I started up my gas furnace for the first time this year and I immediately knew something was wrong: the whole house smelled like smoke.
When I could actually see the smoke in the air, I turned off the furnace and called and HVAC technician.
The technician looked over my gas furnace and immediately found the culprit; there was a birds nest in the exhaust pipe. The technician told me that this could have been a deadly mistake. He urged me to have smoke detectors installed immediately and to have my gas furnace serviced at least once a year. I felt a bit chided but knew he was right. Had I gone to sleep I might not have noticed the smoke and I could have died. I had the technician look over my gas furnace entirely. He did find any more issues. He even put some screening around the exhaust pipe in an attempt to keep future birds from building nests in my vents. When he left, I went out and got a few smoke detectors. I also scheduled regular maintenance for my furnace. I’ve always just figured I would fix things when they need fixing. I never thought of what could happen if regular maintenance is not performed on a heater. I don’t like smoke detectors because they are always going off for no reason. But, the grandkids are visiting next week. What if this had happened when they were here? It is very sobering to think about. And, I think, it is worth having a few false smoke alarms to know they, and I, will stay safe.
Indoor air cleaning system
