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Thursday, June 1, 2006

Q: We have an attached garage and my husband spends a lot of his time working on and restoring our old mustang. Even though he leaves the garage doors open when he runs the starts the engine, I sometimes worry that I can still smell exhaust fumes when he’s done. What should I do to make sure the air is safe?

- Alexandra from Highland Park, IL

A: You are absolutely correct to be concerned. A garage can be a very dangerous place if it is not well ventilated. Garages can accumulate lots of hazardous smells, not just from your cars, but also from pesticides and other hazardous materials people tend to keep in their garage.

The first thing is make sure you’ve got plenty of ventilation in your garage. In some cases, when your garage is to be used as work space, you need additional exhaust fans and windows that open to let fresh air in.

It is important to note that just because you have the garage door open when your car is running, it doesn’t guaranty proper ventilation of your garage. That is why we recommend not warming your car up outside of the garage. Bring you car outside to let it warm up. Even then the wind can redirect fumes back into the house and get into your house, so be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector inside the house, preferably located on a wall near the garage.

- UltimateGarages.net