Carbon Monoxide can be an invisible threat to your families health and safety. Though more commonly associated with fires and automobile emissions, carbon monoxide can accumulate in any home unless precautions are taken. Any place that burns fossil or solid fuels like wood can emit carbon monoxide.

How do you know when it is present?

It is a colorless, odor less, tasteless gas that is produced by incomplete combustion. The only preventable way to detect it is:

Buy a high quality carbon monoxide detector, and,
Ensure all your appliances such as your furnace, water heater, gas range and dryer, space heaters and BBQs, etc. are operating correctly & venting correctly.

Why should I be concerned?

Newer homes are better sealed to prevent air leakage. As a result these homes limit infiltrations & thus exchanging of air inside the house with fresh outside air. Appliances in your home could become "starved' for air creating a vent reversal. This is also called "down drafting". When gas, oil & wood appliances operate under these conditions the burners may introduce combustion byproducts into your home. Older homes can be vulnerable particularly if appliances have been improperly installed or poorly maintained.

What are the symptoms of poisoning?

Often initial symptoms can appear flu-like. With mild exposure most people experience headaches, fatigue & nausea. Medium exposure produces a throbbing headache, drowsiness, confusion and a high heart rate. Extensive exposure leads to unconsciousness. cardio-respiratory failure, coma and death.

Steps to prevent C.O. poisoning

Prevention is an important step. Never leave your car running in the garage even if the door is open. Do not grill or BBQ in an enclosed garage.

Be very careful of running the propane or kerosene heaters for extended periods of time without ensuring adequate ventilation as these heaters have no vent to the outdoors. Have your gas & oil appliances inspected on a regular basis to ensure proper operation. Install a good quality detector. Ideally you should have the detector adjacent to the living areas in your house. The models with a digital readout can also provide low threshold warnings before the problem becomes more serious. Carbon monoxide detectors are best effective when regular maintenance is done on your appliances & their venting systems. A qualified heating dealer can perform these inspections.