When temperatures drop in Morriston, Florida, most people turn on their gas furnaces to warm their indoor spaces. Though these systems can undoubtedly keep you and your family cozy all winter, these heating systems burn natural gas to generate heat, producing harmful carbon monoxide gas. Well-maintained furnaces are generally safe, but can a furnace leak carbon monoxide?
At Fast Air Heating & Cooling, our HVAC professionals know the hidden dangers of damaged or ill-maintained furnaces. Consult our brief guide below for more information on carbon monoxide and its connection to gas furnaces.
If you have concerns regarding furnace safety, don’t hesitate to call us for Morriston’s reliable furnace repair service!
The Dangers of Carbon Monoxide Leaks in Morriston Households
Combustion furnaces work by burning natural gas. A side effect of this process is the production of other gases, which can be harmful for people and animals to inhale for extended periods. Carbon monoxide is one of those gases.
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a gas containing one atom each of oxygen and carbon. Even inhaling small amounts of it can lead to sickness and, in some cases, death. When a person breathes it, the gas reduces how much oxygen gets into the body’s organs and cells.
The problem with CO gas is that it’s odorless and colorless, so you likely won’t know that your Morriston home has a high concentration of it unless you know how to spot the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Whether you inhale small amounts of carbon monoxide over time or a lot at once due to high amounts of this gas within your home’s indoor air supply, you could suffer debilitating health effects. Carbon monoxide poisoning can take as little as five minutes to occur, producing symptoms like:
- Headaches
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Trouble breathing
- Weakness
- Drowsiness
- Confusion
- Nausea or vomiting
- Achiness
Exit the house and get immediate medical attention if you notice one or more of these symptoms while inside your property in Morriston.
What Causes Carbon Monoxide Hazards in Furnaces?
Can a furnace leak carbon monoxide? The short answer is yes. Combustion gases from a furnace should stay within the heating system until they blow through the flue or exhaust pipe that leads outside the building.
Though this process makes gas furnaces effective and safe for wintertime heat, problems sometimes cause harmful gases to escape the heater. Here are some examples.
Clogged Flue Pipe
Gas furnaces have interior exhaust channels for transporting combustion gases, which end with a flue pipe. The flue pipe is how the gases get out of the house and into the open outdoor air, where they dissipate enough to not harm one’s health.
Unfortunately, twigs, leaves, and other materials can get inside the exhaust pipe, creating a clog. Small animals and birds can also make nests inside open pipes without mesh screen barriers. If that happens, the combustion gases from the furnace won’t have a place to exit the system, so they’ll build up inside the house.
Cracked Heat Exchanger
The heat exchanger is another vital component of a gas heating system that could cause a carbon monoxide leak. Heat exchangers help warm homes by transferring the heat that the combustion process produces to the surrounding air. They also house the CO gas and push it through the furnace and out the flue stack.
Like other furnace parts, heat exchangers can wear down over time, especially if they don’t receive regular maintenance like cleanings and inspections. As such, they can develop gaps or holes and allow carbon monoxide to seep through the furnace. Even tiny holes in a heat exchanger can compromise your furnace’s safe operation and your home’s indoor air quality.
Damaged Exhaust Pipe
Flue pipes are responsible for removing CO and condensation from gas furnaces and dispersing them outdoors. However, the furnace could produce excess moisture due to a poor design or low operational temperatures. The extra water could cause the exhaust pipe’s interior to corrode and form holes.
Blocked Ventilation
Ventilation and fresh air are important to the furnace combustion process. The air that comes through the vents helps feed the fire burning inside the furnace. When vents develop clogs due to dirt, dust, and other debris, it causes an airflow restriction.
Signs That Your Furnace May Have a Carbon Monoxide Leak
If the answer to “Can a furnace leak carbon monoxide?” is yes, how can you tell if the heating system inside your home in Morriston has a leak? Thankfully, you don’t have to get sick to know that your furnace has a dangerous problem. Instead, consider these warning signs of a possible CO leak:
- Soot Around Your Home: Brownish or black soot marks around your furnace and other spaces in your house may indicate a faulty combustion process that could create a leak.
- Yellow Pilot Light: Your gas furnace’s pilot light should always be bright blue. If it turns yellow, something is wrong with the system’s combustion.
- Excessive Condensation on Windows: If you notice lots of moisture building up around the windows in the same room as your furnace, it likely means the system is producing too much condensation or struggling to get rid of it.
- Strange Smells: Though carbon monoxide doesn’t have a smell, the combustion process of a gas furnace produces noticeable smells. The problem is that the burning scent should stay around the furnace and not be evident throughout your home.
- Poor Indoor Air Quality: Your house will feel stale and stuffy if the furnace is leaking CO.
- Rust Around the Exhaust Pipe: Rust around the exhaust pipe usually means that the furnace produces excessive moisture, which is rusting the pipe.
How To Protect Your Morriston Residence From a Furnace Gas Leak
By following these three steps, you can keep your heating system in good condition and reduce the likeliness of a hazardous carbon monoxide leak.
Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector
Installing CO detection equipment in your Morriston home is the first step in staying safe from carbon monoxide. Knowing the warning signs of a possible furnace leak is not enough. With carbon monoxide detectors, you’ll know for sure if a leak is present because the devices will sound an alarm anytime CO levels rise indoors.
Let the Experts Handle Your Furnace Installation
You might think do-it-yourself furnace installation or replacement is a good idea, but it’s not. HVAC installations require extensive knowledge, training, and experience to conduct safely and effectively. Making a small mistake during the installation could result in serious consequences.
It’s always best to hire a qualified HVAC company for all furnace installation and replacement needs.
Schedule Annual Furnace Tune-Ups
Routine maintenance will keep your furnace in excellent condition. When a professional services furnaces, they inspect them thoroughly to check for gas leaks and problems that could eventually contribute to one. HVAC professionals also clean grime, soot, and dirt that could worsen the furnace’s performance and make minor repairs and parts replacements.
Quality Heating System Inspections and Repairs in Morriston, Florida
After learning the answer to “Can a furnace leak carbon monoxide?” you can take the necessary precautions to keep your Morriston, Florida, home safe from deadly CO gases. At Fast Air Heating & Cooling, our crew of experienced HVAC technicians has the expertise to assess your furnace for all heating system risks and implement the best solutions for the problems we uncover.
Our years of experience and dedication to providing top-tier customer experiences enable us to offer everything from furnace maintenance to heating unit replacement. No HVAC project is too much for us to manage—contact us today for an appointment.