combustible gas fumes in sump pump pit
Hey there, hoping someone can help me out.
I've been feeling increased headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, rapid heart rates over the past year. Noting that symptoms are often worse in my finished basement and especially the furnace room.
The propane furnace has been checked and found to be in good working order.
Tonight I decided to walk around the basement with my handheld methane / propane sniffer. I turned it on outside to let it self calibrate in fresh air. Walked into the basement and got some weak alarms (>40 ppm) on the side of the basement opposite of the furnace room. Then walked into the furnace room put the probe near the furnace and got no alarms. Then for some reason decide to stick the probe into the U shaped opening on the sump pump pit, and got alarms at >320 ppm (this detector's highest reading is >640 ppm).
I've done a bit of research and have found articles stating that "...air tight lids for sump pump pits are a good idea to keep 'soil gases' from contaminating indoor air quality...." One of the gases mentioned was methane.
This is probably getting pulled into the air stream and circulated through the house, which then causes my symptoms of exposure. I've noticed I always feel better when I'm outside of the house.
Just wondering if it's "normal" to have a buildup of methane gas in a sump pump pit...? I'm assuming it's methane because if it were propane, I'd be able to smell the rotten egg additive.
Thanks
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I've been feeling increased headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, rapid heart rates over the past year. Noting that symptoms are often worse in my finished basement and especially the furnace room.
The propane furnace has been checked and found to be in good working order.
Tonight I decided to walk around the basement with my handheld methane / propane sniffer. I turned it on outside to let it self calibrate in fresh air. Walked into the basement and got some weak alarms (>40 ppm) on the side of the basement opposite of the furnace room. Then walked into the furnace room put the probe near the furnace and got no alarms. Then for some reason decide to stick the probe into the U shaped opening on the sump pump pit, and got alarms at >320 ppm (this detector's highest reading is >640 ppm).
I've done a bit of research and have found articles stating that "...air tight lids for sump pump pits are a good idea to keep 'soil gases' from contaminating indoor air quality...." One of the gases mentioned was methane.
This is probably getting pulled into the air stream and circulated through the house, which then causes my symptoms of exposure. I've noticed I always feel better when I'm outside of the house.
Just wondering if it's "normal" to have a buildup of methane gas in a sump pump pit...? I'm assuming it's methane because if it were propane, I'd be able to smell the rotten egg additive.
Thanks
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