How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Leaks in Your Home

Cold temperatures drive homeowners to batten down their homes and turn up the thermostat, elevating the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. About 50,000 people in the U.S. visit the emergency room annually as a result of unintended CO poisoning, and more than 400 people die.

This odorless, tasteless, colorless gas is a side effect of incomplete combustion, which means it’s produced every time a material burns. If any appliances in your home use natural gas, oil, propane, kerosene, wood, gasoline or charcoal, you’re at risk of CO inhalation. Learn what happens when you breathe carbon monoxide emissions and how to lower your risk of poisoning this winter.

The Risks of Carbon Monoxide

Frequently referred to as the “silent killer,” carbon monoxide is lethal because it stops the body from processing oxygen correctly. CO molecules uproot oxygen that’s part of the blood, depriving the heart, brain, lungs and other vital organs of oxygen. Large amounts of CO can overpower your system in minutes, triggering loss of consciousness and suffocation. Without immediate care, brain damage or death could occur.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can also happen gradually if the concentration is relatively minimal. The most frequent signs of CO exposure include:

• • Headaches

• • Dizziness

• • Weakness

• • Fatigue

• • Nausea

• • Vomiting

• • Chest pain

• • Confusion

Since these symptoms mimic the flu, a lot of people won’t find out they have carbon monoxide poisoning until mild symptoms evolve to organ damage. Watch out for symptoms that decrease when you aren’t home, indicating the source could be someplace inside.

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

While CO inhalation is frightening, it’s also entirely avoidable. Here are the top ways to help your family avoid carbon monoxide exposure.

Use Combustion Appliances Properly

• • Never let your car engine run while parked in a confined or partially enclosed structure, such as a garage.

• • Don’t use a generator, lawn mower or other gasoline-powered device in an enclosed space like a basement or garage, no matter how well-ventilated it may be. Also, keep these devices at least 20 feet away from open windows, doors or intake vents.

• • Avoid using a charcoal grill or portable camping stove inside a home, tent or camper.

• • Keep all vents and flues free of debris that may create a blockage and trigger backdrafting of carbon monoxide gases.

Install, Test and Replace the Batteries in Your Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you ever use combustion appliances in or close to your home, you should add carbon monoxide detectors to alert you of CO leaks. These detectors can be hardwired, battery-operated or plugged into an outlet according to the style. Here’s how to take full advantage of your carbon monoxide detectors:

• • Install your detectors properly: As you think about potential locations, remember that a home needs CO alarms on all floors, near each sleeping area and close to the garage. Keep each unit out of reach from combustion appliances and sources of heat and humidity. The higher on your wall or ceiling you can put in your detectors, the better.

• • Check your detectors regularly: The majority of manufacturers recommend monthly testing to confirm your CO alarms are working like they should. Just press and hold the Test button for 5 to 20 seconds, wait for the alarm to begin and release the button. You ought to hear two short beeps, watch a flash or both. If the detector won’t perform as it’s supposed to, replace the batteries or replace the unit outright.

• • Change out the batteries: If your alarms are battery-powered models, change the batteries every six months. If you favor hardwired devices with a backup battery, change out the battery once a year or if the alarm is chirping, whichever comes first. Then, install new carbon monoxide alarms every 10 years or as frequently the manufacturer suggests.

Plan for Annual Furnace Maintenance

Multiple appliances, like furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces and clothes dryers, may leak carbon monoxide if the system is installed improperly or not running as it should. An annual maintenance visit is the only way to know for sure if an appliance is malfunctioning before a leak develops.

A precision tune-up from Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing includes the following:

• • Examine the heating appliance for carbon monoxide leaks.

• • Search for any troubling concerns that may lead to unsafe operation.

• • Assess additional places where you would most benefit from putting in a CO detector.

• • Tune up your system so you know your equipment is functioning at peak safety and productivity.

Contact Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing

If your gas furnace, boiler or water heater has formed a CO leak, or you want to stop leaks before they happen, Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing can help. Our HVAC and plumbing maintenance and repair services encourage a safe, warm home all year-round. Call your local Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing office for more details about carbon monoxide safety or to schedule heating services.