Repair & Improve

Close Call – Inspection Prevents Tragedy

by Tom Kraeutler

As a professional home inspector who has completed thousands of heating system examinations, it was astounding the number of times I found a problem with carbon monoxide leakage. Severity ranges, but it was not unusual to find life threatening levels on a fairly regular basis.

Take, for example, an inspection I did several years ago. Upon looking down the chimney of a 25 year old house, I noticed the flue was blocked by a squirrel's nest. Going immediately down to the furnace, I conducted a simple test and determined the furnace was leaking and carbon monoxide was backing up throughout the house. I immediately notified the owners so corrective action could be taken.

Later, we found out that the homeowner was pregnant and had been experiencing nausea, which she attributed to her condition. Subsequent blood tests disclosed elevated levels of carbon monoxide as the more likely culprit of the sickness.

If your house does not yet have a carbon monoxide detector, get one.  It could save your life.

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