Carbon Monoxide: A Hidden Hazard

What’s invisible, tasteless, impossible to smell, and deadly before you know it's in your home? We hope you guessed “carbon monoxide.”

This poisonous gas can come from cars and other sources such as chimneys, wood or gas stoves, gas dryers, water heaters or gas or oil furnaces. Your kitchen, garage, basement or fireplace areas are likely locations where the gas can build to dangerous levels.

Young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of carbon monoxide, also referred to as CO, and may show symptoms sooner than a healthy adult. Because of their smaller bodies, children process CO differently than adults and may be more severely affected by it.

Another issue is that the most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and confusion, which resemble many ailments and your common cold in the winter season! If there is a CO leak in a home, it’s not uncommon for more than one person in the house to suffer from the same symptoms at the same time, making you think that you all have the “cold”.

To prevent CO poisoning:

• Install a CO detector outside every sleeping area and on every level of your home.
• Place CO detectors at least 15 feet away from every fuel-burning appliance (fireplaces, gas stoves, space heaters) to reduce the number of nuisance alarms.
• Test detectors every month and replace them every 5 years.
• Make sure they can be heard when you test them.

Almost all of us have had our alarms go off, but how many of us did the right thing? Never ignore an alarming CO detector!

If your CO detector goes off, follow these steps:

• Get everyone out of the house as quickly as possible into fresh air. Then call for help from a neighbor's home or a cell phone outside of your home.
• If you're experiencing symptoms, call 911 for medical attention.
• If no one is experiencing symptoms, call the fire department. They will let you know when it’s safe to go back inside.

Need another detector for your home?

Our carbon monoxide detector with battery backup is UL approved and it plugs into any standard 120 volt wall outlet and continuously monitors for carbon monoxide. It sounds a warning if low levels of carbon monoxide are present, and triggers a loud 85 decibel alarm at hazardous levels. It also includes a self-test feature, test/reset button and 5-year comprehensive warranty.