Volgograd Residents Advised to Check Ventilation and Chimneys

Specialists from Gazprom Gas Distribution Volgograd inform residents about the need to check chimneys and ventilation ducts for draft, their integrity, and clogging with foreign objects. Especially in winter, when snow and ice can lead to freezing and blockage.

Ventilation – Under Increased Scrutiny

Ventilation in apartments and chimneys in private residential houses are indispensable elements in rooms where gas equipment is installed. Their main role is to ensure necessary air exchange in the room for the inflow of fresh air (including for the normal operation of gas-using equipment) and to promote the removal of combustion products from the room.

A faulty ventilation and chimney system can lead to draft disruption, accumulation of carbon monoxide in the room, which has no color or smell, so it is especially dangerous and can lead to fatal outcome.

Check the Draft

According to the law, during operation, the condition and functioning of smoke and ventilation channels must be checked, and if necessary, cleaned and (or) repaired at least 3 times a year: from April to June, from August to September, from December to February.

Subscribers should also independently check the draft in the ventilation duct before turning on gas equipment. One simple way to check the draft in the ventilation duct is to hold a sheet of paper against the ventilation grille. With sufficient draft, the paper is held against the grille. Also, when gas appliances are operating, it is necessary to ensure air inflow into the room to avoid draft disruption by opening a window vent or transom.

In a private house, the responsibility for checking the serviceability of chimneys and ventilation channels lies with the property owner. The owner must conclude a contract with a specialized organization, whose employees will check, clean, and repair smoke and ventilation channels as needed.

In apartment buildings, the condition of smoke and ventilation channels is the responsibility of managing companies (MCs, homeowners associations, housing cooperatives).

Damper and Range Hood – Under Ban

Please note that it is prohibited to close the openings of smoke and ventilation channels, connect flues from gas equipment to ventilation channels, and use a damper on the stove chimney.

It is also dangerous to use forced exhaust in apartments and houses where instantaneous and storage water heaters (columns, boilers) are installed. Simultaneous operation of a gas water heater and an exhaust fan, even with a serviceable chimney and ventilation channel, leads to so-called draft reversal, causing combustion products to enter the living space!

Gas service specialists also recommend equipping the room where gas appliances are installed with gas detectors.

The detector will sense the presence of a dangerous concentration of carbon monoxide in the room, emit a danger sound signal, and the electromagnetic valve (if available) will shut off the gas supply.

The emergency gas service telephone number is 04 or 104 from a mobile.