January 2016

Tasteless, colorless, odorless, carbon monoxide (CO) is produced by almost every fuel-burning appliance, including furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, grills and gas space heaters. When something goes wrong with the equipment or the venting, CO becomes one of America’s most deadly household hazards. Here are some things every homeowner should know about CO and how to guard against it causing a tragedy. in your home. 1) Headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness, sleepiness, and disorientation are all symptoms of CO poisoning, though a victim may not experience every one. Unfortunately, these same symptoms are associated with flu, food poisoning, and other afflictions, leading to many misdiagnoses. A cherry red face is a possible sign of CO poisoning. 2) For healthy adults, CO becomes toxic when it reaches a level higher than 35 ppm (parts per million) with continuous exposure over an 8-hour period. This is the maximum exposure tolerated by OSHA. 3) If anyone in your home is experiencing signs of CO poisoning symptoms, vacate the home immediately and notify your local fire or police department. Don’t just open doors and windows because that makes it hard for authorities to determine whether there is a CO problem when they inspect the home. 4) The best place to install CO detectors is outside of bedrooms where family members sleep. The greatest danger from CO occurs when people are asleep and unable to detect any of the symptoms. Installing a detector near a furnace, water heater, or other CO-emitting appliance will likely result in many…