Just Wonderful !!! 29° outside!!! I just had to shut the furnace off! ! !

[In_The_Wind]

I've been smelling something odd for the past 2 hours.

I thought I was smelling a neighbors wood stove.

Then just as I was about to drift off to sleep I realized that the house was getting cooler. When I walked into my garage the air was acrid and slightly smoky.

DAMN!

It's going to be another one of those days ...

[NMMNG]

1. Ugh, my condolences

I hope you can get it fixed soon--29 is effing cold. I'd be miserable, considering anything under 50 is miserable for me. Hugs to you Joan :hug:.

[In_The_Wind]

2. I called for emergency service. Someone will be later this morning.

The oil company that I use had two techs call out sick and the third called it a night after working 16 hours.

I opened both garage doors to let the fumes out. But I can't leave it like that very long because the temp in the house will drop.

I have a headache.

I'm worried about the parrots.

[NMMNG]

4. I'm glad you're getting service soon

Can you cover the parrots' cages? My roomie has a cockatiel so I know tropical birds are really sensitive to cold. Fumes are a concern too, but if you've aired the house they should be ok in that respect.

[In_The_Wind]

5. I moved the Cockatoo. She was in the room that opens into the garage.

I've plugged in two oil filled electric heaters. They are able to warm one room each without problems.

I'm on my way to move one Macaw who has only been with us for 5 months. She still isn't one of my biggest fans. She may wake the rest of the house but I need to close off rooms that I can't heat.

[NMMNG]

8. That's good

Morbid story alert:










I once had a Guinea pig. I lived in a townhouse, and my bedroom was over the garage. There was inadequate insulation between the ceiling of the garage and the floor of my room, so the room was always freezing in the winter. One night I slept away from home and forgot to have my roomie take Butterscotch out of the room for the night. When I came home he had frozen to death. :cry:

[In_The_Wind]

9. Poor Butterscotch.

I'm sorry. :hug:

[NMMNG]

10. Thanks

Even though it was nearly 15 years ago I still feel so guilty over it--that and the time I threw the family cat up in the air over and over until my mom caught me (I was 4 at the time). :blush:

[In_The_Wind]

12. You're welcome. The cat may have enjoyed the play.

After all how high can a 4 year old throw a cat?

[NMMNG]

41. I doubt it - she ended up with a bloody nose

I didn't always catch her after throwing her up in the air. :cry:

[In_The_Wind]

42. Oh My Sweetie ...

For such a caring person you really had a rough start with your pets!

[texanwitch]

3. I hope you get your heat back soon, 29 degrees.

It is about 54 here in Houston, wish I could send you some of our weather. All I can do is send you some warm hugs.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[In_The_Wind]

7. It's going to be hours. There are other calls before mine.

The fumes concern me more than anything.

Thanks for the hugs! Enjoy your warm weather as long as you can.

[Tsiyu]

6. I'm sorry!

Please stay warm!

:grouphug:

[In_The_Wind]

11. Thanks buddyhollysghost.

I've done all I can. Now I'll wait.

The furnace is only 2 years old. I feel as if may be something simple - like the oil company hasn't changed to their winter blend. If that's the problem this will be a minor inconvenience after my headache goes away.

I'm really surprised that my house mates didn't wake up while I was moving bird cages, opening & closing garage doors and grinding coffee beans.

They won't be up for hours today. If I were out of town :scared: it could have been far more serious. The fumes were going through out the entire house.

[Tsiyu]

25. That sucks

I hope you've made some progress. :hug:

Do you have some space heaters to use?

My home is on breakdown mode, too, if it helps! I have no running water due to trying to fix a tiolet. I have to go run to the Gigunda home improvement store and buy more parts and I just want to sleep all afternoon.

Isn't being a grownup fun!

[In_The_Wind]

26. The only progress so far is borrowing an extra electric heater. AND ...

The repair man just arrived. He said in 2 hours we'll have heat again. I do hope he is right!

How is your plumbing? Do you expect to have your water back on tonight?

[Tsiyu]

38. Well, here's hoping you have a warm and toasty night

No water here yet. Lowe's had too many parts, but not exactly what I needed.
I am going back in the bathroom again to try to fix it


(*****NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!********)

if I'm not out by morning, someone send a rescue squad......

[Sugar Smack]

13. OH, Honey!

:hug: :hug:

Get that done and THEN go out to breakfast!

[In_The_Wind]

16. I'm freezing! My nose is cold! We have 3 zones of heat. One room is 64°

None of us are going back in there until the heat is on.

We are borrowing two more heaters.

I'm so glad I wasn't sound asleep! It could have been a disaster!

[LaraMN]

14. Oh no! Btdt! What a way to start your day.

:-( I hope it's fixed asap! We were unable to use our water last night, and I am just happy to be able to flush a toilet this morning. Utility issues are a pain in the ass!

[GOPisEvil]

15. Take care of yourself Joani!

:hug:

I hope you get everything repaired soon.

If push comes to shove, is there somewhere you can go to warm up?

[In_The_Wind]

27. We were discussing how to arrange my room to accommodate ...

3 adults, 4 parrots and one big dog ...

However - the repairman arrived a short time ago and said everything would running smoothly in 2 hours.

It would be difficult to evacuate the house. :shrug: That's why one of us is home every night.

:hi::hug:

[In_The_Wind]

17. No Repairman YET! Dammit!

It's 66° to 71° inside while it's 51° outside ...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. My God, Joani.......

You could have died from carbon monoxide poisoning......

Please take care.........

I do hope that help comes soon!

How scary for you and your whole household, too......:scared:


:loveya: :hug:

[Wapsie B]

19. Damn, hope you can get it fixed.

[chknltl]

20. Headache possibly due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Damned good thing you caught this when you did. Your sleeping roommates all right I hope? I am going to suggest that your exhaust system is blocked, perhaps something in the chimney perhaps a closed damper. I can not see your exhaust system so there is no way I can know. It is possible that the exhaust pipe has come loose from your furnace and is spewing the exhaust into your home. If I were there this is where I would check first. I would follow it best I could to find the problem. The furnace guys will be doing that too I suspect. Also check to see if your new furnace is under warranty you may save some $$ here.

This reminds me of when I was a kid and our family went xcountry in an old beat up station wagon. One by one the kids in the back passed out from the exhaust fumes caused by a leaky exhaust system. I woke up on a concrete floor of an automotive garage with air being blown into my face from a tire pump. I had the most blistering headache too. Our family was lucky that my dad didn't pass out from that one, he pulled into that service garage in the nick of time.

Good luck, and good luck with those birds too, as you know they do not tolerate cold temps very well.

[WCGreen]

21. I hate when that happens.....

Better now than when it's snowing....

[merh]

22. take care Joani

I hope they fix the furnace soon. :hug:

[In_The_Wind]

23. still nothing

:shrug:

[merh]

30. dang it - what can we do

What if all of us call the assistance line on your behalf?

:argh: I hate that they still haven't come out to help you. :hug:

[In_The_Wind]

31. They're here working on it. The furnace should be back on in another hour.

When that's done I'm going to bed. I've been awake since yesterday morning. I might even skip supper unless one of my house mates brings in something before I nod off.

[merh]

32. Oh, I am so glad they are fixing it for you.

Go get some sleep lady, you deserve it. :hug: :loveya:

[In_The_Wind]

34. yes merh. I will.

[hfojvt]

24. I could not figure the sarcasm at first

29 is so wonderful? She shut the furnace off because she was getting too hot? Maybe she is in Florida/California/Texas and giving the temp in celcius.

Brrrr. Time to get back in bed with the dogs and watch TV or do some serious baking.

[chknltl]

28. I just talked with my friends from "The Heating Company".

They strongly recommended that you NOT follow my earlier advice. They feel that you likely have an "oil" furnace, I am told that they are common in your area. Shutting it down and waiting for professional help is best because of safety, (fire), hazards. They said if you have a "gas" furnace and "smelled" stuff, plus saw smoke then again the furnace must be shut down for safety reasons. It is not as I surmised an exhaust issue in either case. I am sorry for the bad advice. I just wanted to help but help from an idiot is the last thing you need. I hope the electric heaters will keep you warm until real help arrives.

[In_The_Wind]

33. I did shut down and wait. I don't need explosions. It's an oil furnace.

You're not an idiot - you meant well. The final responsibility always falls on me and I'm used to making the decisions. Everything is going to be okay. The chimney was plugged solid.

Yes, I did have carbon monoxide posing this morning. The heaters worked well enough during the day but I'd hate to rely on them as my soul source of heat for the night.

[Feron]

35. Do you have carbon monoxide detectors??

If not, seriously consider investing in a few to put throughout the house.

If you do, then I would check the batteries or consider replacing them.

In any case, I'm glad to hear that everyone and all of the pets are okay. :)

[SOteric]

29. Get lots of blankets and two pairs of sweats,

put a pot of stew on a slow boil and fire up the oven. Good time to try out some pound cake recipes or other items that bake for a long, long time and get the house all hot and steamy.

:hug:

Hang in there.

[In_The_Wind]

39. I'm too tired to bake anything but it all sounded great. Thanks.

[Nikia]

36. I saw this just now

I am glad you are getting it taken care of. I hope that it is all taken care of so you don't have to worry about this even when it is colder.

[In_The_Wind]

40. Thanks so much Nikia. It's like both you & WCGreen pointed out ...

better to get it fixed now instead of later on in the winter.



:hi:

[In_The_Wind]

37. UPDATE ~ *8:30* ~ The Furnace Is Working! Thanks To All Of You!

I really want to thank all of my friends here at DU.

I was awake for 36 hours - because after calling our oil company at 5:30 this morning I wouldn't go to sleep until at 5 PM the fix was supposed to be in for 6.

Bottom Line ~ We have heat again.


I am not my old sweet self at the moment so ...

I'll be around but I may not be too chatty for a few hours.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

43. I am SO glad it's fixed, Joani......

Please take care....you matter to me, and to so many of us.......


:pals:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. So glad it's fixed!

I guess by now you're feeling nice and toasty again. How's your birdie? Sorry it's been such a rough day!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

44. Oh no! It's contagious!

I'm so sorry, Joan. I hope it's all fixed soon...And I hope you have a place to stay that's free of fumes! :hug:

[In_The_Wind]

46. The fumes are still bad but the house is warm as toast again.

We have the room adjacent to the garage closed off from the rest of the house.
I think I'm smelling whatever they used to clean and service the furnace but it is pretty bad.
Tomorrow I'll be back on the phone again if it continues.

[kittenwithmittens]

47. I have a Dyna-Glo kerosene heater for backup

One of those round upright portable ones. They're kind of expensive, but I picked mine up on clearance last spring for 80 bucks. It's actually my second backup. If the power goes out, my Monitor vented kerosene heaters don't work, so my propane under-floor furnace in the kitchen kicks in, and I can siphon the kerosene out of my big tanks to run the Dyna-Glo, which really pumps out the heat for the rest of the house. It can get to -20F here in the winter (northern Vermont) so I can't afford to be without heat for more than a few hours.

[NMMNG]

48. Welcome to DU!

And I just love your screen name--you will fit in fine here in the Lounge :-).

[In_The_Wind]

49. Welcome to DU ~ kittenwithmittens ...

I wish you warmth all winter long.