What is this? Real photos from SwiftPro jobs

What a dirty furnace blower wheel looks like

This is a furnace blower wheel we pulled out on a heating job, with dust packed onto every blade.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Furnace blower wheel before and after cleaning

Same blower wheel, same furnace, an hour apart, on a job off Waxpool Road in Ashburn.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What a clogged furnace filter looks like

This return air filter came out at the start of one of our visits, grey and loaded with dust.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Dust inside a flexible air duct

This is the inside of a flexible duct in a Northern Virginia home, coated in a thick grey layer of dust.

• Whole Home Air Duct Cleaning$598, regularly $798

• What it means

Air duct cleaning before and after, in Fairfax

One duct run in a Fairfax home, photographed before and after we cleaned it.

• Whole Home Air Duct Cleaning$598, regularly $798

• What it means

Thermostat says Waiting For Equipment: what it means

Waiting For Equipment means your thermostat asked for cooling or heat and is holding off a few minutes to protect the system.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

The red switch on your furnace: what it does

That red switch plate on or near your furnace is the emergency switch.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Boiler expansion tank: what it is and how it fails

The grey tank above this boiler is the expansion tank, and the small brass cap on the piping is the automatic air vent.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

How old is my boiler? Read the labels

This label on a Northern Virginia boiler says it was converted to LP gas, which is propane, and the date of conversion is written in by hand: 11/7/94.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Dirty AC condenser coil, before and after cleaning

The left side is an outdoor AC coil the way we found it, matted with dirt and debris.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

Burning smell from the furnace: when to worry

A dusty, burning smell the first few times the heat runs each fall is usually normal: dust on the burners and heat exchanger cooking off.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is this box on my ductwork? An air scrubber

A box mounted on the ductwork with a glowing light inside is usually an air scrubber, an air cleaner built into your heating and cooling system.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What size furnace filter do I need? Read the frame

Your filter size is printed on the edge of the filter you already have: three numbers like 16x25x1, width by height by thickness in inches.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Radiator cold at the top? Here’s why

A radiator that’s warm at the bottom and cold at the top has air trapped in it.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Mini split dripping water? Here’s why

A mini split dripping water down the wall almost always has a clogged condensate drain.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

What are these gauges on my AC? Refrigerant pressures

When a tech hangs gauges like these on your outdoor unit, they’re reading the refrigerant: the pressure and temperature on the suction line coming in and the liquid line going out.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

Old boiler: repair it or replace it?

Cast iron boilers like this one can run thirty years or more, so age alone isn’t the answer.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is the tall metal box in my closet? An air handler

That tall box is an air handler, the indoor half of a heat pump or central AC.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Why is my outdoor unit up on a stand?

Mostly for winter.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

What are the tanks the HVAC tech brought?

The tall one is a recovery cylinder.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

What are the brass boxes on my boiler pipes?

Those are zone valves.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is the white box high on my wall?

It’s the indoor head of a ductless mini split, a small heat pump for one room or zone.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

What color should a furnace flame be? Blue

Blue.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is the box on top of my furnace? The evaporator coil

That box sitting on top of your furnace is the evaporator coil, the indoor half of your central AC.

• AC Tune-Up or Furnace Tune-Up$99 per system

• What it means

What is the pipe coming out of the top of my furnace?

The metal pipe rising out of the top of a gas furnace is the exhaust flue.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is the box on my ductwork? A whole house humidifier

A box with a power cord and a little screen mounted on your ductwork is usually a whole house humidifier.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What are heat strips? The backup heat in a heat pump

Heat strips are coils of wire inside the air handler that glow hot, like a toaster, when electricity runs through them.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Thermostat says heat on but the house won’t warm up

If the thermostat says the heat is on and the house still sits a few degrees under the setting, the system is running but not delivering.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

What is this metal frame from my filter cabinet? A media filter

That deep metal frame with a wire grid comes out of a media air cleaner, the thick cabinet that sits beside or under the furnace or air handler.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Sump pump replacement, before and after

On the left, the old sump pump we pulled out of the pit; on the right, the new one in its place with a quiet check valve on the discharge.

• Sump Pump Replacement$697 installed

• What it means

A water heater expansion tank, installed

The small tank on top of this water heater is the expansion tank.

• Water Heater Replacement$500 off any size

• What it means

Corroded pipe pulled out of a Northern Virginia home

These two sections of pipe came out of a Northern Virginia home, corroded and split.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

A pipe leak inside a bathroom wall

This bathroom wall was opened to reach the copper supply pipe that was leaking inside it.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

Navien Error 003: what it means and what to do

Error 003 means your tankless water heater tried to light and couldn’t, so it shut itself off and you’ve got no hot water.

• Water Heater Replacement$500 off any size

• What it means

What is the white tube under my tankless water heater?

That white cylinder on the drain line under a high efficiency tankless water heater is a condensate neutralizer.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

What is an RPZ backflow preventer?

This is an RPZ backflow preventer on the main water line in a Loudoun County basement, old and corroded, right before we replaced it.

• Yearly Backflow Test$250, normally $300

• What it means

Whole house water filter on a bypass loop

The white housing on this copper loop is a whole house water filter, put in by our plumbers.

• Water Test and Plumbing Safety Check$29, normally $199

• What it means

Water line leak in the yard: what it looks like

This is a water service line we dug down to in a Northern Virginia yard, with water pooling around the pipe where it was leaking.

• What it means

Water heater popping or rumbling: what that noise is

Popping, rumbling or crackling from a tank water heater is almost always sediment: a layer of mineral scale on the bottom of the tank.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

Gurgling drains: what that sound in the pipes means

A gurgle is air being pulled through water in a drain trap.

• Sewer Camera Inspection$89 added to a visit

• What it means

Kitchen sink clogged? What’s usually in there

Most kitchen sink clogs are grease and food that went down warm and set up cold in the pipe.

• Sewer Camera Inspection$89 added to a visit

• What it means

What are the valves under my tankless water heater?

The valves under a tankless water heater are isolation valves: one on the cold water coming in, one on the hot going out.

• What it means

What do SH and DHW mean on a Navien?

SH is space heating, the heat for your house.

• The $67 Heating Check$67 per system

• What it means

Why did my sump pump stop working?

Look at the bottom of this one.

• Sump Pump Replacement$697 installed

• What it means

What is the valve on my sump pump pipe?

That’s a check valve.

• Sump Pump Replacement$697 installed

• What it means

Why do I have two water heaters?

Because one tank couldn’t keep up.

• Water Heater Replacement$500 off any size

• What it means

What is the metal pipe on top of my water heater?

That’s the vent.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

How often should you flush a tankless water heater?

Once a year in most Northern Virginia homes.

• What it means

What is a power vent water heater?

That black box on top is a fan.

• Water Heater Replacement$500 off any size

• What it means

What does the inside of a water heater look like?

A steel tank, a layer of foam around it and a thin metal jacket outside.

• Water Heater Flush$99, normally $199

• What it means

What happens during a backflow test?

A plumber hooks a gauge kit to the test ports on your backflow preventer, closes a valve or two and reads the pressure.

• Yearly Backflow Test$250, normally $300

• What it means

What is the white filter on my water line?

Most likely it’s a scale prevention filter, the kind sold as a softener that uses no salt.

• Water Test and Plumbing Safety Check$29, normally $199

• What it means

What does a tankless water heater install look like?

The unit hangs on the wall, new copper runs to it overhead, and a white plastic vent goes out the side of the house.

• What it means

What does the main water line to a house look like?

Usually a copper or plastic pipe about as thick as your thumb, buried a few feet down and running from the meter to where it comes through your foundation.

• What it means

How do plumbers get an old water heater out?

Shut it off, drain it, disconnect it, then move it out without dropping it.

• Water Heater Replacement$500 off any size

• What it means

RPZ backflow preventer replacement: the finished job

Bright brass, green shutoff handles at each end and a drain funnel underneath.

• Yearly Backflow Test$250, normally $300

• What it means