1. Why is CO so dangerous?
Carbon monoxide actually robs your blood of life-giving oxygen! When you inhale CO, it bonds with hemoglobin in your blood and displaces the oxygen. As CO accumulates in your blood, it forms a toxic compound known as carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). This process can eventually displace enough oxygen to cause serious injury or death. It's almost like you suffocate from the inside!
2. What are the symptoms of CO poisoning?
With mild exposure you might feel flu-like symptoms, like slight headaches, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. With moderate exposure you might experience a throbbing headache, drowsiness, confusion, and a fast heart rate. Extreme exposure can cause convulsions, unconsciousness, or heart and lung failure. Prolonged exposure can cause brain damage or death.
3. Who is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning?
Everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. Medical experts believe, however, that some individuals - like pregnant women, unborn babies, infants, children, the elderly, and people with heart or lung problems - are more vulnerable to poisoning.
4. Why is CO so hard to detect?
One reason is that carbon monoxide has no smell, no color and no taste. You can't tell its there unless you have a carbon monoxide alarm, or unless you start feeling symptoms of CO poisoning.
5. Where does CO come from?
Anything that burns fuel, like wood, coal, natural gas, propane or oil, can produce CO. Carbon monoxide is a natural by-product of incomplete combustion. Even lighting a match or burning a candle can produce trace amounts of CO. What makes carbon monoxide dangerous is the amount present in the air, and the length of time you are exposed to it.
6. Can my household appliances produce CO?
Fuel-burning appliances, like gas furnaces, stoves and water heaters, wood burning fireplaces, or kerosene heaters can all produce carbon monoxide. If the appliances are in proper working order, and there is a continuous supply of fresh air being exchanged through your home, the amount of CO produced is not life-threatening. CO poisoning happens when something goes wrong.
7. What can go wrong with my appliances to cause a CO problem?
An appliance can break down or get misadjusted. The fresh air flow into and out of your home can be blocked by a clogged chimney or debris in the air exchange vents. In rare cases, environmental conditions can actually cause a condition called 'backdrafting,' where appliances pull CO back into your home instead of venting it outside.
8. How can I protect my family from CO poisoning?
Start by having fuel-burning appliances checked regularly, according to the manufacturers' recommendations. Next, install carbon monoxide alarms throughout your home. When choosing a CO alarm, make sure it is Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) listed, and sounds an audible warning. Look for the UL logo on the package. Finally, learn the symptoms of CO poisoning, and make sure you know what to do if your CO alarm sounds.
9. How many CO alarms do I need?
There is no 'magic number' of CO alarms any family needs. How many CO alarms you install depends on the layout of your home, how many bedrooms you have, where the heat sources are, and where all fuel-burning appliances are located.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends installing at least one carbon monoxide alarm with an audible warning signal near the sleeping area. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) also recommends UL listed carbon monoxide alarms -- on every level of the home and in areas near appliances that are potential sources of CO.
10. Where should I install my carbon monoxide alarms?
Make sure everyone can hear the alarms and be awakened by them if they are asleep. Where does your family sleep? Are all bedrooms located off the same hallway? If so, install your first CO alarm in that bedroom hallway. Test the alarm and make sure everyone could hear it from their bedroom or sleeping area if it alarmed at night. |
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If bedrooms are located throughout your home, make sure there is a CO alarm in hearing distance from each bedroom.
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If family members sleep with their doors closed, install additional CO alarms inside each bedroom.
Additional CO alarms throughout your home increase your protection. It's a good idea to have at least one CO alarm installed on every level of your home. The sooner you know there is a problem the sooner you can react!
- For added protection, install a CO alarm at least 15' away from your furnace or other heating source - fireplace, space heater, etc.
- To help prevent unwanted alarms try to keep at least a 15-20 foot distance between the CO alarm and the heating appliance. (Remember, all fuel-burning appliances can produce some trace amounts of CO).
- Do not install your alarm in the garage or in areas of high humidity or where it will be exposed to b chemical solvents or cleaners.
- If you have a plug in alarm, do not install in an outlet controlled by a light switch or dimmer or in an area where it can be easily knocked off the wall. Make sure it is not blocked by furniture, curtains or other obstructions.
- Carbon monoxide is roughly the same weight as air and distributes evenly throughout a room. A carbon monoxide alarm will be effective whether it is placed at floor or ceiling level, or anywhere in between -- wherever is most convenient, with the exception of the locations mentioned above.
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