Get Your Flue Ready for Fall and Winter By Dwight Barnett
Scripps Howard News Service
The days are getting shorter and the nights are cooler. It's the time of year to think about the flue season. No, I'm not talking about the Hong Kong flu. I want you to think about the flue on the fireplace or furnace.
A blocked or damaged flue can be more deadly than the respiratory illnesses that also strike each season. It is extremely important to check the flue on the furnace prior to each heating season:
First find the flue. Usually it is a metal pipe that extends to a common chimney or through the roof. On condensing or high-efficiency furnaces, the flue is sealed at the furnace.
A high-efficiency furnace has a draft-induced fan to push flue gases to the exterior. Because the flue is sealed at the furnace, it needs to be inspected annually by a qualified heating technician. At the base of a common metal flue, where it connects to the furnace, is an opening or a damper. This area is called the draft diverter. If you find it, you can check the drafting yourself.
With the furnace operating, give the flue time to warm up. Then hold a lighted match near the draft diverter. Wave the match out to see if the smoke is pulled up the flue. If the smoke drifts around the draft diverter or spills back into the room, shut the furnace off immediately and contact a heating technician or chimney sweep. Also check the flue on the water heater, even if it shares the flue with the furnace.
For wood burners and fireplace flues it is important to have the flue liner cleaned and inspected annually. Older brick chimneys that do not have a flue liner and metal flue liners installed within the chimneys should also be checked annually.
Cleaning and inspecting flue liners and the chimneys themselves is not a do-it-yourself project. If working from a tall ladder or steep roof is not enough to deter you, think about the consequences of misdiagnosing a problem. Use a qualified chimney sweep who is trained to look for these problem areas and who can make recommendations that just might save your life.
(C. Dwight Barnett is a master inspector certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors. Questions may be addressed to him at P.O. Box 14091, Evansville, IN 47728, or e-mail dbarnett@evansville.net .)
