Unmaintained furnaces pose serious health risks as temperatures drop

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — This weekend it's going to get cold, especially during the night. While we keep our homes warm, there are some underlying risks in not maintaining your furnace.

A cracked heat exchanger looks like a split or rupture in the metal chamber of a gas furnace where gases burn. Vents can be blocked by animal nests and debris, which can cause poor ventilation.

"If it runs forever and it never shuts off. Sometimes you can notice some abnormal smells from electrical burning," Bryton Goodrum, a Service Tech with Conan Heating and Cooling, said. "When you turn it on for the first time, you're going to smell dust burning or a smell like burnt hair. That's normal. It should go away within 20 to 30 minutes. If it doesn't, then you definitely need to have service done."

An unmaintained furnace can lead to Carbon Monoxide entering the home.

Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer; you can't smell it or see it. It can kill people in their sleep before they even experience symptoms.

The CDC found that symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning may include headaches, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Often described as the flu.

"This was probably 15 years ago, but I was living in Illinois at the time, still living at home with parents," Goodrum said. "The state had mandated that they put in carbon monoxide detectors. Literally a month before our furnace bit the dust and went out, they put that carbon monoxide detector in. If they hadn't put that in, I don't know if I'd be talking to you right now."

A Carbon Monoxide Detector is a small device that could have a big impact on the home. It is one of the only things that can detect carbon monoxide and alert you of its presence. These detectors can last for 10 years, then you will have to switch it out.

"It has to be within 15ft of the bedrooms," Goodrum said. "That way if they go off in the middle of the night, they'll wake you up. Your carbon monoxide detector doesn't really do you any good if it's in an area where you're not. Because it's kind of like your canary in the coal mine. If that starts going off, you want it to be breathing the air you're breathing."

Maintenance of your furnace can prevent Carbon Monoxide from entering the home, and having a detector is important to ensuring you are protected from this silent killer.