Carbon Monoxide Detector

Carbon Monoxide Detectors are devices that detect the levels of carbon monoxide in a house or building, and alert you when the levels are too high. Carbon monoxide detectors are something that every home should have, and this site will explain how they work and what to look for in a detector.

Carbon Monoxide Detector - Overview
A carbon monoxide detector is a device to alert the user that CO (carbon monoxide) is present at a predetermined level. The detectors come in all price ranges, and ability to alert to the presence of carbon monoxide. There in lies the potential problem. CO detectors are not as advanced as of this date as the standard smoke detectors. There is a wide variability in their performance and carbon monoxide detectors reviews are critical as they help people determine what CO detectors work best. All CO detectors do not work the same: in fact some have a level of performance that doesn't even reach fifty percent. By examining carbon monoxide detectors reviews, consumers can purchase the CO detectors that will protect them from CO poisoning. What amount of money must be spent to protect a family from the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning? How accurately do you want to measure the level and at what point would you like to be notified? The price range of detectors can run from the low 30-40 dollars to several hundred dollars.

CO, the chemical symbol for carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odorless and colorless gas. The gas develops when there is an incomplete combustion of a fuel source. The fact that it is hard to detect is one of the reasons it is so difficult to protect against. The harm it will cause both humans and other creatures ranges from flue like symptoms to death. Burning of any fuel source can result in a level of carbon monoxide. Automobiles are obvious makers of this gas as well as stoves, fireplaces, furnaces, and water heaters. When it is found in a home or garage, it can be life threatening or even a killer. Any device that burns fuel in the home should be checked to see if it is emitting a lethal level of CO. Only a very good detector can give the checker an accurate answer. The technician must be able to set the burners so they are operating correctly and not producing much CO. Proper training and education are the answer to understanding how CO is produced, prevented and detected.

Why is Carbon Monoxide Dangerous?
A person cannot see, smell or taste CO gas. It is so dangerous; because it does not give any warning it is present. The only way a person might know they are being subjected to it's lethal effect is they may get a headache, get dizzy or feel a little nauseous. If this happened every time you used a gas stove, you may begin to suspect that the stove is putting out a dangerous level of carbon monoxide. It becomes very dangerous when it exceeds 70 ppm (parts per million) in the air. Lower levels can be lethal to infants and older people with respiratory problems or in ill health. Low-level exposure over time can be serious to the elderly and infants. This easily made gas must be considered a potential killer when you or your family is around any device that burns fuel.

Carbon monoxide has an affinity for hemoglobin when inhaled into the body. As the CO connects with the blood's hemoglobin, the oxygen the body needs is not allowed to attach, then the body's cells are deprived of oxygen. This action makes the victim feel much like they are coming down with the flu. This interaction between carbon monoxide and hemoglobin is the cause of carbon monoxide poisoning. It results in the interference with oxygen transport to the body's cells. This insidious deprivation of oxygen due to the CO taking the oxygen's place is subtle and can easily be mistaken for a simple illness.

Caring for your fuel burning devices in the home is the only real way to protect the lives in your family. Preventative care of the potential danger is the one way to make it less likely to occur. Detectors are not 100 percent sure. Properly operating equipment is the only sure way to prevent CO.

What You Don't Know About Carbon Monoxide Can Kill You
Smoke alone is not a given or sign for carbon monoxide. A fireplace can put out a great deal of smoke and very little CO. A furnace can do the same. A kitchen gas stove can be smoke free and put out enough CO, because the burner is not properly set, to kill the entire family including the family pets. A furnace in the basement can be the same kind of culprit. Even your gas water heater can do the same thing if the burner is not set properly. Proper burner settings are the answer and must be done by a professional.

A snow-blocked vent from the furnace or boiler can cause a build up of CO. Since the family has no idea the vent is blocked, the build up can be a killer if there is no warning. This is just another unknown mistake that can kill an entire family. It is uncanny how often a dumb mistake allowed the CO to happen and bring grief to a family. Not knowing about carbon monoxide is a common area of poor knowledge in many families.

Leaving a car in the garage with the engine running can be very dangerous if the garage is connected to the home. This is true with the garage door open and the connecting door closed. The seepage of CO could be lethal to a small child or a person of poor health. If allowed to run for some time, this could kill the entire family.

Using a barbeque in an enclosed space can be a killer. A portable propane heater can do the same. Unfortunately there are too many examples each year of these foolish mistakes that have taken a life of an unsuspecting person. The Internet and the newspapers are always reporting these deaths as accidents. Good ventilation is the obvious preventative for using any fuel-fired appliance. Using such a device in a closed space can have deadly consequences.

Here is the point, these mistakes can be prevented and should be for the safety of the family. Knowledge of what causes the CO and how correct technical procedures can prevent problems; is the life saving reason to get this information. Education and training are the only way to prevent more deaths.

How Many Deaths are Carbon Monoxide related?
The Internet states that only 200 people die each year in the United States from CO poisoning. This number is probably very low as only an autopsy can determine if CO gas was the cause of death. Many old folks die each year and are not given autopsies. Homes that are poorly ventilated and heating systems that are not properly maintained are serious candidates for CO production that kills. A vent from the boiler or furnace placed under a window can be a killer if the fumes are allowed to circulate back into the house. A garage with a gas heater and even with an open door can cause a death. Heating contractors who are trained in setting up these burning devices are well aware of how many lethal situations are not correctly set up. This factor alone makes the low number appear wrong since we have so many homes in this country that burn a fuel in a CO producing device.

The next time you read about an elderly person being found dead in their home, wonder to yourself, what really happened to this person. If there is no sign of violence, you cannot assume it was just old age that got them. If could have easily been exposure to CO, over time. How often do the authorities check for this cause?

What Household Areas Should be Tested?
A well-trained CO expert should test any area of the home that has a fuel-burning device in it. Not all contractors or technicians qualify as they have not gone through the training or know how to use the better CO detectors This small group of well trained experts are not found in every community Setting up a burner in any device cannot be done accurately without the right equipment and the knowledge to use the equipment. Contractors that say they can do it by observing the flame color are kidding themselves and their clients. Eyeballing a burner setting is without testing equipment is very dangerous and is akin to playing Russian roulette. There are several excellent private schools that train these experts and that is their mission. In this case since it is a matter of a family's life or death, it's worthwhile to have it done properly. Proper adjustments and testing remove this danger from attacking the unsuspecting family.

You would not think a kitchen gas stove could kill you, but it can. It can produce enough CO to kill you in your own kitchen. Hot water boilers and steam heating systems need to be set up properly not only to save on the heating bill, but to let it operate safely. Gas fired furnaces are another potential source of CO.

All fuel burning devices should be set up properly and tested. There are no exceptions to this rule and you violate these rules at your peril. Look for shortcuts in other areas and not in this one.

What Detector Should a Homeowner Use?
What carbon monoxide detector should a homeowner use in their home? Many detectors are sold each year to individuals for home protection. There are two problems with the detectors sold in homeowner stores. The level that the buzzer alerts at is set too high by law and many of them do not work well. The test button on the detector test that the buzzer works and the batteries are good. Further, 70 ppm is the level that most of the less expensive detectors give an alert. Small children, babies and old people would likely be dead by the time the alert is given. It takes to long for the level to register and buzz. This means that the people have been in this poisonous environment longer than their bodies could stand. A young healthy person may survive if they wake up when the buzzer goes off. The better detectors with lower level reading capability are more likely to give a better warning. These detectors are higher in price, but they work and will save the lives of the family: this is what contractors that do this for a living express repeatedly.

The lower priced detectors are not individually tested and only samples are tested from each manufactured lot. This lets to many units pass that are not up to their stated capability. This lack of real time testing of the detector is not very reassuring. The more expensive carbon monoxide detectors are tested and required to be sent back on a schedule to be recalibrated. These manufacturers are serious about this deadly battle with this silent killer. That alone is reason to consider the extra expense of their better detector.

Why Do Carbon Monoxide Deaths go Unreported?
Unless there is an obvious problem in the home that causes a fireman's detector to buzz, the deaths in that home may not be accounted for properly. An elderly person could be considered a victim of their heart and not their hearting system. If the death is unusual, an autopsy should be done and checked for CO poison.

A charcoal fire in a barbeque would be a good clue that the cause of death may be CO if the barbeque is found in the home. A car running in an open garage would also be a clue. When none of these clues are present, the death may be attributed to natural causes. Without an autopsy, one would never know. Young healthy people found dead in a home would be cause for a better investigation. The same could not be said for an old couple found dead in a home. Wearing portable CO detectors would help to catch some of these hidden causes. The biggest problem all investigators have is CO leaves no tell-tale signs or clues unless picked up by a detector or an autopsy is performed. Too often the death is just assigned to age and heart problems. Only when an entire group dies or gets sick unexpectedly is CO suspected. In one such case, a pool water heater was the CO provider. This case shows the difficulty in placing the cause on the correct culprit. It took several hours to discover the source of the CO.

Who Should be Better Informed About Carbon Monoxide?
The public, emergency providers, firefighters and police; should all be kept current on this yearly killer. These first responders should be aware for a number of reasons. They could run into a deadly level of CO without a detector to tell them they are in danger. They need to know what to tell the victim and get them to a hospital as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence in these situations. CO poisoning needs to be treated in a hospital and not left alone.

Heating and plumbing contractors should be trained and kept up to date. The surprise is how many of these professionals are not knowledgeable in this area. They are not conversant in setting burners or they do it by the eyeball method. They have not been to a good training class and do not have state of the art detection equipment. They may not believe they need it or they may just be uninformed as to why it should be part of their everyday activities in the home. It is amazing how poorly these people are trained and not prepared to prevent a disaster from happening. For lack of testing a family may not wake up tomorrow morning. That is not as it should be.

What Laws Relate to This Danger?
Mandatory testing on a yearly basis is not a requirement in the United States. It is in some European countries. Carbon monoxide detectors are not truly designed to protect all of the public even though they meet state requirements: 70 ppm is a joke and testing to see if the buzzer works gives a false sense of security. Tougher requirements should be made part of state law for both the detectors and the technicians. Those who service these burning devices and test for CO should be state qualified. A state license to be able to install a furnace or a boiler should make this a requirement and no grandfathering in those who cannot pass the test. A state certification should mean something so the homeowner knows they are being protected. Some federal requirements for these detectors should be looked at very closely. Lower detection levels would be a good requirement that should be sincerely considered by the feds.

Technical training of those that work on this CO producing equipment should be looked at for its safety and its merit. Knowing the code is only a part of this need. Being able to perform in the real world is a significant necessity. The public deserves far more protection than is currently available by state and federal law. Making some aspects of this mandatory on a yearly basis may be one of the answers could be instituted. It protects the public in other countries.


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