Is Your Home Equipped With Working Carbon Monoxide Detectors?

Carbon monoxide detectors are critical pieces of safety equipment for any home that uses any fossil fuel for heating. The following information will help understand why this is true and what to do to keep your carbon monoxide detectors working.

Carbon Monoxide Safety

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, tasteless, colorless, and highly toxic gas produced as a byproduct of combustion. Anything that burns fuel to produce heat–cooking stoves, gas water heaters, gas / oil furnaces–also produces CO.

If a problem occurs with your heating furnace or its ventilation system, carbon monoxide can be released into your home. Breathing in CO gas can cause serious health problems or even death. The majority of CO-related deaths happen when people are exposed to the gas in their sleep.

To help increase residential safety, CO detectors are used to sense the presence of the gas where human senses cannot. If the detector senses CO, it sounds an alarm that can give you and your family time to leave the house, get to safety, and call for assistance.

Checking Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Before starting your gas-fueled furnace this year, it is vitally important that you check or, if necessary, install carbon monoxide detectors.

• Look for damage: Make sure the CO detector is in good shape and that all parts, including the cover, are present. The unit should be securely fastened to the wall or ceiling.
• Test the unit: Press the test button (usually found on the face of the unit) until the alarm sounds. If the alarm doesn’t go off, put in new batteries and try again. If there is still no noise from the alarm, replace the unit.
• Change the batteries: Even if the test is successful, it’s a good idea to put new batteries in the detector before heating season to reduce the chance of battery failure later on.

Since 1945, C. R. Wolfe Heating and Air Conditioning has been providing expert heating and cooling services to Middletown and the surrounding communities. Contact us today for more information on carbon monoxide detectors and how to make sure yours are working properly this winter.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Middletown, New York about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about CO detectors and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 845-367-4482.

Credit/Copyright Attribution: “leena-robinson/Shutterstock”