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.