Don’t Invite an Invisible Killer to Your Home

You can’t see it, touch it, smell it or taste it, but it kills hundreds each year. Poisoning by carbon monoxide is a real risk of modern life. A professional inspection of fuel-burning appliances-including furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, clothes dryers and space heaters-could prove to be a lifesaver. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that the yearly, professional inspection include:

Checking chimneys, flues and vents for leakage and blockage by creosote and debris.
Checking all vents to furnaces, water heaters, boilers and other fuel-burning appliances to make sure they are not loose or disconnected.
Inspecting vent pipes on heating systems.
Inspecting appliances for adequate ventilation. A supply of fresh air is important to help carry pollutants up the chimney, stovepipe or flue, and is necessary for the complete combustion of any fuel.
Making sure ventilation air openings aren’t blocked.