Environment
2007-10-01 11:09:00
Can a faulty furnace actually kill me?
QUESTION: I’ve been noticing a smell in my basement lately that kinda smells like natural gas…what should I do?
ANSWER: First and foremost, do not delay in finding out if the smell you’re dealing with is actually natural gas. Do not fire up your heating system until you find the source of this odor. There is no question that the most common issue of home safety is the presence of what is called the “silent killer”, the carbon monoxide found in natural gas. It is odorless in its natural state, but smells a little like rotten eggs as a result of the odor agent put into the gas by the refiner. If what you’re smelling actually is this gas, do not wait to see if it goes away, or until your body adjusts to the smell and you believe it went away…if it’s there, take no chances from the very first moment. When you hear on the news about a home that “blew up”, that is normally the result of ignoring those initial wafts of the natural gas odors inside, or even outside, the home. This time of year, with fall in the air in some parts of the country, we need to pay particular attention to our next season’s mechanical equipment in our home, and head off signs of problems with an inspection of that heating system and its component parts. The cost of this inspection and servicing of the unit is very small compared to the sometimes tragic results of not doing it. Saving that amount of money and losing a life makes no sense.
Natural gas odors can be the result of connections or fittings on your furnace or hot water tank loosening over the years, or even the deterioration of pipe dope that was used on those fittings long ago. It can also be the result of a cracked heat exchanger in your furnace. This is the chamber which contains the burners for your furnace, and over the years, this chamber can, due to expansion and contraction of the metal, become cracked, allowing the carbon monoxide to enter your home through your heating registers, rather than exiting through the flue pipe and out the roof. If you pull the front cover off your furnace, with the furnace burners lit, there should be a blue flame coming from your burners. If this blue flame appears to be being blown around, or is burning colors other than blue, this is a good indication that you should call a furnace professional tech to check it out. Sometimes that kind of flame action indicates a crack in that heat exchanger…and you ignore these subtle signs of trouble at the risk of your life, and those others living under your roof. Over the next 30 or 45 days, you should consider having a service call on your heating system to insure that your upcoming cold weather season is a comfortable time for you and your family. When it’s cold outside, it’s a bad time to think about finding out if that furnace is going to work when you fire it up. Also, it’s a good idea to check out the caulking around windows, doors, and other openings. Sometimes the siding will develop small cracks where it comes together, and a clear caulk in those areas will assist that furnace in maintaining a comfort level in your home throughout the winter season. Sometimes small attentions to detail go a long way, and don’t really cost much in the big picture. Be proactive for your own comfort…More next month…
