Take a good hard look at that picture. A couple weeks ago we started having problems with our furnace shutting off constantly and never really heating properly. After much frustration with the HVAC guys, they finally figured out there was an obstruction on our furnace exhaust pipe. This leads to the utility chimney stack shared with the water heater. Needless to say, it's been (many?) years since this has been cleaned out. It doesn't help that the chimney is unlined -- the pipes only entend a few feet up the stack. Aside from the obvious fire danger, this is also a carbon monoxide danger. It needed to get fixed ASAP.I called a company that specializes in chimneys to come out and take a look. They gave it a good cleaning and I'm so happy that everything is finally back to normal. Furnace is heating as it should, yay!! In the next few weeks we're going to schedule them to come out again and line the chimney with a flue for both pipes and cap it off. Also considering getting it repointed while I'm at it. Let this be a warning to never assume all your exhaust vents are peachy clean. I know I won't..
