12-YEAR-OLD HOUSE TRIES TO KILL FAMILY…WATER HEATER CREDITED WITH TIPING OFF AUTHORITIES

This past winter I inspected a relatively “new” home (12 years old) that was both well-built and well maintained. The home only had some minor defects and by all appearances it was going to be a simple “peace-of-mind” inspection and report.

While I was inspecting the natural gas water heater, I noticed that the plastic grommets you usually see where the water pipes attach to the tank to identify which is the “hot water” pipe and which is the “cold water” pipe had been distorted/melted. The water heater was tipping me off about the silent killer that goes by many different names such as “backdrafter,” “reverse pressurization” or his most common name…”CARBON MONOXIDE POISONER!”

The simple, and less dramatic, explanation of what was happening is this : a house needs to “breath” just like we humans…fresh air needs to come into the house and stale/polluted air needs to exit the house. The most polluted air in a house is what’s termed “combustion air” which is pulled into combustion appliances – those that burn natural gas – for the purposes of fueling the flames that heat the air or heat the domestic hot water for sinks and showers. After that combustion air is used it carries the by-products of combustion (carbon monoxide) up and out of your house.

Because the house was extremely weatherproofed, or as we call it “tight”, there was not enough fresh air coming into the house and the house does what any person who is not getting enough air would do…it looks to take in fresh air anywhere it can even if that air opening is supposed to be exhausting the “bad air”. The best-worst-case scenario is low-level carbon monoxide poisoning where occupants suffer headaches and a general lethargic (tired/lazy/disoriented) feeling. The worst-case scenario is occupants go to sleep and never wake up again because they become asphyxiated.

Always be on the lookout for this tell-tale sign of danger in any home that was either built “tight” or that has recently been weatherized – your life and the life of your family depend on this seemingly inconsequential bit of knowledge!