Chimney troubleshooting-why is my basement filling up with smoke!!!??

[Mama Poot]

There are 2 fireplaces here, one in the living room and one in the basement. We are using the living room one and every time we use it the BASEMENT fills with smoke! WHY??? The flue is open in the living room and closed in the basement one, which is what you are supposed to do. Furthermore, the smoke isnt coming through the basement fireplace. It seems to be coming in in the room where the furnace is. HELP!

[retro.mama]

If you are running your furnace, or have run it recently, and burn a fire, the smoke will come down the chimney for the furnace and out into the room. We have a triple chimney (for lack of a better word) and will not run the furnace while burning wood as it will bring some smoke into the house. I understand that the furnace chimney is not the cold air intake, but some does come down the open flue.

This is assuming that you are smelling smoke, and it's not so much that you need to evacuate.

[annekevdbroek]

we just had some chimney repairs done... I have no idea what is happening with yours, but wanted to say that if you call a chimney repair place (or several) they often will come out to do an inspection free of charge. Just, well, be sure to get several opinions before you agree to any work....

[SleeplessMommy]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

It seems to be coming in in the room where the furnace is. HELP!

This is a situation for an emergency call to your furnace repair company. The smoke could contain carbon monoxide, which you know can be deadly. It would be a good idea to take the kids and leave the house until the problem fixed.

[Mama Poot]

We think we know what happened last night. As anyone who lives in the northeast knows, it is very cold and we're being buried with snow. DH went outside and noticed the smoke was settling around the yard instead of going into the air. I spoke with my dad this morning and he said this happens when a low pressure system comes in. It also happens when it is very cold. After a few hours the pressure in the chimney went back to normal and the problem went away. The basement windows are old and leaky, so thats how the smoke was getting in.

[velochic]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

We think we know what happened last night. As anyone who lives in the northeast knows, it is very cold and we're being buried with snow. DH went outside and noticed the smoke was settling around the yard instead of going into the air. I spoke with my dad this morning and he said this happens when a low pressure system comes in. It also happens when it is very cold. After a few hours the pressure in the chimney went back to normal and the problem went away. The basement windows are old and leaky, so thats how the smoke was getting in.

How interesting! I didn't know that. It's a good thing to know, too. Learn something new every day! Glad your problem cleared up.