What is carbon monoxide and why should you care? Carbon monoxide is a potentially lethal gas that doesn’t have any odor, taste or color. Hundreds of people accidentally die each year from carbon monoxide (also known as CO) because it’s so hard to detect with the human senses.
Products That Create Carbon Monoxide
CO is created by the burning of different types of fuel including firewood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane or natural gas, among others. Therefore, anything that’s powered by an internal combustion engine may emit CO, or any appliance that burns fuel. Appliances that are installed and maintained properly, with provisions for venting combustion gases safely outside, will not present a CO hazard.
Common sources of residential CO poisoning include your gas furnace, stove and water heater, the fireplace, and BBQ grills operated inside or near open windows. Additionally, generators and gas power tools or mowers operated in unventilated, enclosed spaces can allow carbon monoxide buildup.
How to Prevent CO Poisoning
Preventing CO poisoning is as easy as installing carbon monoxide detectors around your home, making sure all your appliances are installed and maintained properly, and never using gas-powered tools, generators or grills inside your home, even with the windows and doors open.
More precautionary measures include:
- Check your chimney annually for blockages or other problems.
- Have your HVAC system tuned up once a year.
- Don’t use portable fuel-burning camping equipment inside your home.
- Never leave your vehicle idling in your garage, even with the door open.
- Never use unvented gas space heaters to heat your home.
- Never cover the bottom of a gas or propane oven with foil, as this could block the air flow through the oven, causing CO to form.
For more information about maintaining safe and health air quality in your Lorain area home, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning. Ask about our 24/7 emergency service. We look forward to serving you.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about carbon monoxide and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area