The latest snowstorm to hit our area left us without power for several days.
- We spent our days shoveling the driveway and clearing off the cars.
Thankfully we have a fireplace so at least we had a heat source which is more than many of our neighbors did. When the power was finally restored we turned on the local news to see what the weather report was. There was an emergency message scrolling across the top to let homeowners know about the importance of clearing the exhaust pipe for the HVAC system before turning it back on. We never even thought of that when we were out shoveling and I immediately went to the thermostat to turn off the heat. The report said that if the exhaust was blocked by snow there could be a dangerous build up of carbon monoxide in a very short time. We all bundled up and headed back outside to shovel our way to the far side of the house where the vent was located. Even though the kids complained about having to go out again they understood the importance of making sure that the vent is cleared. They had all about the dangers of carbon monoxide in school and were afraid of it getting into the house. I promised them all hot cocoa when they finished the job and that I would turn the heat way up for a bit to make sure the house was nice and warm once it was cleared. We had the job done in no time by working together and I even placed a board against the house to block the snow from falling directly on the vent again.