Landlord installed a dangerous makeshift furnace exhaust vent
Landlords frequently use improper materials like dryer vent hoses, blocked chimneys, or makeshift plywood window blocks for gas furnace exhaust. This leaves tenants terrified of carbon monoxide leaks and fire hazards near their bedrooms, with management companies and handymen failing to fix the issues correctly.
Core Friction Pattern
Analysis of 4 peer accounts across online developer and community forums reveals that “Landlord installed a dangerous makeshift furnace exhaust vent” repeatedly surfaces due to edge-case mismatches between standard defaults and real-world environments. Standard troubleshooting frequently falls short, compelling practitioners to develop custom workarounds.
+7 alternative community-tested workarounds cataloged below.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
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Landlord installed a dangerous makeshift furnace exhaust vent
- 1Contacting the management company to send a maintenance technicianDid this help you?
- 2Considering DIY repair by purchasing tools and supplies from a hardware storeDid this help you?
- 3Calling the gas company to red tag the furnaceDid this help you?
- 4Contacting the local building inspector or housing departmentDid this help you?
- 5Shutting off the furnace immediatelyDid this help you?
- 6Checking whether the appliances are natural draft or induced draftDid this help you?
- 7Inspecting the venting setup for backdraft signsDid this help you?
- 8Planning to call a home inspector or professional to verify code violations and have the contractor redo the workDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“While doing some roof work the handyman noticed the chimneys were concreted shut. I was concerned and brought it up to the landlord since the 1978 era natural gas furnace is vented to the chimney.”source ↗
“He rerouted the exhaust out through a piece of plywood he blocked a basement window. The outdoor portion of the vent is a metal vent boot with the plastic pest screen and back draft damper. All of this screams fire and CO leak to me.”source ↗
“When putting in the liner, the company also combined the furnace and water heater into one vent.”source ↗
“My question is when one of the appliances is venting (more so the chimney since the output would presumably be higher) what stops it from just venting out the other side and not up the actual chimney?”source ↗
“Shortly after move-in I discovered the furnace exhaust vent was actually a dryer vent hose with burnt tape around it.”source ↗
“After having a "certified maintenance technician" from the fairly large management company come repair the furnace "properly", I am still suspicious that the job isn't done correctly.”source ↗
“Since the heater is upstairs next to every bedroom I am concerned about the connection of the new vent into the existing and any carbon monoxide issues.”source ↗
“Sounds like I have a problem that will need fixing 🫠”source ↗
“It looks to me like the furnace portion is actually pitched down toward the water heater, which is bad.”source ↗