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A Leading Consumer Magazine Advises
Caution Regarding Vent Free Gas Fireplaces

Sweepy The following is an exerpt from a November, 1998 article in Consumer Reports Magazine outlining the results of their independent testing of vent free gas fireplaces.

"....our tests confirm that these heaters contribute significantly to indoor air pollution. If you're planning to buy a gas fireplace, a vented model should be your first choice. That's especially wise if any household member has asthma or another respiratory ailment that may be exacerbated by particulate matter, or if your home is very airtight--and so will disperse the fireplace's emissions less readily. A vented gas fireplace needn't cost more to buy and install than an unvented model, since some units require only a fairly small vent pipe that runs horizontally to any outside wall."

The same warning was repeated on Consumer Reports Magazine's website in January, 2008.

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Read about how much CO2 a vent-free fireplace exhausts into the breathing space

Read about a recent study of the effects of long-term exposure to CO gases

Read about respiratory irritation from vent-free exhaust in the breathing space

Read a posting about vent-free gas appliances from an indoor air quality scientist

Read letters in defense of vent-free products

Read our opinion about vent-free gas appliances

Read about a 2016 ASHRAE standard that could eliminate the entire vent-free product category in the US

Have a vent-free experience you'd like to report?  Here's a link to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

 

 

 

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