I was very nervous recently when I went to check the boiler system. I was already planning to call the local HVAC company for an official tune-up, but for some reason I wanted to check things out personally first. I was stunned when I noticed a crack in the ductwork that came from the boiler and connected to the chimney. In my mind, that meant that there was a carbon monoxide leak! I not only called the HVAC company and arranged for a boiler tune-up, I also ran to the store to get some duct sealant. I got some fiberglass tape as well to see about sealing the ducts extra well, making sure there were no leaks. I also picked up a carbon monoxide detector to install in the basement since there was no detector down there. When I set up the carbon monoxide detector, there were no beeps indicating a carbon monoxide leak, but I realized that was because the boiler wasn’t turned on! I didn’t want to have any carbon monoxide at all, so I just sealed the ducts very well and let the duct sealant set. Soon after that, the HVAC professional arrived. He saw how I sealed the ductwork and said I did a good job. He said there were no signs of a leak and when we fired up the boiler, there was no leaking then either. He did a good job handling the tune-up, had all the inner components cleaned out and observed there were no problems with the heat exchanger. The emergency shut off works fine and there are no issues, so I’m ready to go for the winter!