Carbon Monoxide Monitors – Frequently Asked Questions About Carbon Monoxide Safety And Detection

Carbon Monoxide Monitors

Think you know everything you need to know about carbon monoxide safety? Take a look at these three common questions, and find out if you’re doing what you need to be doing in order to keep you and your family safe.

1. Where does carbon monoxide come from?
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is known as the ’silent killer’. It is an odorless, tasteless gas that is produced as a by-product of various fuels, including propane, kerosene, wood and natural gas. Any appliance or device that runs on these fuels can produce CO. Common household sources include gas-powered furnaces, hot water heaters, stoves, grills, fireplaces, heaters and, of course, cars and other vehicles. The danger comes from improper ventilation. If your gas appliances are not property maintained and vented, CO can build up inside your home.

2. What are the warning signs?
The best way to tell if you have CO build-up in your home is with a carbon monoxide monitor, but there are other signs as well. If your pilot lights keep going out, the air indoors is constantly stuffy, your chimney or vent pipe has chalky residue on it, or if you smell a sudden gas odor when your appliances turn on. The more dangerous signs are health related. Symptoms of CO poisoning include nausea, headaches, confusion, burning eyes and drowsiness. Severe CO poisoning can cause brain damage, and eventually lead to death.

3. Where should carbon monoxide monitors be installed?
Basically, you should have one monitor on every level of your home. But there is much more to correctly placing your monitors than that.

You are most at risk of CO poisoning while you are asleep, so the best location to place carbon monoxide monitors is inside or near to the bedroom. If you have bedrooms on more than one floor of your home, install a monitor for each bedroom. Then, install carbon monoxide monitors in or close to other rooms where gas fueled appliances or vehicles are used.

Carbon monoxide is about the same weight as air, and does not rise up to the ceiling or sink to the floor as many people assume. Carbon monoxide monitors should be mounted to the wall between knee and chest height. It requires air flow, so make sure there is nothing in the way, including drapery or furniture.

That said, if carbon monoxide is being released from a stove or heater, it will mix with the warm air and rise along with it. So for kitchens, or rooms using gas heaters, mount your carbon monoxide monitor higher up on the wall.

Do not place carbon monoxide detectors right beside or above your gas appliances, since they may release a small amount of CO when they start up and lead to many false alarms. Instead, keep them at least 15 feet from appliances. Also, do not install them inside or too close to humid rooms, like the bathroom.