Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

What is carbon monoxide?carbon_monoxide2_0

Fuel-powered devices can provide wonderful benefits when used properly. However, improper use can lead to a very dangerous situation: carbon monoxide poisoning.

Since you can’t see, smell or taste carbon monoxide, it is imperative to have a carbon monoxide detector to prevent dangerous levels of carbon monoxide from building up in your home. Learn where to install them in your home here.

How can carbon monoxide get into my home?

Carbon monoxide poisoning can result from faulty furnaces or other heating appliances, portable generators, water heaters, clothes dryers, or cars left running in garages.

Carbon monoxide can cause severe side effects, and at its worst, can sometimes cause death. Since it’s a gas, and cannot be seen, often times, people don’t even know they are being poisoned until it’s too late.

Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms include:
  • Dull headache
  • Weakness
  • Dizziness

See full list of symptoms here

Why is carbon monoxide dangerous?

You may know why carbon monoxide is referred to as a silent killer—because it has no odor and is tasteless. But do you how it harms its victims, sometimes fatally?

Carbon monoxide atoms bind very strongly to the iron in hemoglobin, otherwise known as blood. Once carbon monoxide attaches, it is very difficult to release. If you breathe in large amounts of carbon monoxide, your blood loses its ability to transport oxygen, causing suffocation. Learn more about carbon monoxide poisoning here.

Young children are especially vulnerable to carbon monoxide because of their smaller body weight. Children process carbon monoxide differently than adults and are often more severely affected by it.

How can I prevent carbon monoxide poisoning?

TIP #1: Use carbon monoxide alarms in addition to smoke alarms. Carbon monoxide alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are available.

TIP #2: As with smoke alarms, install a carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home, especially near sleeping areas, and keep them at least 15 feet away from fuel- burning appliances.

TIP #3: If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Don’t leave a car, SUV or motorcycle engine running inside a garage. Also, don’t use a grill, generator or camping stove inside your home, garage or near a window.

TIP #4: If using gasoline-powered devices, store gasoline in a locked location where children cannot access it. Keep only small quantities in an approved container that has child safety features.

TIP #5: Keep gasoline away from any source of heat, spark or flame. Even common household appliances such as water heaters and clothes dryers can start a gasoline fire. Be sure to store your gasoline away from anything that could ignite it.

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We have been serving Metro Detroit since 1983. Our goal at Accu-Temp Heating & Cooling is to provide comfort you can feel from a family company you can trust. Give us a call today at 586-598-2828.