Gas

Here's how we did not get carbon monoxide poisoning this week: 

A few days ago we had a big snow storm overnight. It had been a lazy morning, and I finally was ready to take a shower. Unfortunately, when I started the water, it was lukewarm and then cold. Our water heater is an instant gas heater in our crawlspace (For more information, you can refer to a post about replacing our old water heater early last year ).

Normally, I rely on Aaron to fix things like that, but he was out of state, so I texted him for ideas. He suggested I check the indicator light on the appliance to see first if it has power. I don't enjoy going down into the crawlspace, but I also don't enjoy freezing cold showers. So I donned some clothing and opened the crawlspace lid. 

Whoosh! The smell of natural gas emerged from the crawlspace. Supposing it might not be safe to go down there, I again reached out to Aaron for next steps. It seemed like we had a gas leak or something. Aaron called the gas company for me, and they told us to exit the building and wait for the service technician. I scooped up a few supplies and carried my daughter through a foot of snow (I had not gotten around to shoveling) to our favorite neighbors' house. We hung out there until the technician came. They consider these calls emergent, and he arrived within the hour - pretty quick considering traffic was a mess due to the snow.

Upon arrival, the technician used a sensor to assess the air. He quickly determined there was carbon monoxide and natural gas filtering throughout the house. At this point the CO level was only a little lower than the threshold to trigger our CO alarm. He checked each gas appliance, and while he was evaluating the crawlspace, he noted that our water heater exhaust vent exits the house rather close to the ground. He suspected the new snow was obstructing the exhaust. Upon inspection outside, sure enough, the pipe was completely covered. All it took was a couple of shovels of snow, a few minutes to circulate the bad air out of the house, and the problem was resolved. 

We are grateful that 

1. The water heater had a safety feature which shut it off when it detected a problem with exhaust.

2. The crawlspace had a gas odor, so I did not climb down. It would have been highly concentrated with CO exhaust. 

3. The solution was obvious, simple, and quick to implement.

4. Our neighbor was kind enough to give us a warm place to wait. We have family nearby offering to help also. The problem was resolved so quickly we were able to walk home and carry on with our day without needing to travel in the snowy weather. 

Now we know: We need to bring the pipes up higher. And until then, check the exhaust vent after a snowstorm.