Carbon Monoxide Detection

Protect your family with a Carbon Monoxide Detector

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly in the home. Quite, often, contributing sources are malfunctioning gas furnaces, gas water heaters, fireplaces, wood stoves or gas ranges.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include headaches, chronic fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and confusion.

You can protect your family from carbon monoxide poisoning by taking some precautionary steps:

Every year, ask a heating professional to check your furnace to make sure flue gases are venting properly.
Clean your furnace filter monthly.
Have your furnace's vents and pipes, including your chimney flues, checked for cracks and corrosion. Make sure nothing, like snow or a bird's nest, is blocking the air from getting out of your house.
Check your gas water heater, gas range and wood-burning stove to make sure they are operating properly.
Purchase a carbon monoxide detector. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends installing at least one carbon monoxide detector per household.

There are a variety of detectors on the market today. Electronic detectors, about the size of a home smoke detector, sound an audible alarm when dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are reached. Passive detectors or color indicators are also available. These detectors have a special chemical dot that senses carbon monoxide. When dangerous levels are reached, the chemical dot reacts.

A good location for a detector is beside the thermostat where you will readily observe any changes or near the bedrooms.