Is Your Home Exhausting You?

While we are all trying to stay comfortable in the cold, the furnace runs frequently in the winter, especially during cold snaps like we’ve experienced over the last few weeks. But what do you know about how your furnace operates, other than how to turn it up or down, and maybe how to change the filter once in awhile?

Don’t be indifferent to this large combustion appliance, or any other fuel-burning equipment in your home. These appliances, which burn oil, natural gas, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), wood or biofuels, produce carbon monoxide exhaust. Because our houses generally are built pretty tightly (even though it may not feel like it sometimes), it’s important to take some precautionary steps to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning while the house is closed up for the winter.

Here are some basic safety measures to prevent carbon monoxide exhaust from entering your home:

• Install carbon monoxide alarms on all levels of the home (you conveniently can order one online through Green Irene).
• Replace any carbon monoxide detectors that are more than five years old. The sensors in the detectors are accurate for only about five years.
• Don’t warm up your car in an attached garage.
• Don’t use the top of your furnace or water heater as a shelf. Keep it clear all around.
• Keep flammable and corrosive materials far away from heat sources.
• Don’t run bathroom exhaust fans for more than 10 minutes after your shower, and try to avoid running multiple fans at the same time. Depending on the venting system on your furnace or hot water heaters, running the bathroom or kitchen exhaust fan can cause negative pressure (backdraft) in the home. It also can suck all the hot air out of your house, too (hot air naturally wants to travel to cold and seek every opportunity to do so).
• Watch for soot build-up on or around the furnace or water heater.
• Be sure the chimney and flue pipes are clean, tight and free of corrosion and obstructions.
• Never use an unvented gas or kerosene heater in a living or work space.
• Know where underground fuel and electric lines are buried.
• Have all fossil fuel appliances tested annually for proper operation by a qualified service person.

Green Irene Item #: 40150
Kidde Carbon Monoxide Detector and Alarm

Ellen Hall
Green Irene Eco-Consultant
Greening Our World One Home and Small Business at a Time
ellen.cincydayton@greenirene.com
http://www.GreenIrene.com/CincyDaytonEllen
513-932-7304