Use & Care Guide

o Check furnace connections to the flue pipes and venting systems to the
outside of the home for signs of corrosion, rust, gaps or holes.
o Check furnace filters and filtering systems for dirt or blockage.
o Check forced air fans for proper installation and to assure correct air flow of
flue gases. Improper furnace blower installation can result in carbon
monoxide build-up because toxic gas is blown into rather than out of the
house.
o Check the combustion chamber and internal heat exchanger for cracks,
holes, metal fatigue or corrosion – be sure they are clean and free of debris.
o Check burners and ignition system. A flame that is mostly yellow in color in
natural gas fired furnaces is often a sign that the fuel is not burning
completely and higher levels of carbon monoxide are being released. Oil
furnaces can have similar problems. Remember you can’t smell carbon
monoxide.
o Check fireplaces for closed, blocked or bent flues, soot and debris.
o Check all venting systems to the outside of your home. This includes
checking flues and chimneys for cracks, corrosion, holes, debris or
blockage. Animals and birds can build nests in chimneys, preventing gases
from escaping. Vibrations can shake vent pipes loose from gas dryers or
water heaters, preventing CO from being vented properly outside.
o Check all other appliances in the home that use fossil fuels such as natural
gas, oil, propane, wood or kerosene. Appliances include water heaters,
clothes dryers, kitchen ranges, gas heaters, ovens or cooktops, wood-
burning stoves, gas refrigerators or alternative power sources such as
generators.
o Pilot lights can be a source of carbon monoxide, because the by-products of
combustion are released inside the home rather than vented outside.
o Be sure space heaters are vented properly. Unvented space heaters that
use a fossil fuel such as kerosene or propane can release carbon monoxide
into the home.
o Barbecue grills should never be operated indoors under any circumstances.
o Stove tops or ovens that operate on fossil fuels should never be used to
heat a residence.