Do You Have Gas-Fired Appliances in Your Garage?

by George Karonis

If your garage is attached to your home, it’s an obvious pollution source from things like garden chemicals, fumes from your vehicle and other stored belongings. It can also be a source of deadly carbon monoxide (CO), depending on what you store in it.

For instance, having a gas-fired appliance in your garage is not a good idea. Take a gas-fired dryer, for instance. Venting a gas-fired dryer into your garage could be potentially deadly. This is because they exhaust small amounts of CO. Therefore, it’s imperative you properly vent a gas-fired dryer (or any other gas-fired appliance) outdoors.

If you do own a gas-fired appliance, it’s important you install a CO detector and ensure your appliances are cleaned and inspected every year.

If you do have a gas-fired appliance installed in your garage, an effective way of removing heat buildup and properly ventilating your garage is by installing a garage exhaust fan.

Benefits of Installing a Garage Exhaust Fan

Garage ventilation is essential, particularly since garages are generally kept closed for security purposes and you only open them to drive your vehicle in or out of them. This makes circulation of fresh air infrequent and brief, and the interior of your garage stagnates and temperatures fluctuate from higher to lower extremes. Some benefits of installing a garage exhaust fan are:

  1. A garage exhaust fan, like the Garage Exhaust Fan QuietCool GA ES-1500, is economical protection for supporting the healthy air quality of your home and your indoor comfort.
  2. You can accumulate toxic fumes inside an attached garage that can infiltrate your home such as:

Chemicals
Paints
Pesticides
Other toxics

These fumes might slowly seep into your home through the various structural gaps and cracks that can be found between the joints of your house or even when you open and close the access door to your home. A garage exhaust fan can help to funnel these fumes outside.

  1. Carbon monoxide can be insidious. It’s odorless, colorless and can concentrate in the inside of your garage after you start your vehicle in your garage or return from taking it out for a drive or if you have a gas-fired appliance in your garage. CO gases’ molecular density is so low it can filter through gypsum wallboard, which is a common material that separates the garage from household living areas.
  2. Temperatures in an unconditioned garage can spike in the summertime. This is another great reason to ensure you have adequate garage ventilation. Heat energy can radiate through the walls of your attached garage and into your home and this can cause your air conditioner to work even harder to keep your living spaces cool. Your air conditioner will cycle longer trying to compensate and this will increase the operating costs.

Just remember, gas-fired appliances produce CO as a combustion by-product, therefore you should always exhaust them outdoors. Venting them outdoors will also help prevent water vapor exhaustion which can damage structures and cause mildew or mold growth. To stay safe, ensure all gas-fired appliances vent outside and install a garage exhaust fan to properly ventilate your garage.

Call us here at WholeHouseFan.com at 1.888.229.5757 if you have any questions about garage exhaust fans.

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