Chimney Care Company's Blog
The dangers of carbon monoxide
During the cold winter months, your primary concern likely is keeping your home and family warm. But the same appliances that keep your home cozy can pose a danger to you and your family: carbon monoxide. More than 200 people die in the United States each year from carbon monoxide poisoning. An additional 4,000 people are hospitalized each year, and 20,000 visit the emergency rooms suffering the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
To keep your family safe, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms and causes of carbon monoxide poisoning, what to do if you suspect that the levels of carbon monoxide are dangerous within your home and how you can prevent dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
Causes of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of combustion. That means it is produced by any burning appliance in your home, including furnaces, fireplaces, heating stoves, clothes dryers and space heaters. When those appliances aren’t vented properly — due to improper installation, damage to the ventilation system or dirty or clogged vents — carbon monoxide can build up to dangerous levels in your home. This buildup can be exacerbated by our focus on energy efficiency. Newer homes are built to be more air tight to conserve energy. Owners of older homes often “weatherproof” to prevent drafts. While that efficiency prevents warm air from escaping our homes, it also means that carbon monoxide put off by a faulty appliance can’t escape the home.
Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be subtle. Often described as flulike, those symptoms include mild headaches, dizziness and fatigue. As carbon monoxide levels increase in the blood, however, those symptoms can become more severe. At more advanced stages, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause confusion, disorientation, nausea, weakness, blurred vision and loss of consciousness. If anyone in your home begins to suffer these symptoms, your home should be evacuated, and that person should be taken to the hospital immediately. If left untreated, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage, organ failure or death.
Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning
The best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning is through the regular maintenance and inspection of fuel-burning appliances. It’s recommended that your chimney, clothing dryer, heating stove, fireplace and furnace should be cleaned and inspected by a professional each year. When your appliances and vents are serviced, your technician will clear any debris from the vents, and inspect the appliance and duct work for any malfunctions, clogs or damage. Freestanding appliances, such as generators or space heaters, should never be run in unventilated rooms.
Even with annual cleaning and maintenance, it’s important to exercise precautions against carbon monoxide. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that carbon monoxide detectors be installed on each level of a home and outside sleeping areas. The batteries in those detectors should be tested regularly. Everyone within the home should know what to do if those detectors go off: Evacuate the home and call 911.
If you’re concerned about your home’s carbon monoxide risk, The Chimney Care Co. can help. We clean, inspect and repair chimneys, stoves, fireplaces and dryer vents. Schedule an appointment to keep your family safe today!
Protect your home with our dryer vent services
Dryer vents are often neglected when it comes to home maintenance, but just like your chimney or gutters, regular dryer vent cleaning can keep your home safe and efficient. Making your dryer vents a home maintenance priority can help keep your home safe. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that homeowners have their dryer vents cleaned and inspected at least once per year.
The importance of dryer vent cleaning
Each time you dry a load of clothes, hair and lint makes it pass your dryer’s lint trap and builds up in your dryer vents. When dryer vents become too clogged, the heat from the dryer can cause the extremely flammable lint to ignite, posing a major fire hazard to your home. Dryer vents also can be clogged by animal nests and other debris, or poorly placed plants can grow up into the vents, causing blockages.
According to the NFPA, clothes dryers are responsible for more than 15,000 house fires each year, causing more than $230 million in property damage and more than 50 deaths. The NFPA blames the majority of those fires on clogged dryer vents. Blocked dryer vents also can force the gases, including carbon monoxide, created by your dryer back into your home. At the very least, clogged dryer vents decrease the efficiency of your dryer and make it work harder to dry your clothes. That costs you time, as it takes longer to dry each load of clothes, and it increases your home’s energy costs.
Signs of clogged dryer vents
Your dryer may be warning you that your vents are in need of a cleaning. If your clothes are taking longer to dry than normal, or if they feel abnormally hot to the touch at the end of each cycle, your dryer vents probably aren’t allowing all of the hot air to escape from the dryer. Clogged dryer vents can cause your laundry room to heat up when the dryer is running, or can cause a slight burning smell when the dryer is in use. Your dryer sheets also may smell abnormally strong if your dryer vents are clogged.
If you’re concerned about your dryer vents, a quick visual inspection of the vent’s exterior can help you determine if you’re in need of a dryer vent cleaning. Lint blowing out of the vent is a sure sign you’re due for a cleaning. Or, if the vent flap isn’t opening and closing when the dryer is running, it’s a sign that air isn’t properly flowing out of the dryer, and vents should be cleaned immediately.
How dryer vent cleaning works
If you’re overdue for a dryer vent cleaning, or if you’ve observed any of the signs above, call The Chimney Care Co. We’ll use specialized brushes to gently clean the lint from your dryer. As the lint is loosened, we’ll suck it up with our high-powered vacuums, saving your home from any mess. We will also visually inspect your dryer vent system and help you with any needed repairs. With The Chimney Care Co., you can be confident that your dryer vents are clean and damage free, keeping your home safe from a potential fire and maintaining your dryer’s efficiency.