When Michigan’s weather hits hard with ice and snow, keeping your home warm isn’t your only concern. Packed snow, ice and falling icicles pose a risk to your gas meter and your gas appliances’ chimneys and vents. Check your meter and vents regularly, and you could save yourself from a serious accident.
Check your gas meter and pipes
For maintenance and safety reasons, check your meter and pipes regularly to make sure they’re free from snow and ice at all times. Heavy snow on your gas pipes can damage the pipes and cause a leak. Some meters contain a pressure regulator that may not function properly if the meter is covered with snow or ice.
- Never let your meter become completely covered with snow. Never shovel snow against the meter.
- When possible, use your gloved hands or a broom to remove snow and ice. If that doesn’t work, use a shovel with care. Never hit or shake the meter or pipes to break up snow or ice.
- If you can’t clear the meter and pipes, contact your gas company or an HVAC technician for help.
Check your vents and chimneys
When snow blocks your furnace’s fresh air intakes, chimneys or exhaust vents, it interferes with combustion and prevents sufficient venting of exhaust gases. This may shut down your furnace or, worse, cause a carbon monoxide buildup in your home.
- After every major snow fall or ice storm, clear your vents of snow, ice, and debris.
- When it’s snowing, periodically check your vents to make sure they’re clear.
- Regularly check the side wall vents and air intakes if you have a direct-vent or high-efficiency furnace.
- Remember to clear the chimney or vents on your roof.
If you check your meter or vents and find them too severely blocked to clear yourself, call your gas company or an HVAC professional. For more expert guidance on keeping your HVAC equipment working safely and efficiently all winter, contact us at Aladdin Heating & Cooling. For more than 65 years, we’ve been reliably serving the Metro-Detroit area, including Dearborn, St. Clair Shores, Berkley, and Shelby Township.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Checking Your Meter And Vents and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Aladdin Heating services Novi, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Oak Park, Ferndale, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Twp., Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Madison Heights, Clawson, Sterling Heights, Warren, Troy, St. Clair Shores, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit, Utica, Shelby Twp., Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock