Your Place: A pro advises a reader about wood-stove odors

Helpful hints from professionals among our readers are a blessing.

For a reader with a wood stove whose heat vents smell of smoke when the stove isn't in operation, Glen J. Fisher of National Property Inspections of Southern New Jersey has this observation:

Even if the wood stove and chimney are spotless, the odor of burnt wood and smoke will be present inside the chimney flue, the smoke pipe and the wood stove, Fisher said.

When the heating mode of the heat pump and/or air conditioning is in operation, either one will often create a negative pressure condition inside the home. When the bedroom door is closed, there is less available air to feed the returns, which will increase the negative pressure.

As a result, the returns can simulate a vacuum and draw air down the chimney flue, smoke pipe, and through the wood stove and then be redistributed from the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning supply ducts to the living areas.

Fisher says that when the wood stove is not in use, the doors and air vents on the wood stove must be kept tightly closed. Second, the wood stove doors should be checked to determine if the gaskets or seals are in good condition or warrant replacement. Third, the wood stove smoke pipe should be checked for any joints that should be sealed or repaired.

Make sure that the bedroom door has at least a one-inch gap at the bottom when closed to allow sufficient air movement.

As a last resort, if the above are all addressed and there is not adequate improvement, a return duct can be installed in the bedroom that connects to the return duct in the hallway.

Excellent advice.

Our second professional is Philadelphia master plumber Joseph P. Farley, who weighs in on a problem from a reader who, owing to the fluctuation in water temperature, cannot shower when the dishwasher is on, for example, or even when someone else is showering.

Farley says that all that is needed is a pressure- balanced faucet.

Moen makes one called "Posi temp," which has a balancing spool in it. If you are showering and someone opens another tap the spool will shift and balance the pressure so you will not get scalded or chilled.

It comes only with single lever faucets so if the reader has an old two- or three-handle tub and shower valve and wants to keep it, the problem can still be solved by installing a pressure-balanced device on the hot and cold water lines that feed that old faucet.