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How to Protect Your Family from Carbon Monoxide

November 04, 2015

 carbon monoxide infographic

 
Service Experts Heating and Air Conditioning surveyed 1,000 homeowners in the U.S. and Canada on their understanding of carbon monoxide (CO). According to The Centers for Disease Control, carbon monoxide poisoning is a primary cause of unintentional poisoning deaths – causing around 15,000 emergency room visits and about 500 deaths yearly in the United States1. There are startling gaps in what homeowners do and don’t know about staying safe.

A lot of common household appliances release carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that could build to harmful levels in your home when fuel-burning devices are not correctly vented, operated or maintained. Inhalation of CO can cause carbon monoxide poisoning which attacks the nervous system, heart and could be fatal. It’s crucial to have your home checked for carbon monoxide regularly to help ensure safe air quality.

Common sources of CO in homes include certain:

  • Furnaces
  • Stoves
  • Space heaters
  • Fireplaces
  • Water heaters
  • Clothes dryers

What do you know about CO?

Our survey results reveal the alarming lack of information homeowners have about the risks of carbon monoxide:

  • 66% don’t know if they would identify the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning (headache, nausea, dizziness, or confusion).
  • 94% of homeowners know that the furnace can give off deadly carbon monoxide gas, but more than half (54%) don’t get an annual furnace tune-up, a simple step that can help ensure proper furnace operation and venting.
  • 54% don’t know the ideal place in the home to install a carbon monoxide detector (the Consumer Product Safety Commission says a detector outside of each separate sleeping area).
  • More than half of homeowners (54%) don’t know that the clothes dryer may be a source of carbon monoxide; 25% don’t know that that fireplace also can be a source. Other potential sources include gas water heaters, gas ranges, charcoal grills, gas space heaters and wood burning stoves.
  • Over one third of homeowners (34%) don’t have or aren’t sure if they have a carbon monoxide detector in their home; 41% say they never swap out their carbon monoxide detector, or they aren’t sure how often it is switched.

Determine your home’s CO risk

With a simple home comfort analysis, Chief / Bauer Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning in Champaign could help keep your family safe this winter. Visit ServiceExperts.com/CO-Safety, call 217-689-2469 or use our online scheduler to set up an analysis of CO and other harmful indoor air pollutant levels.

1http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5650a1.htm

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