Installing carbon monoxide detectors is an important part of home safety. Thousands of people are injured or killed by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year. Don’t allow anyone in your family to join that statistic.
Carbon monoxide detectors alert you when the indoor CO level rises dangerously. Here are the most common situations that can trigger an alarm:
Preventable Situations
Fortunately, many situations that set off carbon monoxide detectors are preventable. These include:
- Inadequate fresh air: If your home is tightly sealed, traces of carbon monoxide could accumulate until they reach dangerous levels. Hire an HVAC contractor to install a ventilation system to solve the problem. Then, be sure to position gas-powered devices far from the fresh air intake.
- Running gas appliances in the attached garage: Don’t idle lawn mowers, edging tools or vehicles in the garage. Even with the garage door hanging wide open, this can introduce harmful levels of CO to the living space and set off the detectors.
- Burning charcoal in the home or garage: Charcoal produces a tremendous amount of carbon monoxide. Only grill outside away from windows and doors.
- Malfunctioning appliances: All fuel-burning appliances produce some carbon monoxide, but with regular maintenance and attention, this can be kept to a minimum.
- Sensitive or faulty carbon monoxide detectors: To minimize false alarms, only purchase UL-listed detectors.
Unpredictable Situations
While many CO alarm triggers are preventable, others occur without warning. These situations are harder to predict and tend to be more serious if left unaddressed. These include:
- Cracked heat exchanger: Typically if the furnace heat exchanger cracks, you must replace the entire furnace.
- Malfunctioning water heater or furnace: Improper ventilation, excess gas flow or other malfunctions could set off your carbon monoxide detector.
- Obstructed chimney: If fumes can’t escape, they become trapped inside. The carbon monoxide detector senses this and sounds the alarm.
By making the effort to minimize preventable carbon monoxide alarms, your family will take unpredictable instances more seriously. For more helpful safety tips, please contact us at Senica Air Conditioning, Inc., Inc. We have served the Tampa area since 1992.
