Use These Three Tips To Get The Most From Your Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Carbon monoxide is a dangerous, odorless, and tasteless gas that is released when natural gas furnaces, stoves or other forms of carbon, such as kerosene, propane or wood are inadequately burned. While this deadly gas cannot be detected by odor, taste or sight, a carbon monoxide detector can easily detect the presence of deadly fumes and save your life.  Even though we usually only think about this in the wintertime when burning either a gas furnace or a fireplace, if you have a gas water heater in your home you need to be thinking of it year-round.

Homeowners, landlords and tenants in Corpus Christi should be aware of how to get the most out of their carbon monoxide detectors. Follow these three tips for proper carbon monoxide detector installation and maintenance:

• Proper placement of your carbon monoxide detector is essential to get the best results.  Detectors should be placed near sleeping areas. Care should be taken not to place them over or near appliances that burn fuel, such as gas furnaces, wood stoves or ovens. Appliances that burn fuel often emit a small amount of carbon monoxide when starting up and may cause the alarm to go off. Ideally, carbon monoxide detectors should be placed in each bedroom of the home. At least one detector should be installed on each floor of your home.

• Carbon monoxide detectors should have a continuous power supply. If your detector only operates on a battery, check the detector regularly to ensure it is still receiving power. Detectors that plug into an outlet should also be tested on a regular basis to make sure that the outlet is not faulty. You will likely get the most battery life and peace of mind from detectors that have both a plug-in feature and a battery backup.

• Learn about the levels of carbon monoxide present in your Corpus Christi home with a digital carbon monoxide detector. Even when levels are not high enough to sound the alarm, carbon monoxide levels may still be present. Digital models allow you to observe these levels and assess the possible hazards in your home. Carbon monoxide detectors with a digital read-out can also assist emergency personnel in determining the past and present levels of carbon monoxide poisoning in your home should an emergency occur.

See the professionals at Mathews CCAC Air Conditioning in Corpus Christi to answer your questions or provide expert advice about carbon monoxide detectors.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Mathews CCAC Air Conditioning and Heating services Corpus Christi, TX. To get started, check out our website.