I’ll start this article with something I saw on an episode of Holmes On Homes, last year where the host of the program exposed a dryer venting into the garage ceiling which was sealed and was over the garage. Imagine 6 – 7 years of dryer exhaust(lint) collecting in the floor joist? In other words, it was not exhausting to the outdoors at all. I’m not saying this to alarm you, but to attend to different smells in your home that may be more serious.
Dryer Exhaust: Moisture, Fire Hazard
Smelling dryer exhaust inside the house is a red flag indicating lack of a vent, or a plugged vent. Lack of a vent risks moisture problems inside your house, and coating everything with dryer lint. A plugged vent is a serious fire hazard. Take immediate action!
Combustion Gases: Safety issue
If when inside you smell the exhaust from your wood stove, furnace, boiler, or other combustion appliance, your health may be in jeopardy from the particulate matter in the smoke, or from carbon monoxide (CO) — which is odorless but often accompanies other gases. In all these cases, bring in the appropriate technician as soon as possible particularly if there is an immediate problem with the heating appliance.
If you only smell these smells on a windy day, or when a low-pressure system has settled overhead, the issue may be that the normal weather patterns that help gases exhaust from the home are working against you. There’s a lot more to this topic than we can cover today, but if it’s a regular occurrence it is worth investigating with a contractor’s help. One quick point: if it’s a building with a high-capacity range hood, beware of “depressurizing” your home with that fan, leading exhaust to get pulled into your house from your furnace.
Keep your nose out and let us know what you’ve been smelling! We want to help to create the healthiest, safest environment!!
Call Vredevoogd Heating & Cooling for all your plumbing, heating, & cooling needs. In the greater West Michigan, Lakeshore, and surrounding areas call: 844-482-2365
