Carbon Monoxide Detectors Are Very Important For Your Cincinnati Home

If your Cincinnati area home has an attached garage or any fuel-burning appliances, carbon monoxide detectors need to be a part of your household. These important devices can provide life-saving alerts in the event of carbon monoxide exposure inside the house. Nelson Comfort shares why carbon monoxide detectors are important and where they should be installed throughout your home.

Why Are Carbon Monoxide Detectors Necessary?

Fuel-burning stoves, furnaces, and even vehicles can generate carbon monoxide through combustion. Normally, this combustion byproduct safely vents out of the home, through a flue, chimney, or even an open overhead garage door. When the appliances or their ventilation are faulty, or a vehicle is left running in a closed garage, carbon monoxide can seep into the home’s living spaces and expose those inside the house.

You’ll never notice a carbon monoxide leak on your own because it is a colorless and odorless gas and is virtually undetectable to humans. For this reason, it is important that you install carbon monoxide detectors in your home. These devices sense levels of carbon dioxide in the indoor air and alert occupants when potentially dangerous levels are present. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly, and a carbon monoxide detector provides an alarm so people inside a house can exit and seek safety.

Where Should Carbon Monoxide Detectors Be Installed?

At a minimum, there should be one carbon monoxide detector installed on each level of the home. Placement should be outside sleeping areas, so occupants are able to hear the alarm even overnight. It’s also wise to place one near the entry of your attached garage to detect carbon monoxide coming from a running vehicle.

Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed on a wall, approximately five feet above floor level, or on the ceiling so the carbon monoxide monitors the air at all levels of the house. Carbon monoxide is lighter than air and can be present in rising warm air. Installing multiple carbon monoxide detectors throughout the home is the best approach for your safety, ensuring alerts can be heard from any location inside the residence. A connected system is another smart option, as all carbon monoxide alarms will sound when one detects the gas.

There are some areas where you don’t want to place carbon monoxide detectors. This is to avoid damage and false readings.

• Install carbon monoxide detectors in areas near gas burning appliances, but not too close. Furnaces can have carbon monoxide leaks. Place your carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet of the appliance but not next to or above appliances that generate flames.
• Don’t install a carbon monoxide monitor in areas that have high humidity levels, such as your bathrooms.
• Make sure to place a carbon monoxide detector in your basement as well as levels of your home that sit above the ground.

Maintain and Test Devices

Some carbon monoxide alarms are hardwired to the home’s electrical system, but all can take batteries either as the main source or backup source of power. Batteries should be replaced every six months to ensure the unit has power whenever needed. Your Carbon monoxide alarm won’t last forever. Your co detector units should be replaced every five years.

Each month, test the operation of every carbon monoxide detector in the home. Press the test button and hold it down until the alarm sounds. If the test does not produce an alarm or the alarm tone is faint or interrupted, go ahead and replace the co detector.

Heating Your Home Safely

Nelson Comfort is committed to helping our Cincinnati area neighbors heat their homes safely. Ensure carbon monoxide detectors are properly installed across your home to protect you and your family from carbon monoxide leaks – >contact us today to learn more about professional carbon monoxide detector installation.

About The Author

Dan Detmer

Dan Detmer is the owner of Nelson Comfort. Dan was born into the heating and cooling industry, coming from a family of well respected HVAC contractors in Dayton, Ohio. After working in the family business, Dan decided to work for a local HVAC wholesale business helping local contractors grow their business. When he felt his heart moving him back into the residential and light commercial business, Dan joined the Mortimer Heating & Cooling team in Cincinnati, where he had called home and become part of the community for several years. After a short period of time Dan purchased the company and created what is today, Nelson Comfort. Today he operates a company based on integrity, honesty, and stellar customer service. If you have any questions feel free to tweet (at sign) NelsonComfort and we will get right back with you!