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Keep carbon monoxide out of your home

(NC)-The silent killer. Carbon monoxide. This deadly gas, also written CO, can kill you before you know it because you can't see it, taste it or smell it. At lower levels of exposure, it can cause health problems. Symptoms are often mistaken for the flu: severe headaches, nausea, vomiting and sleepiness. One difference is that with CO poisoning there is usually no fever, and symptoms tend to clear up when you go outside and breathe fresh air.

At higher levels, it causes vomiting, loss of consciousness, brain damage and eventually leads to death. "Carbon monoxide acts by displacing the oxygen that enters our body. It essentially suffocates us," explains Raffi Nersesian spokesperson for Kidde Safety Canada. "Expectant mothers, infants, children, senior citizens and those with heart or lung problems are most vulnerable to CO poisoning." Because CO has no colour, taste or odour, it mixes readily with air, and will infiltrate a home quickly, overcoming its inhabitants without warning.

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of fossil-fuel combustion. Fumes from automobiles contain high levels of CO. Appliances such as furnaces, space heaters, clothes dryers, ranges, ovens, water heaters, charcoal grills, fireplaces and wood burning stoves can produce carbon monoxide. If appliances function correctly and the home is properly ventilated, CO is usually vented to the outside. Problems occur when these appliances malfunction or vents and chimneys become blocked. Alarms are the only means of detection.

"Human beings cannot detect carbon monoxide. Only a CO alarm can warn us that the deadly gas is present." Nersesian recommends installing at least one carbon monoxide alarm with a digital readout feature near the bedrooms, where it can be heard at night, when most CO poisonings occur. The numerical display should be easily seen when walking down the hall. Never ignore any values over zero or a sounding alarm! If a home has more than one storey, an alarm should be placed on each level.

"Be sure the alarm has met the latest Canadian standard," Nersesian advises. "It's important to look for the CSA blue flame logo with the numbers 6.19-01 below it. This latest standard is stricter, and addresses problems of short-term reliability that alarms exhibited in the past." Today, the CO alarms that use "electrochemical" sensor technology are highly accurate and continue to perform at peak level for up to seven years. After that, they should be replaced. All alarms should be installed and tested monthly according to the manufacturer's instructions.

For more information on protection and prevention of carbon monoxide, visit: www.SafeAtHome.ca

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