Carbon Monoxide - How to maintain your gas appliance wall vents

If your gas appliances, like your stove or fireplace stop working in winter, it could be an inconvenience But if your furnace stops working, it could mean a house full of frozen pipes that could burst and cause a lot of water damage Minimize the risk of appliance malfunction or complete appliance shutdown by regularly doing a simple check of your gas appliance wall vents. If you have gas appliances vented through a wall, all you have to do is go outside, and clear any snow or ice buildup in or around the vents. >>Pause There are two types of wall vents. This is a concentric venting system...the vent for the exhaust air is inside the intake air vent. Check to make sure the vents are not blocked or causing intake air to breathe in the exhaust air. If you have snow or ice blocking the vents, your furnace could malfunction and shut down. Carefully remove any buildup that you find. >>Pause The other type of venting system is the two-pipe system. This is one example of a two-pipe system. Your system may not look exactly like this one, but operates the same way, with the intake air and exhaust air vents side-by-side. Here again, it is important to make sure there is no snow or ice build-up. It's also recommended that you have a licensed gas contractor inspect your gas appliance wall vents once a year. Gas contractors can be found under Heating Contractors in the Yellow Pages. Doing these two simple things ensures your gas appliances will keep functioning normally - keeping you warm and safe in the winter. A safety message from SaskPower Gas Inspections.