Carbon Monoxide:  The Silent Killer

     If you use gas-fueled appliances in your home, have an attached garage, or use a fireplace, you need a C.O. detector.  Carbon Monoxide cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled, so basically you never know that it’s present without a detector.  Even at low levels of exposure it can cause serious health risk. Long term, low level exposure is just as much a health risk as sudden high level exposure.  Symptoms of C.O. poisoning are often similar to the flu.

     What most people don’t know:  All C.O detectors are not the same.  Most monitor only high levels, while some let you know when levels are low.  I recently went to the local big box retailer to examine their detectors for sale.  Here is what I found concerning when the alarm will go off:

At 70 (ppm)  Parts per million, the unit must alarm within 60-240 minutes.

At 150 (ppm), unit must alarm within 10-50 minutes.

At 400 (ppm), unit must alarm within 4-15 minutes.

     According to OSHA, 50 ppm is the maximum allowable concentration for continuous exposure for healthy adults in any 8-hour period.  I found it interesting that all the detectors I looked at could take between 1 and 4 hours to alarm at 70 ppm.  I assume that this means you could have 69 ppm in your home continuously and the alarm would never go off.  While reading the fine print, I noticed most detectors had disclaimers stating:  Pregnant women, infants, children, senior citizens, persons with heart or respiratory problems, and smokers may experience symptoms at lower levels of exposure.

     Which detector should I buy?  Your best bet is to purchase a detector that displays both high and low levels of C.O..  I noticed that many of the detectors would display levels at 30 ppm although the alarm would not go off until levels reached 70 ppm.  These detectors were reasonably priced and some had warranties up to 7 years.  There are low level C.O. detectors available although I don’t think you will find them at your local store.  Personally, I have detectors in my home that will read 1ppm and alarm at 10 ppm.  You should be able to find these detectors on-line.