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
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
You might have a bathroom exhaust fan. How about a kitchen exhaust fan
what about a gas water heater, a gas furnace, maybe even a fireplace
All of those things when they operate, they consume air out of your home
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
You can actually create a situation called backdrafting. This is a handy item that provides the makeup air you need in your home
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
One of these supplies air directly into the cold air return of your furnace, and the other one provides combustion air for your appliances
These inexpensive makeup air units are vital for your home, especially if it's a newer one that's built very tight
The backdrafting that I talked about can happen when you operate one of those fans, and you might actually
pull carbon monoxide back into your home down through a chimney. Don't let it happen to you
Get one of these things as soon as possible. I'm Tim Carter and Ask the Builder
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