Make Sure Your Home Has The Necessary Safety Precautions, And Use A Carbon Monoxide Detector

As of July 1, 2011, California law mandates that all single family homes have carbon monoxide detectors. This law applies to existing homes (including yours!) as well as to the construction of new homes.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a serious problem, and you’ve probably heard at least one story of a family who narrowly escaped carbon monoxide’s wrath. If you have equipment in your home that combusts, like a gas furnace, you need to take the necessary safety steps by installing carbon monoxide detectors.

The Problem

Carbon monoxide is produced during the combustion process: It’s a gas that equipment — such as a gas water heater, stove or furnace — gives off when fuel is burned. Why is it so dangerous? CO is attracted to hemoglobin in your blood. So, whenever you inhale, instead of sending oxygen to your cells, which they need, CO is delivered. Once it starts building up in the blood, symptoms like flu, nausea and confusion result. In worst-case scenarios, brain damage or death occurs. To compound the problem, CO doesn’t have a smell, taste or color, so it’s impossible to detect without a mechanical device.

Carbon monoxide levels are revealed through a Parts Per Million (PPM) measurement. A 35 PPM level of CO in a building over 8 hours is deemed as safe, according to experts. To give you an idea of how quickly dangerous CO levels work, 800 PPM leads to death in just two hours of exposure.

The Solution

To ensure your family’s safety, install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. You should have at least one located near the bedrooms of your home, so you’ll be alerted to potential problems while sleeping — and you’ll hear the alarm. If you have a two-story home, install at least one CO detector upstairs and one downstairs.

When selecting a carbon monoxide detector, make sure you choose a device that shows high and low concentrations of CO. Most units track higher levels, but it’s also important to know that low levels of CO are building up, because they cause problems as well. Test the alarm to make sure it will be loud enough to hear while sleeping.

Install carbon monoxide detectors this year to ensure your family’s safety and health. The experts at Air-Tro Inc.are happy to answer your questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about carbon monoxide detectors and other HVAC topics, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.