Carbon monoxide is often referred to as the “secret killer” because it can creep throughout your home — virtually unnoticed — and make members of your household very sick, or worse, by reducing the amount of oxygen in the body. Small children are particularly in danger because of their body size. So ask yourself this about your CO detectors: are they in the right places and in good working order?
Because carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, you can’t really know if you have a leak without a CO detector. The Consumer Product Safety Commission suggests that at the very least, a CO detector be placed on each floor of a residence. Preferably, they should be located in each sleeping area of your home, and near any doorways to an attache
d garage. Don’t place them any closer than six feet from any gas-burning appliances — such as a furnace or water heater — since this equipment may emit trace amounts of CO and trigger an alarm. To be sure your CO detectors are in the right place; consult the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Follow these simple steps to determine if your CO detectors are in good working order:
- To ensure that a CO detector is not giving a false positive reading, put it in the same area as another one that you know is working properly. If the good detector doesn’t sound an alarm, your other detector may be giving off a false reading
- To ensure that the electronic elements of your CO detector are working properly, press the “test” button for a reading.
- Place your CO detector near a known source of carbon monoxide (such as your car’s exhaust pipe) and see if it sounds an alarm.
- If anyone in your home is experiencing headaches, nausea or dizziness for no obvious reason, CO may be the culprit.
Are your CO detectors in the right spots and working properly? If you’re not sure and you live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, contact us today, and we’ll provide your home with a free air quality inspection.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about CO detectors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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