Can carbon monoxide come through vents?

Dust and debris can collect in your vents over time and clog them. Clogged vents and chimney flues can result in carbon monoxide leaking into your home. During maintenance, the professional will check for proper operation and safety and clean your heating system.

airassurance.com - How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Issues Caused by Your HVAC Unit

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Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer because it has no smell, taste, or color. Therefore, it can kill without warning. As a matter of fact, carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the leading causes of unintentional poisoning deaths. Carbon monoxide leaks are often caused by faulty heating systems and ventilation problems. The HVAC safety tips below will help you prevent these deadly leaks from occurring.

Check Your Vents

Blocked vents prevent the heat from your furnace from blowing out effectively. Moving furniture around could block your vents. Or, maybe you intentionally close the vents in unused rooms to try to save money. Unfortunately, closed vents can do your home — and your family — more harm than you realize. They can result in:

Duct leakage

Low airflow, which could lead to comfort problems

A cracked heat exchanger, which can let carbon monoxide infiltrate your home

Check the heating vents around your home to ensure nothing is blocking them.

Schedule Regular Maintenance

At least once a year, ideally before winter sets in, you should have your furnace, fireplace, vents, and chimneys inspected by a professional. The fumes from a furnace that isn't working properly could leak into your home. Dust and debris can collect in your vents over time and clog them. Clogged vents and chimney flues can result in carbon monoxide leaking into your home. During maintenance, the professional will check for proper operation and safety and clean your heating system. He or she will spot potential problems before they become bigger and cause carbon monoxide problems.

Have the Heat Exchanger Inspected

The heat exchanger vents out the poisonous gases produced by heat combustion. Carbon monoxide can make its way through your home's ventilation system if the heat exchanger develops holes, cracks, or corrosion. Verify that your HVAC technician has inspected the heat exchanger during a routine maintenance visit. That's because many visits usually don't include a heat exchanger inspection. Taking the precautions above will save you money on energy costs in addition to protecting your family from carbon monoxide poisoning. Contact us at Air Assurance if you need expert heating services for your Broken Arrow home.

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Can blocking an air vent cause a fire?

Fire Hazard Perhaps the most obvious (and most dangerous) result of a blocked vent is that it will cause a fire.

bngheat.com - Air Vents: When It's Okay to Block Them - BNG Heating & Cooling

Our short and simple answer? Never.

Here’s why.

Increased Pressure

Your heating and cooling equipment was set up for your home’s specific square footage. When you close air vents or block them with furniture, the same amount of air is being pushed through your ventilation system but with increased pressure because of limited opportunities for air flow. Not only does it force your HVAC system to work harder—shortening its lifespan—but it also results in frozen air conditioning coils, overheated furnaces, cracked heat exchangers, and leaks in duct systems. Those issues come with both danger to your home AND big price tags for repairs.

Mold and Mildew

Because of humidity, moisture will collect behind the blocked vent, causing mold and mildew to not only fester, but to infect the air blowing through your entire house. This is a terrible scenario for any homeowner, but it can be especially dire for allergy and asthma sufferers. If you’re blocking the vents with upholstered furniture—say, the wall vent is right in the middle of the only wall suitable for your couch—you’re setting your couch up to be a mold and mildew nest. This possibility is not only limited to soft, upholstered furniture. Rugs are also a prime breeding ground for mold and mildew, as is wood furniture.

Fire Hazard

Perhaps the most obvious (and most dangerous) result of a blocked vent is that it will cause a fire. How? When you’re forcing your system to overwork, as mentioned in our first point, you put your furnace at high risk of setting on fire.

Worried that you’ve been overworking your system?

Call your friends at BNG Heating & Cooling to schedule an inspection or maintenance checkup. We’ll be able to spot any signs of trouble before they become expensive mistakes