Over the years, I’ve read many accounts in the news about people affected by carbon monoxide poisoning. Just last month, a former New York Yankees player’s teenage son died from carbon monoxide poisoning while on vacation in Costa Rica, as well as three American women vacationing in Belize back in February. However, this isn’t a problem that just affects hotels and resorts that may not have stringent code requirements or lax building maintenance. I found that out the hard way this month.
On the drive home from a weekend getaway, my husband received a call from our security company that the CO detectors in our home were going off. When we arrived, EMS was already there waiting to check over the house. We thought we had narrowed down the culprit – a newer furnace that was installed on the top floor of the house. We shut it down, opened all doors and windows, and soon the alarms stopped and CO levels went back to zero. We kept the windows open overnight but shut them the next morning as temperatures were barely above freezing.
Luckily, when I woke up, the handheld CO detector we purchased on Amazon the prior evening was waiting on the doorstep. As the day went on, I developed a headache and laid down in hopes it would relax me enough to go away. Imagine my surprise when I woke up four HOURS later to the CO alarm going off again. We immediately opened the windows and doors and evacuated the house. The fresh air cured my headache and tiredness, and as soon as the alarm stopped beeping (indicating that the CO levels had dissipated), we used our handheld CO detector to check the other furnaces and appliances in the house. It turned out that our pool heater had malfunctioned and was leaking 400 parts per million (PPM) at the source (over 35 PPM can be fatal if left unchecked for hours. Our wonderful HVAC repairman came over at 10:00 in the evening to ensure everything else was safe, although we decided not to sleep at home that night.
According to Mayo Clinic, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause the following symptoms:
- Headache
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Confusion
- Blurred vision
- Sleepiness
- Loss of muscle control
- Loss of consciousness
- Death
Now that we’re all fixed up, I felt compelled to share my experience to keep others safe. There is a reason carbon monoxide is called “the silent killer.” The gas is colorless and odorless, and there is no way of knowing you’re being exposed to it until you start having symptoms or until your alarm (hopefully) detects it. Since I’m a researcher by nature, I wanted to look into CO detectors and was surprised to learn that the lowest threshold under UL-2034 standards (page 11) does not require CO alarms to sound until 70 PPM has been reached between 1-4 hours. The alarm will sound sooner if higher thresholds are reached, but knowing that exposure to just 35 PPM can be extremely detrimental for long periods, I am glad I chose to purchase the handheld meter that detects anything above 0 PPM. I highly recommend getting one and taking it with you if you’re vacationing away from home, camping in an RV, or staying anywhere for a prolonged period of time. Also, installing CO alarms that have the digital PPM right on the display at eye-level can help monitor issues before alarms will sound. It’s a small investment for peace of mind instead of relying on blind faith that the alarm up high on the wall is functioning properly.
Stay safe, friends!