You know, my central vacuum cleaners are wonderful tool, and it sucks a tremendous amount of air from the inside of my house and puts it outdoors. But what happens? How do I get that air back inside the house?
You may not have a central vacuum in your home, but I will bet you there is a good chance, you have got clothes dryer, you might have a bathroom exhaust fan, how about a kitchen exhaust fan? What about a gas water heater, a gas furnace? Maybe even a fire place.
All of those things, when they operate, they consume air out of your home. And if you have got a home that is a modern one, one that is built maybe within the last 15 years, they are very tight. You can actually create a situation called back drifting. This is a handy item that provides the make up air you need in your home. It looks a lot like an oversized dryer vent. It has an intake area that is on the outside of your home. But on the inside of the home, it has two pipes. One of these supplies air directly into the cold air return of your furnace, and the other one provides combustion air for your appliances. These inexpensive makeup air units are vital for your home especially if it is a newer one that is built very tight.
The back drifting that I talked about, it can happen when you operate one of those fans, and you might actually pull carbon monoxide back into your home, down through a chimney. Do not let it happen to you. Get one of these things as soon as possible.
I am Tim Carter for AskTheBuilder.
If you want to discover more home-improvement tips, go to AskTheBuilder.com.
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