Q: We are selling our home, and have a bid on it. The home inspector said we had a small amount of carbon monoxide leaking from our heater and that it needed to be cleaned. He showed me how he tested it and explained that most inspectors do not test half the things that he was testing.
I showed him our carbon monoxide monitor, and it was not reading dangerous levels. Still, we had the heater professionally serviced, and were told it was common for carbon monoxide to leak when the burner is heating up.
We would never want to sell our home to someone under any unsafe conditions. However, we have maintained and upgraded most areas of the home, and are now also being told the electricity was done incorrectly.
When it comes to inspections, is there a standard or code of conditions that must be tested and documented, or is it subject to the inspector?
The American Society of Home Inspectors says heating and electrical systems are among the items covered in a standard inspection.
In the inspector's opinion, the furnace required cleaning because he detected carbon monoxide when it was operating. In response, you had the furnace serviced. You should get documentation to show this has been done.
Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of incomplete combustion caused when there isn't enough oxygen to create carbon dioxide, and a dirty furnace is a common cause. What the servicer should have done was make sure the problem had been taken care of.
If the buyers are concerned, they should have a licensed electrician inspect the work. The same goes for the furnace. Tell them to hire a HVAC company to inspect it if they are concerned with the inspector's report.
The home inspector association's standards of conduct state that if the buyer has concerns about issues in the report, he or she should ask for further testing.
