Home inspections are good for getting a basic look at all of the major systems and components of a home.  This means that the nature of an inspection is general.

One of the general tests that good home inspectors do is to fire up the furnace.  Before I was an inspector I thought, “Why should I pay for someone to turn on my furnace?  I can turn on a furnace and tell if it works!”  This is a fact, however, there are things that a good inspector will look for when the furnace fires up that I would not have known to look for before I was an inspector.

One of the main things that good home inspectors look at while the gas furnace fires up is the flames.

• Proper operation of the furnace will have the flames turn on with a steady blue.
• Once the heat exchanger is heated sufficiently the main fan (that will blow heat through the home) turns on
• The flames should remain steady and blue with little to no change in shape and color when the main fan turns on

This video was taken on a recent Salem, Oregon home inspection that shows what a flame SHOULD NOT look like when the main fan initiates: