Furnace Repair in Walla Walla, WA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Walla Walla County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat and a grid that doesn't always hold
Your furnace works from October through May here. That's eight months of nights averaging 29°F, which means long stretches where the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a time. Every one of those cycles puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, the parts that get the burner lit and keep it lit.
Walla Walla County has seen 67 winter storms and 37 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Across Washington, almost a quarter of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. Most furnaces need electricity to run even if they burn gas, so when the power drops in the middle of a cold night, the furnace stops with it. When the power comes back, most furnaces restart on their own. If yours doesn't, that's a sign something else needs a look.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 67 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration means the contractor's business is on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. There is no trade exam behind it. It tells you the business is registered and can be traced back to a name, not that the person working on your furnace was tested on gas appliances.
For a furnace repair, the gas connection is the part that matters most, since that's where a mistake turns dangerous. Washington's registration doesn't test for that. It confirms the business is on record, nothing about who checks the gas line or venting once the work is done.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat, or power to the furnace has been interrupted. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature. Next check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter, the flame sensor, or the control board could be at fault, and those need a contractor to test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the air coming out feels cold but the furnace is running, it may just be starting up. Furnaces push air through the ducts before the burners have fully warmed it, so the first minute or two can feel cool. If cold air keeps coming after that, the burners may not be igniting even though the blower is running, which points to an ignition problem a contractor needs to look at.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame anymore, so the gas valve shuts off as a safety measure. It can also mean the pilot orifice is dirty or there's a draft reaching the flame. A standing pilot doesn't use electricity, so a power outage isn't the cause here. This is a job for a contractor, since it involves the gas line and the safety controls around it.