Carbon Monoxide - The Silent Killer

February 13, 2007

If you are like many Americans, you don't worry much about carbon monoxide in your home. But if you live in a fairly typical house, you probably should be. A recent survey has shown that only 19 percent of adults in the U.S. consider carbon monoxide a threat in their homes. What is so alarming is the fact that 88% of those surveyed had a least one device in their residence that could produce carbon monoxide, and only 6% of the homes had carbon monoxide detectors.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless and deadly gas that is produced by organic fuels that are oxygen deprived during the combustion process. Common sources for CO are improperly vented and fluted furnaces, hot water heaters, stoves, space heaters, fireplaces and automobiles. When proper ventilation of appliances become blocked, carbon monoxide concentrations build up inside your home and become deadly. Carbon monoxide quickly replaces vital oxygen in the blood which results in suffocation from the inside out.

Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in America, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Over 2,500 people in the US ill die each year and over 10,000 will be hospitalized from carbon monoxide. Most victims who lose consciousness are left with permanent brain damage, mental and speech disorders, vision and hearing impairments, seizures and deaths. Children and the elderly are the first to be overcome along with pets.

Carbon monoxide is quick and deadly. It's nickname is the "silent killer." It can be fatal in as little as 3 minutes, depending on the level of concentration. Since you cannot see,hear, taste or smell carbon monoxide, the only way to know is to be aware of it's symptoms and install a carbon monoxide detector. Symptoms to watch for include:

• Headaches, drowsiness, dizziness and confusion.
• Nausea, vomiting and rapid heartbeat.
• Loss of consciousness.
• Everyone in the household is feeling ill at the same time.
• It feels as if you have the flu.

If left uncorrected, CO not only affects human health, but the structural health of the home as well. In terms of your home's heating and cooling system, CO can impair the systems ability to function safely. CO mixed with water makes an acidic gas that can rust the mechanical system, including the draft hood and flue connectors, causing further complications by eating away the electrical components. If CO is detected, make sure you have the system checked for this type of damage.

Prevention is the best way to avoid carbon monoxide, but when you have failed to do so and an incident does occur, knowledge of what to do quickly can save a life. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning or hear an alarm sound from a detector you should:

• immediately leave the premises and get fresh air.
• Call 911
• Perform and maintain CPR on any unconscious victim
• Go to a hospital even if you no longer feel ill.

HOW CO ENTERS THE HOME

Unlike other dangers in the home, like fires the problem with carbon monoxide is fairly new. Most modern homes are built airtight, thus cutting down on the supply of fresh air to your furnace and other fuel burning appliances which creates an oxygen starved flame. Tight closing replacement windows and doors as well as additional insulation can cause similar problems in older homes.

Carbon monoxide can "spill" from vent connectors in poorly maintained or blocked chimneys. If the flue liner is cracked or deteriorated, CO can seep through the liner and into the structure of the house. If a nest or other material restricts or blocks the flue CO will most likely spill back into the house. And in a process called backdrafting, appliances and furnaces that blow air out of the home may eventually creates negative air pressure, if there's no source of fresh air. Under this condition exhaust fumes are forced back into the house. Testing for backdrafting should be performed by a highly specialized HVAC professional. To conduct the test they recreate the worst case of depressuring in the house and using a digital pressure gauge, measures the home's pressurization while looking for conditions that could cause backdrafting situations.

Warming your vehicles up in an attached garage, even with the garage door open, can allow concentrated amounts of carbon monoxide to enter your home through the car port doors or vents and windows close to the garage. If your furnace is in the garage, your furnace may draw carbon monoxide into the duct work and circulate it freely around your home.

CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, every home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector, preferably placed outside their bedroom. These detectors can provide early warning of accumulating CO and alert residents of a possible dangerous situation before symptoms are noticed. Most homes will need at least two detectors, one for each level of your home. There are several types of detectors available, from cheap ($30.00) battery powered gel units (Read the manufacturers directions carefully as some of these units must be replaced after a year or two) to high quality ($90.00) plug-in units.

Consumer Reports studied CO detectors in July 1995. They suggested anyone shopping for a carbon monoxide detector look for the following features:

• An alarm that stops automatically within minutes when fresh air clears carbon monoxide.
• Manual Hush or Reset button to silence alarm briefly in presence of carbon monoxide.
• Digital display or warning light.
• Light to indicate power is on.
• Horn that sounds 85 decibel alarm in response to hazardous exposure.
• Test button to verify that the detector"s electronics are working.
• With plug in models, a battery/sensor pack that lasts a few years.
• With battery operated models, a battery/sensor pack that lasts a few years.
• Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listing or equivalent from American Gas Association.

Underwriters Laboratory recommends placing detectors:

• Within hearing range of sleeping areas.
• Near fuel-burning appliances such as hot water heaters and furnaces.
• Near fireplaces and in your garage.

You should install at eye level or above, but not closer than 6 inches to the ceiling. Avoid detectors which are placed near the floor as carbon monoxide rises quickly toward the ceiling. If placed in the kitchen, do not install unit within 5 feet of cooking appliances which can emit carbon monoxide when cooking.

TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOURSELF

Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning from exposure to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the home is possible by taking some simple steps:

• Make sure appliances are installed and working to manufacturers" instructions and local building codes.
• Having only a qualified technical install or convert fuel-burning equipment from one type to another.
• Have heating system, chimney and flue inspected and cleaned by a qualified technician every year. Check to see the chimney has a proper draft controlled condition which will ensure a proper vent for flue gases.
• Make sure there is good ventilation at all times. Keep a window partially open both at home and in the car.
• Do not use ovens and gas ranges to heat your home.
• Do not burn charcoal inside a home, cabin, RV or camper.
• Do not operate gasoline-powered engines in confined areas such as garages or basements.
• Never leave your car or mower running in a closed garage.
• Make sure your furnace has adequate intake of outside air.
• Choose vented appliances whenever possible.
• Use kerosene space heaters and unvented gas heaters only in well ventilated rooms.
• Replace dirty air filters on your heating system.
• If you have a miss-match between a new high-efficiency furnace or water heater and old masonry chimney not designed for today's standards, you should have the chimney repaired or improved with properly sized and insulated (if needed) chimney liner.

A special problem exists with gas appliances. Although natural gas burns most efficiently and most cleanly compared with other forms of fuel, it is also potentially the most lethal. Natural gas appliances must be treated with utmost caution, and all suggested maintenance schedules must be followed. The demand for higher efficiency equipment, which generally exhausts products of combustion through a wall (as opposed to up a chimney) combined with adverse atmospheric conditions, can potentially create spillage of flu gases back into the breathing space. Thus CO is not only a winter condition but a 12 month of the year risk hazard. If you suspect that you have a carbon monoxide problem it is wise to contact your HVAC contractor or local utility company to alert them to the situation. With a site inspection, these trained professionals should be able to diagnose the problem and repair it for you.

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