If you have hot water heat, you know that the purpose of the boiler is to hold the water that circulates to keep your home heated. When your thermostat detects that the temperature is dropping, it causes the boiler to heat water. The hot water or steam that is produced is pumped throughout your home, either through a radiator system or an under floor system, to keep your home warm. As the water cools or the steam condenses, it continues back to the heater where it is again heated and the cycle continues. Not all homes are heated by a boiler system, of course. Many homes are heated by a gas-fired furnace. The furnace will heat the air, while fans will blow through the ductwork and out of the heating registers.
What is a Burner Flue?
With each of these systems, the byproducts produced by the combustion of the systems need to be vented out of your home. If this doesn’t happen, then dangerous gases will be stuck in your home, with serious health effects for you and your family members. Most homes have the boiler or burner hooked up to the chimney as a safe way to have the gases leave the home but if the chimney is not used, there must be some way to have these gases vented outside your home. Often this comes in the form of a flue, which is a system of pipes venting air directly outside the home.
You may assume that when your heating specialist comes in to check out your heating system, he is also making sure that the flue is cleaned. This is not necessarily the case but cleaning the boiler or burner flue is extremely important. When these systems run, byproducts are produced that can condense onto the walls of the flue. This can have negative repercussions in a couple of different ways. First, these deposits can make your heating system run less efficiently than it should be running. But even more importantly, if your system isn’t clean you could be having dangerous gases leaking back into your home. One such gas is carbon monoxide.
Dangers of Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced during combustion. When left undetected, it can cause health problems such as nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and headaches. If exposure is continued, it’s possible that death will occur.
Call in the Experts
If you’re unsure about whether your boiler or burner flue has been cleaned, there’s an easy solution: call Alpine Chimney Sweeps. Set up an appointment today for our specialists to come in and give your flue an inspection and cleaning. This is an easy call to make, and can ensure that your family is kept safe from dangerous gas leaks in your home.
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