This season, we’ve spent a lot of time making sure homeowners get the professional services they need to use their fireplaces and chimneys safely. However, these aren’t the only parts of your home you use in the winter that could pose a threat to your health and safety. Any heating system has vents that lead to the outdoors, and they do not all necessarily use your chimney.
High-efficiency heaters and stoves have smaller metal flue pipes that vent through a wall in your home. Occasionally, these vent pipes can get blocked up with snow and ice, and it’s up to you to take notice and take action.
How Snow and Ice Affect Your Heating
One reason to check for snow and ice around the vents outside is to keep your heater working properly. If snow blocks the vent pipe, a safety switch may kick in and shut off your heater, which means you may be stuck calling a technician in the middle of the coldest day of the year.
More importantly, however, you want to check for snow and ice to keep you and your family safe. Blocked vents can be a major fire hazard, as a furnace or stove could become overheated. In addition, carbon monoxide may be able to get into your home, and this gas is toxic.
It’s Also Important to Protect Chimneys
Just as you need to protect the metal flue pipes that lead outdoors, you also need to do what you can to keep snow and ice out of the chimney. Water damage is actually one of the biggest threats to your chimney. If snow gets into the masonry, the structure of your chimney can take a beating as it expands and contracts with the thawing and freezing of water, which increases your risk of a chimney fire.
Call professional chimney sweeps to inspect your chimney every year, clean it out, and help you protect it from the biggest safety issues a chimney can face.
Call 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. for chimney, fireplace, and stove services in St. Paul, MN and the surrounding areas.