When moving to a new home you will find homeowners checking for a smoke detection system, an alarm system, and carbon monoxide detectors. This is because you want to have a safe home and these things will assist you to do that. They may not be important to some people but carbon monoxide detectors are quite imperative. You will need to have them installed in your home at one point or the other. Before we get into the reasons why you will need to know all the basics of carbon monoxide and the detectors.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

This is a colorless and odorless gas that is produced by appliances or items that are run by gas, wood or fuel. These appliances need to be installed properly since they could leak the dangerous gas. Some of the common sources in our homes are room heaters, charcoal grills, furnaces, wood burning stoves, portable generators and water heaters just to name a few.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include-

  • Shortness of breath.
  • Nausea
  • Stomach upset.

To avoid an incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning, install the detectors in your home. The worst part of the gas is that it is colorless and odorless. This means that even if there was a leak in your home or office area you wouldn’t know until it was too late. This is why you need the detectors installed in your home. Unlike smoke which you can smell or see, this gas can kill you slowly in your sleep. Have the two devices installed together to make sure no room is left to risk.

Whenever you cook inside the house or on the patio with charcoal grills keep most of the doors and windows open to have proper air circulation.

Another risk factor is when the car is left running in an indoor garage. This can cause carbon monoxide poisoning in the room next to the garage.

Whenever you burn a fire in the fireplace in the house ensure to put it out just before you sleep. Proper air circulation is needed when you burn wood in the house. Keep the AC on just to have the air in the house moving.

Installation

In most cases of carbon monoxide poisoning, one of the appliances was not installed properly. You will need to check these items often just to make sure it was not installed poorly or is not having a leak.

Maintenance is required of all the appliances that you have in the house or outside emitting carbon monoxide. Call a well-qualified technician and do not try to DIY it. You could end up making it worse or evening causing a leak yourself.

 

The most important place install the detectors would be in the bedroom and kitchen. It is best to have them here because it will alert you while you are sleeping. AS mentioned earlier the gas is odorless and colorless and this is when you are most vulnerable to suffer from its effects.