This time of year everyone is getting ready for the upcoming holidays, the last thing on anyone’s mind is the small white pipes (flue pipe) coming off the side of their house and what their function is. Little did you know their function is extremely important to the well being of your furnace and most importantly, the safety and health of your family. The Rochester area and the surrounding counties have just been hit with large amounts of snow, which is exactly why you need to be aware of why can happen to your furnace if the flue pipe is covered and blocked by snow and ice. The highly trained technicians at High Performance Heating have laid out some suggestions for keeping your furnace running at optimum efficiency. But if your flue pipe has been covered for some time, then we highly recommend having our technicians service your furnace before something costly happens and you are stuck without heat during this very cold winter. If you do end up without heat in the middle of the night, don’t fear the cold, we are available 24/7 for emergency calls, so don’t hesitate to call us,585-426-3004.
Leaving the flue pipe covered with snow can be more detrimental than you realize. When you leave snow covering the flue pipe, it could stop your furnace from running all together because of a safety switch that will shut your furnace off. It also causes the exhaust to be forced back or recirculated into your home through the fresh air intake. Which is very dangerous and not only can it harm your family but it will damage your furnace and could leave you without heat on one of these frigid nights. The exhaust that is vented out of the flue pipe is extremely acidic, when it is properly vented outside into the air, it dissipates within minutes and is gone. But when it keeps being recirculated through your furnace, it just gets more and more acidic and will start to damage your heat exchanger, which could leave you without heat. Another issue from having a blocked flue pipe is that the exhaust gases that are suppose to be vented outside are now being forced back into your home. So not only do you have acidic exhaust gases damaging your heat exchanger and the rest of the equipment inside your furnace, the exhaust gases are also leaking into your basement around your furnace and will start to leak into the rest of your house. Some of the exhaust gases is carbon monoxide, it is impossible to detect unless you have a carbon monoxide detector, which we highly recommend having because carbon monoxide is orderless, tasteless and colorless. You won’t know it’s there until it’s to late and by then someone in your family could already be affected by it.
Getting through the holiday season can be stressful and the last thing you want to do when your outside in the freezing cold shoveling your driveway is to walk around your home to clear off a few pipes. But in the end, that couple of extra minutes you spend clearing off the flue pipes could not only save you a ton of money in furnace repairs, but it will keep your family safe from breathing in dangerous exhaust gases. If you have noticed that snow has been covering your flue pipes, give High Performance Heating a call at 585-426-3004 to come service your furnace so you can ensure that you will not be without heat and your family is safe and healthy.
