Carbon monoxide can kill without warning. Invisible and odorless, low levels of carbon monoxide can cause dizziness, headaches, disorientation, nausea and fatigue. Carbon monoxide is generated by vehicle exhaust and it can enter your home because of leaking or back-drafting fireplaces and furnaces, gas stoves, kerosene heaters and other sources of combustion.
Fortunately a carbon monoxide detector can warn you and your family before it’s too late. A carbon monoxide detector can be added to a security system for your family’s greatest safety.
Things you can do to reduce carbon monoxide exposure
- Keep your gas appliances properly adjusted.
- Purchase a vented space heater when replacing an unvented heater.
- Use the proper fuel in kerosene space heaters.
- Install and use an exhaust fan vented to the outdoors above gas stoves.
- Always open flues when fireplaces are in use.
- Use a properly sized wood stove that is certified to meet EPA emission standards. Make certain that the door on your wood stove fits tightly.
- Have a professional inspect, clean, and adjust your central heating system (furnaces, flues, and chimneys) every year. Repair any leaks that are found promptly.
- Never idle your car inside garage.
- Never operate a generator inside your home, garage, crawlspace, shed, or similar area. Deadly levels of carbon monoxide can quickly build up and it can persist for hours, even after the generator has shut off.
