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You know, my central vacuum cleaner is a wonderful tool, and it sucks a tremendous amount of air from the inside of my house and puts it outdoors
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But what happens? How do I get that air back inside the house? You may not have a central vacuum in your home, but I'll bet you there's a good chance you've got a clothes dryer
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You might have a bathroom exhaust fan. How about a kitchen exhaust fan
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what about a gas water heater, a gas furnace, maybe even a fireplace
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All of those things when they operate, they consume air out of your home
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And if you've got a home that's a modern one, one that's built maybe within the last 15 years, they're very tight
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You can actually create a situation called backdrafting. This is a handy item that provides the makeup air you need in your home
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It looks a lot like an oversized dryer vent. It has an intake area that's on the outside of your home, but on the inside of the home, it has two pipes
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One of these supplies air directly into the cold air return of your furnace, and the other one provides combustion air for your appliances
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These inexpensive makeup air units are vital for your home, especially if it's a newer one that's built very tight
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The backdrafting that I talked about can happen when you operate one of those fans, and you might actually
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pull carbon monoxide back into your home down through a chimney. Don't let it happen to you
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Get one of these things as soon as possible. I'm Tim Carter and Ask the Builder
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If you want to discover more home improvement tips, go to ask thebuilder.com
