hey guys Roger Wakefield here the expert plumber coming to you live talk to you
this morning about can water heaters leak carbon monoxide you know this is
really a big deal in our industry because we walk into houses quite often
where the vent is not hooked up properly and that actually allows carbon dioxide
carbon monoxide excuse me to be released into the house so can water leaders leak
carbon monoxide the water heater itself normally no but if the vent is not
hooked up right if it's improperly installed you can have problems gas
water heaters burn natural gas to create the heat to heat the water so what
happens is those exhaust fumes go up through the flue in the middle of a
water heater and when they go through this flue it's so they can go up exit
out to the atmosphere where they're not going to be a problem we've got carbon
monoxide in the atmosphere very low levels not enough to hurt anybody but if
your water heaters installed properly more direct to the point if the vent is
stalled improperly then you can get carbon monoxide gas in your house now if
you look at the top of the water heater you've got the little chimney funnel on
top and then you've got your flue pipe that sets right down on it guys it
should set down on it securely the weight of the pipe should actually keep
it sitting on it I've actually walked in houses where the piece of pipe has been
pulled off I've walked in houses where the piece of pipe has been set over to
the side where it's not lined up guys anything like this is going to allow
carbon monoxide to get directly into your house now if it's improperly
installed or it's poorly vented if that vent is clogged you know one thing I
like to do when I go in and install the new water here is take apart the vent
and look in it make sure it is it clogged up is there a bird nest in it is
there a nest that maybe drop down from from the top give an animal crawl down
in there did an animal pull the top off the collar off the vent
or the the cap off of it in climb down in there that doesn't happen very often
but I have actually found a squirrel down inside of one before so when that
clogs that up those fumes have no way to get out so what they do is they release
into the house now a water heater is not the only thing that can create carbon
monoxide your gas furnace is up in your attic if you look at them they've got
that type B vent which is the double-wall vent coming off and going up
through the roof and that is to get the carbon monoxide to get those fumes to
get that exhausted gas burn smell fumes everything out of the house and I said
smell there's really not a lot of smell to it you normally you need a gas meter
or a carbon monoxide detector to come in and test for it but guys it's a gas
that can make you really sick and even lead up to death so your gas
furnace and your water heater are the two biggest things that can cause carbon
monoxide in your house if they're not properly vented or they're poorly
installed either way guys this can lead to problems this can lead to problems
for you it can lead to problems for your kids it can lead to problems for anybody
that stays in your house or comes in your house we all have different
tolerance levels as to what we can take and what our bodies can handle but
carbon monoxide is a gas you really don't want to mess with so I said
earlier that it could be deadly there are some signs to look for and but
before before I get to the signs guys go look at your water heater open up your
closet if your water heaters on an interior closet or out in the garage and
look at it is that vent pipe setting down securely on your collar or under
your funnel up on top that actually gets your fumes out and concentrates them
into that three or four inch line and takes them out is it sitting securely on
it if it's not you might need to wiggle it it may have rotated there could be a
lot of different things if it's a single wall vent which you can have single wall
directly off the water heater going - right before it penetrates the ceiling
there should also be a collar or a pipe and right there above it where it goes
through the ceiling because that should be cut open to where you've got one inch
of clearance between your double wall and any combustible surface so you want
to make sure that's installed right also a fresh air intake if if yours is on an
interior closet in your house you may have a four inch piece of pipe that
comes down to within 12 inches of the floor that's to bring fresh air in and
then your exhaust going out like I said to get the expelled gas fumes out so
back to me saying it's deadly guys the symptoms for carbon monoxide start off
with headache okay if every time you go home you get a headache even if it's a
little headache this is something you may need to check then it can lead to
weakness then to dizziness you know when you're moving around all of a
sudden you get up you've been sitting in the chair for a while you get up you're
kind of dizzy nausea nausea and vomiting guys those are two signs of carbon
monoxide poisoning shortness of breath and then confusion you can also get
blurred vision you can get loss of consciousness guys loss of consciousness
is the one that once you reach that point the these carbon monoxide levels
have gotten so high that it is really damaging your body so the bad thing is
after loss of consciousness if you're there in that situation too long it can
lead to death carbon monoxide is one thing you don't want to mess with it's
one reason why we tell people look plumbers are- or water heaters are
supposed to be installed by licensed plumbers they're supposed to be inspected
they're supposed to pull a permit on it guys these are big things for this
reason you want to get that plumbing inspector in to look at it to see if the
job was done properly if it's vented properly and if it's installed properly
guys inspectors are going to check things like your fresh air intake is it
big enough you need so many cubic inches for every BTU
so they go through they look they check they make sure things are right guys
when it comes to gas that's one thing that we tell people yes here in Texas if
it's your homestead you can actually work on anything in your plumbing system
that you want you've still got to pull up a permit just like we do you still
got to get it inspected just like we do guys if you don't miss those steps
there's nothing wrong with doing it but on your water heater too big emergency
things are make sure that your flues run out properly make sure that TMP
valve is tied in and ran properly also these are things that can lead to to
death the plumbing industry is very serious I take it personal and I take
pride in everything that we do guys I've done videos to tell you look this is
something you can do yourself but when it comes to gas when it comes to carbon
monoxide when it comes to natural gas and gas water heaters or even gas
appliances your stove your furnace anything at all like that this is
something I normally tell you to leave to the trained professional call your
plumber hopefully you can get him out get an inspection on it get it checked
out get things done right if you're not sure about your flue pipe or yours
doesn't look right or you can look at it and think you know what I'm probably
getting gas out because of this connection or the way this is or if it's
pulled apart guys it can be very dangerous for you and your family and
with the symptoms that I've read those are not things that you want to put
anybody in that situation so guys again if you like this channel please hit the
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it's me or somebody else at least now you've got information that can help you
out and help you alive my name is Roger Wakefield with Texas
Green Plumbing saving you money one drop at a time