Carbon monoxide safety check in Kalamazoo

Carbon monoxide has no color and no smell. It comes from incomplete burning of natural gas, propane, oil or wood, and in a home it usually shows up when an appliance is burning poorly or its exhaust is not leaving the house the way it should. A blocked chimney, a disconnected flue pipe or a cracked heat exchanger can each let it spill indoors.

If an alarm is sounding right now, leave the house, call 911 or your gas utility from outside, and do not go back in until they say it is safe. Once the home is cleared, our technicians can find the source. A planned safety check, before the heating season or after any appliance change, tests each gas appliance, its venting and the air in your living spaces.

Signs you need carbon monoxide safety check

What our technicians test during the visit

Each gas appliance is checked while it runs. At the furnace and water heater we measure carbon monoxide in the flue gases with a combustion analyzer and look at oxygen levels to see whether the burners are tuned properly. Draft is tested at the draft hood or flue to confirm the exhaust is rising and leaving rather than spilling back into the room.

We also walk through the living areas with a low-level CO meter, take readings near bedrooms and check that your alarms respond to their test buttons. Flue pipes are inspected for rust, loose joints and proper slope, and we look at the chimney connection and termination where it is visible. Every reading is noted so you can see the results.

• Flue gas CO and oxygen at the furnace or boiler
• Draft and spillage test at the water heater
• Ambient CO readings in living spaces and bedrooms
• Flue pipe, chimney connection and termination inspection
• CO alarm function and placement check

Common sources in Southwest Michigan homes

Older Kalamazoo homes often have a water heater venting into a masonry chimney that once served a large, older furnace. When that furnace is replaced with a high-efficiency model that vents through the side wall, the water heater is left alone in a chimney that is now too big and too cold. Its exhaust may not draft well, especially on mild days.

Other frequent problems include flue pipes knocked loose during basement work, side wall vents buried by lake-effect snow, birds nesting in chimney caps and furnaces with a cracked heat exchanger. Rural homes heating with propane face the same issues, plus burners that were never converted properly. Attached garages with running vehicles or generators are another source alarms often pick up.

Tight houses and backdrafting

Gas water heaters and many older furnaces rely on natural draft: warm exhaust rises up the flue on its own. In a tightly sealed house, a running bath fan, kitchen range hood and clothes dryer can pull enough air out that the house goes under negative pressure. Air then comes down the flue instead of exhaust going up, pulling combustion gases back into the basement.

We test for this by running exhaust fans and the dryer together and checking draft at the water heater while the house is under that load. If spillage shows up, the fixes range from adding makeup air to replacing an older appliance with a sealed-combustion model. Homes that had major insulation or air sealing work done are the most common place we see it.

Alarm placement and what to do if one sounds

Carbon monoxide alarms belong on every level of the home, including the basement, and near sleeping areas so they can wake people up. Follow the manufacturer's guidance on height and keep them away from the furnace itself, where brief startup readings can cause nuisance alarms. Most alarms have an end-of-life date printed on the back and should be replaced by then.

If an alarm goes off, get everyone outside, including pets, and call 911 or Consumers Energy from outside the house. Do not open windows to air it out first, since that can hide the source. Once responders clear the home, call us and our technician will test each appliance to find what caused it. Our phone is answered at any hour for this reason.

How a carbon monoxide safety check visit works

1. Call us from a safe placeIf an alarm is sounding, leave first and contact emergency responders. For a planned check, we set a visit time.
2. Appliance and venting inspectionThe technician looks at every fuel-burning appliance, its flue pipe, chimney connection and the area around it.
3. Combustion and draft testingFlue gases are measured at each appliance, and draft is tested with exhaust fans running to check for backdrafting.
4. Living space readingsWe take CO readings in main rooms and bedrooms and test the alarms on each floor.
5. Findings and repairsYou get each reading and any problem explained, with prices for repairs. Simple fixes like a loose flue joint are often done on the spot.