I waited as long as possible before calling for boiler repair.
I should have stressed professional service as soon as I noticed an issue with the heater.
By holding off, I ended up with a much larger disruption & expense. Initially, the boiler was running for longer cycles than usual. I suspected that there wasn’t as much moderate air flowing from the vents. I responded by raising the thermostat setting. This simply put greater demand on the heater. Because of the longer run times, the system consumed more energy which led to higher monthly utility bills. Eventually, the boiler began making an odd grinding sound whenever it started up. I ignored it. I also paid little attention to the odd smells coming from the vents & dust circulating in the air. All of these were warning signs of problems with operation. I was reluctant to spend the time & currency on a boiler repair. My hesitation led to the boiler quitting completely in the middle of the night in the middle of December. With outdoor temperatures in the teens, I was suddenly in a large hurry to get a current boiler installed. There was no time to weigh chances & shop around. I needed to have a functioning boiler before my plumbing pipes froze. I also couldn’t leave my family separate from heat, however fortunately, the Heating, Ventilation & A/C company was legitimately wonderful about expediting the project. They helped me to secure financing & handled the replacement abruptly. While I’m seriously happy with the current heater, all of that expense, stress & disruption could have been avoided if I’d acted instantly.