Q: I have read your column for years and love it, but think I have the ultimate stumper. For the past few years, we've had a strange "wooshing" sound in our house. It started happening only for a short period of time in the mornings and lasted a few to several minutes. But never at night. Each "woosh" is just a couple seconds, spaced a few minutes apart. Sometimes only one or two, sometimes a dozen, always random.
At first we thought it was coming from the furnace in the basement of our daylight rambler. Turning off the furnace power didn't make a difference. We called the furnace company, they visited and said they had no idea what I was talking about.
It goes away for months at a time, and then comes back. This year it happens not only in the early morning, but also several times throughout the day, but not every day. It also is loudest near our gas fireplace.
My husband went out once and said he saw puffs coming from our gas fireplace chimney (it may also be the chimney for our furnace). The sound, which I liken to the sound made by a hot-air balloon, has become such a part of our lives that we don't pay any attention to it anymore, but I am concerned. I made a tape of the sound but don't know what kind of repair-person should listen to it.
A: If you have a standing pilot light in a sealed combustion fireplace, leaking gas inside the unit may be igniting when the levels reach combustible amounts. The "woosh" likely is gas exploding up the chimney and carrying a bunch of surrounding air with it. This could conceivably sound like the rush of a hot-air balloon burner. You might never smell the gas inside the house.
The seeming randomness of the events you experience is probably because the explosions are dependent on gas pressure, relative atmospheric and interior air pressures, and difference in temperature between inside and outside. But this is only my wild theory.
Have the utility check the fireplace and furnace for gas leakage before any other action is taken. A certified chimney sweep and/or fireplace repair shop would be other good resources. Readers, any other ideas?
Note:
Earlier this month final approval was reached in the class-action settlement involving Behr Wood Sealant. Behr has agreed to pay up to $107.5 million for damage related to the use of its wood sealant products bought and installed from Jan. 1, 1991, until Oct. 29, 2002.
The settlement states that the sealants can promote mildew growth on the products to which they are applied. In my experience, the mold growth that occurs generally occurs as black splotchy patches. In many cases the wood must be stripped completely of any finish using wood strippers or oxalic acid and wood brighteners, rather than simply pressure washed.
The products involved are Super Liquid Raw-Hide #12, 13, 31-12, and 31-13, and Natural Seal Plus #79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 92, 31-79, 31-80, 31-81, 31-82, 31-83, 31-84 and 31-92.
The deadline for claims is Sept. 1, 2003. You can file a claim through one of the following: 1-877-637-5997, www.behrsettlement.com, or by writing to Behr Claims, P.O. Box 232, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Darrell Hay answers readers' questions. Call 206-464-8514 to record your question, |
