4. After responders clear the house, have the furnace, boiler, water heater and venting checked before using them again.

Once the utility or fire department has made the house safe, call us and we’ll get a heating technician out to find and fix the cause. Call (555) 010-0142

No heat emergency in Sioux City: the first hour

No gas smell and no alarm? Good: this is a repair problem, not a safety emergency. Here’s the order that makes sense when it’s dark and cold:

  1. Minute 1 to 5: check the thermostat (Heat mode, set above room temperature, screen on), the furnace switch and the breaker.
  2. Minute 5 to 10: check the filter and the furnace door panel. On a high efficiency furnace, clear snow from the two plastic pipes outside.
  3. Minute 10: look for a blinking light on the furnace control board and write the pattern down.
  4. Minute 15: still no heat? Call us. Tell us what you checked and what you saw.
  5. While you wait: protect the pipes and keep everyone warm (below).

Calls about a no heat emergency in Sioux City peak on the coldest nights, so call as soon as the quick checks fail. For more on what’s going on inside the furnace, see no heat repair and furnace repair.

Call (555) 010-0142
Checking a thermostat after the heat stopped working

Keeping pipes from freezing

In a Sioux City cold snap, a no heat emergency is really a race against the pipes. A house without heat can get cold enough for pipes to freeze, and pipes in outside walls, crawl spaces and over unheated garages go first.

  • Open cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks on outside walls.
  • Let those faucets drip, hot and cold, a pencil thin stream.
  • Close the garage door.
  • Keep interior doors open so whatever warmth there is spreads.
  • Know where your main water shutoff valve is: usually where the water line enters the basement.

If a pipe freezes or bursts

A faucet that only trickles, or a pipe with frost on it, is frozen. Open the faucet and warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer or warm towels, working from the faucet back. Never use a torch or open flame.

If a pipe has split and water is spraying, shut off the main water valve immediately and call a plumber. Keep water away from the furnace and electrical panel.

Leaving town in winter? Never shut the heat off. Leave it set in the mid 50s, and ask someone to check the house if a cold snap is coming.

Staying warm safely while you wait

Most house fires and carbon monoxide poisonings during cold snaps come from improvised heating. Keep it simple and safe:

  • Gather everyone in one room, ideally on the sunny or interior side of the house, and close the door.
  • Electric space heaters: three feet from anything that can burn, plugged directly into the wall, never into an extension cord or power strip, and off when you sleep or leave the room.
  • Layer up: hats, blankets, sleeping bags. Keep babies and older adults warmest.
  • Close blinds and curtains after dark; open them on sunny days.

Never do these

  • Heat the house with a gas oven or stovetop.
  • Bring a charcoal or gas grill, camp stove or propane heater meant for outdoors inside.
  • Run a generator in the house, basement or attached garage, or near a window.
  • Leave candles burning unattended.
Parent and child bundled under a blanket in a warm room

Power outage in a winter storm

Ice storms and blizzards can knock out power, and with it your heat: gas furnaces and boilers need electricity to run. If the whole street is dark, the problem isn’t your furnace. Report the outage to your electric utility, follow the pipe and warmth steps above, and keep an eye on the forecast from the National Weather Service.

When power comes back, the furnace should restart on its own. If it doesn’t, turn its switch off for thirty seconds and back on. Still nothing, or a breaker trips, call us.

Carbon monoxide: prevention

Carbon monoxide is invisible and has no smell. Any fuel burning appliance (furnace, boiler, water heater, gas range, fireplace) can produce it if something goes wrong with combustion or venting.

  • Install CO alarms on every level and outside each sleeping area.
  • Test them monthly; replace them when they reach the age the manufacturer lists.
  • Have fuel burning heating equipment checked every year with a tune up.
  • Keep outdoor vent pipes clear of snow, ice and nests.

Emergency questions

What does a gas leak smell like?

Natural gas has no smell of its own, so utilities add an odorant that smells like rotten eggs or sulfur. If you notice it indoors, do not try to find the source. Leave, then call the gas utility or 911 from outside or a neighbor’s house.

What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?

Headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion are the common ones, according to the CDC: easy to mistake for the flu. A clue is that several people (or pets) in the house feel sick at once and feel better away from home. If you suspect CO, get everyone into fresh air and call 911.

Will my gas furnace work during a power outage?

No. Modern gas furnaces and boilers need electricity for the controls, igniter, inducer and blower or pump. If the power is out, the heat is out too. Keep everyone in one room, close it off, and never use a generator, grill or camp heater indoors or in an attached garage.

How do I thaw a frozen pipe safely?

Open the faucet it feeds, then warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer, a heating pad or warm towels, starting from the faucet end. Never use a torch or any open flame. If you cannot reach the frozen section or the pipe has split, shut off the main water valve and call a plumber.

Should I call you or the gas company first?

For a gas smell, the gas utility (or 911) comes first, always. For a carbon monoxide alarm, 911 comes first. Once the house is safe, call us to get the furnace or boiler repaired. For a plain no heat situation with no smell and no alarm, call us directly.

House safe, heat still off? Call (555) 010-0142

Get the heat fixed

Call Now · (555) 010-0142