Is Your Carbon Monoxide Detector Keeping Your Home and Family Safe?

Things wear out, that is a fact of life. When our home’s furnace or water heater stop functioning, we often know right away. And if you have been following a regular home maintenance schedule, you may even be fortunate to recognize a developing issue before complete failure. But unlike a home’s major systems, your carbon monoxide detector may be leaving you unprotected and you could go years without realizing it. In this case, serious illness or even death may be the first warning sign. Even scarier is the fact that even a quality detector may not alert you to health threats in your home.

The Silent Killer

Most homeowners are aware of the serious threat that carbon monoxide (CO) presents. Odorless and colorless, CO poisonings seem to happen out of the blue and are often deadly. In fact, more than 200 people are killed each year in the United States, with thousands requiring medical attentions for related injuries and illness.

The topic that is less discussed, and frankly not fully documented, is the effect of long-term exposure of low to moderate levels of CO. Certified alarms are required to sound alert at levels of 70 ppm (parts per million). However, levels of as low as 30 ppm can cause illness, especially in high-risk individuals. In fact, a single instance of exposure to a relatively low level of CO could cause chest pains in someone with heart problems.

The levels of exposure are determined by the concentration – how much is inhaled and how long an individual is exposed. For any given amount of exposure, your body needs 5 hours to drop the level of carboxyhemoglobin in your blood by 50%.

Consider that number and take in to account that most poisonings occur at home in the heating months, which are quite long in Northern Wisconsin. Your family could be exposed to moderate levels for 6 months at an average of 12 hours per day.

Because CO poisoning presents itself like the common flu, the real culprit is easy to miss. Although blood levels are easy to measure, this is not a test that is performed routinely with health checkups or visits to the family physician. Although specifics are not readily available regarding the effects of long-term exposure, it has been linked to chronic diseases and mental impairment. Is that a risk you are willing to take?

Take Steps to Protect Your Home & Family

Invest in Quality CO Detectors For Your Home

The obvious step in preventing CO poisonings is installing and maintaining CO detectors on each level of your home. You may be thinking “I have already done that, so we are safe”. This is not necessarily true.

As with smoke detectors, the power source for your CO detector is often neglected. Batteries die and electric detectors have limitations. Detectors wear out over time, probably much quicker than you realize. And the test feature only checks the alert function and does not verify an accurate measuring of CO.

The lifespan of CO detectors can be affected by room temperatures, the distance from your home’s heat source, dust, humidity, and even sunlight. You can contribute to the effectiveness and lifespan by avoiding installing detectors in direct sunlight or close to the furnace or heat source. Be careful to not place in an area where fresh air will alter the readings, such as by fans or vents. It is necessary to replace your detector and do not trust the manufacturer’s lifespan prediction.

It is good practice to replace all CO detectors every two years. When you purchase a new one, check the date of manufacturing on the package. The detector can lose sensitivity right there on the store shelf, so the more recent the better. Installing detectors may be the obvious step, but it should not be the first and only prevention.

Home Maintenance Equals a Healthy Home

As we discussed, even low levels of carbon monoxide can cause health issues, especially in children and elderly. A properly functioning CO detector should be considered your last line of defense. The first and most important is the proper maintenance of your home systems.

Your home’s heating source is an obvious potential contributor to unhealthy CO levels, but it is far from the only culprit. Furnaces, fridges, fireplaces, water heaters and stoves can all emit unhealthy levels. Assuring proper ventilation and functioning of all of your appliances is key for a healthy home. Follow suggested maintenance guidelines and schedule annual inspections.

If you have concerns about the levels of CO in your home, consider hiring a home inspector or HVAC professional to do a thorough inspection. These professionals can not only alert you to dangerous levels, but can help identify the cause of the emissions and make recommendations on corrections. You may also want to consult a professional home builder to evaluate your home for air-tightness and proper ventilation that could affect indoor air quality.

A healthy home is key for a healthy family. Be sure to follow along with North Twin Builders blog and Facebook for more tips to protect your home and family.

Find North Twin Builders on Facebook for More Home Health Tips!