Deep snow covers daybreak family’s exhaust vents, causing heat to shut off

DAYBREAK, Utah — Deep snow in Daybreak shut off heating systems, but the reason might surprise you.

Katy Marlow woke up to feet, not inches, of snow, and she woke up to something else too.

“Noticed that my house was a little cold and went to go kick up the heater and it wouldn’t kick on.”

She called her dad, who told her to check the exhaust vents outside.

“I went outside and sure enough they were completely blocked,” says Marlow. “I shoveled them off and as soon as they were uncovered, I came back in the house and the heater kicked back on.”

It was such a simple fix, her husband told her to share it on the Daybreak Facebook page.

“You wouldn’t think of it honestly, you’d be like why is my heater not working, like my wife said,” Joel Marlow said. “Several people were posting, ‘I called the heater people, I didn’t even know about that.’”

Jake Shelley is a service technician for Whipple Service Champions.

“You’ve got to make sure that your vents are clear,” Shelley said. “Sometimes they can be under the snow level, that exhaust needs to vent clearly.”

Shelley said exhaust vents can be found on roofs or near the foundation of homes. They’re easy to spot — if they’re not snowed over.

“It looks like steam coming out the side of the house,” Shelley said. Something the Marlows will now be sure is exposed, rain, snow or shine.

“This is a crazy amount of snow that we got, “ Katy Marlow said.