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Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - A Silent and Preventable Killer Lurking in Your Home
Mon 09 Feb 2009 - 16:42
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - A Silent and Preventable Killer Lurking in Your Home
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Renee_Adelmann]Renee Adelmann
An insidious, and often overlooked, threat to the air quality in your home is carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can poison the air in your home without you even realizing it. The good news is that you can easily protect yourself and your family by prevention, monitoring, and educating yourself on symptoms & what to do in the event of suspected CO poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is produced when any fuel does not burn completely, due to insufficient oxygen.
Possible sources include:
- Furnaces
- Water heaters
- Gas or wood fireplaces
- Automobiles left running in attached garages
- Plugged or defective chimneys
- Gas kitchen ranges
To avoid carbon monoxide contamination in your home you can:
- Make sure all heating appliances are properly installed
- Never use charcoal cooking grills indoors
- Always use a kitchen range fan vented to the outside when cooking with gas
- Never use the gas kitchen range to heat your home (sounds obvious, but people do it!)
- Have heating system & chimneys inspected annually by a qualified professional
- Do not warm up or run automobiles or other gasoline engines in attached garages
- Equip your home with at least one UL-listed Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarm
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can mimic the flu and include:
- Headache
- Nausea/vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Confusion
- Accelerated heart rate
If the entire family becomes ill after being home a few hours, but feel better when they leave, suspect CO poisoning.
If you suspect an excess of carbon monoxide in your home, or your alarm indicates a high level of the gas:
- Immediately move everyone outdoors
- Call emergency services (such as your fire department)
- Once it has been determined that it is safe to reenter the house, correct the problem before restarting any heating appliances
These tips hold true whether you are in a home you've lived in for years or are looking at San Francisco real estate, homes for sale in Mill Valley, or a remote cabin in Timbuktu. If you live in a recently purchased or newly built home, you may already have monitors, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Mid-century modern homes, including Eichler homes and Alliance-built homes, were built before carbon monoxide was recognized as a household problem and may need monitors, but it is an inexpensive fix, available at most hardware stores, and gives great peace of mind.
Renee Adelmann specializes in modern and eco-friendly real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. She assist buyers and sellers of [http://www.marinmodern.com]Marin homes as well as [http://www.sanfranciscomodern.com/san-francisco-lofts.php]San Francisco lofts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Renee_Adelmann http://EzineArticles.com/?Carbon-Monoxide-Poisoning---A-Silent-and-Preventable-Killer-Lurking-in-Your-Home&id=1950135
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