If you use fuels such as natural gas, oil or wood in your Indiana home, installing reliable carbon monoxide detectors could someday save your loved ones' lives.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can build up due to incomplete fuel combustion or improperly vented appliances. Potential sources include fuel-burning furnaces and air conditioners, cooking stoves and water heaters as well as wood-burning fireplaces.
High levels of this gas can cause headaches, nausea, confusion, and eventual loss of consciousness and death. A sleeping person may die without ever experiencing symptoms. Long-term exposure to low CO levels causes subtler symptoms such as impaired concentration, difficulty sleeping and vision problems.
Annual HVAC system inspections minimize risk of CO buildup, but detectors alert you to any that does occur. When choosing and installing your carbon monoxide detectors, keep these tips in mind:
- Look for a digital display. While some detectors have only an alarm to signal high CO levels, others digitally display CO readings and recall the highest level detected. With digital models, you'll know about any increases that occurred while you were away.
- Choose a dual-power detector. Battery-only carbon monoxide detectors use up batteries quickly, while models that run on electricity only don't work during power outages. For optimal safety, choose a model that runs on electricity but also has a battery backup.
- Consider a system-connected detector that's wired into your fire or home security panel and monitored at a 24-hour facility. The monitoring center can dispatch the proper authorities if a detector goes off while you're asleep or away.
- Install a CO detector on every floor of your home, including the basement and the doorway to your attached garage.
- Place a CO detector no farther than 10 feet from every sleeping area.
- Don't install a detector within 15 feet of a fuel-burning appliance or in a humid area such as the bathroom. Avoid installing detectors behind curtains or anything that interferes with airflow.
For more pro tips on choosing and installing carbon monoxide detectors and other home safety issues, contact us at Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. Since 1963, we've been providing top quality HVAC care throughout the Fort Wayne area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about carbon monoxide detectors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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