Carbon Monoxide Detectors: Ultimate Guide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a potentially hazardous gas found in the home. Nicknamed the “silent killer,” CO gas is colorless, odorless, tasteless and non-irritating, but it can lead to unconsciousness, brain damage or death. As a result, more than 400 people suffer fatal carbon monoxide exposure each year, a steeper fatality rate versus other types of poisoning.

While the weather cools down, you close up your home for the winter and count on heating appliances to stay warm. This is when the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning is highest. Thankfully you can safeguard your family from a gas leak in several ways. One of the most efficient methods is to add CO detectors around your home. Check out this guide to help you understand where carbon monoxide is produced and how to make the most of your CO detectors.

What produces carbon monoxide in a house?

Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Therefore, this gas can appear anytime a fuel source is burned, including natural gas, propane, oil, charcoal, gasoline, woo, and more. Frequent causes of carbon monoxide in a house may be:

Overloaded clothes dryer vent

Malfunctioning water heater
Furnace or boiler with a broken heat exchanger
Closed fireplace flue with a lit fire
Poorly vented gas or wood stove
Vehicle running in the garage

Portable generator, grill, power tool or lawn equipment operating in the garage

Do smoke detectors sense carbon monoxide?

No, smoke detectors do not detect carbon monoxide. Instead, they sound an alarm when they recognize a certain concentration of smoke caused by a fire. Installing dependable smoke detectors decreases the risk of dying in a house fire by around 55 percent.

Smoke detectors are offered in two basic types—ionization detectors and photoelectric detectors. Ionization detection is ideal with fast-moving fires that produce large flames, while photoelectric detection is more effective with smoldering, smoky fires. Some newer smoke detectors come with both forms of alarms in one unit to maximize the chance of responding to a fire, despite how it burns.

Clearly, smoke detectors and CO alarms are similarly essential home safety devices. If you inspect the ceiling and find an alarm of some kind, you may not know whether it’s a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide alarm. The visual discrepancy depends on the brand and model you prefer. Here are several factors to consider:

Some devices are properly labeled. If not, check for a brand and model number on the back of the detector and find it online. You can also find a manufacture date. If the device is older than 10 years, replace it as soon as possible.
Plug-in devices that extract power from an outlet are almost always carbon monoxide alarms]]94. The device {should be labeled saying as much.
Some alarms are really two-in-one, offering protection against both smoke and carbon monoxide with an indicator light for each. That being said, it can be hard to tell with no label on the front, so double checking the manufacturing details on the back is your best bet.

How many carbon monoxide detectors will I want in my home?

The number of CO alarms you should have is determined by your home’s size, the number of stories and bedroom arrangement. Consider these guidelines to provide total coverage:

Add carbon monoxide detectors nearby sleeping areas: CO gas poisoning is most likely at night when furnaces have to run frequently to keep your home warm. Therefore, every bedroom should have a carbon monoxide sensor installed around 15 feet of the door. If two bedroom doors are less than 30 feet apart, a single alarm is sufficient.
Add detectors on each floor: Dangerous carbon monoxide gas can become caught on a single floor of your home, so make sure you have at least one CO detector on all floors.
Install detectors within 10 feet of an attached garage door: Many people unsafely leave their cars idling in the garage, producing dangerous carbon monoxide gas, even when the large garage door is completely open. A CO detector just inside the door—and in the room up above the garage—alerts you of increased carbon monoxide levels inside your home.
Have detectors at the proper height: Carbon monoxide weighs about the same as air, but it’s often carried along with the hot air created by combustion appliances. Installing detectors close to the ceiling is ideal to catch this rising air. Models that include digital readouts are best located at eye level to make sure they’re easy to read.
Add detectors about 15 feet from combustion appliances: A few fuel-burning machines emit a small, harmless amount of carbon monoxide when they start. This breaks up quickly, but in situations where a CO detector is positioned too close, it might lead to false alarms.

Install detectors away from extreme heat and humidity: Carbon monoxide detectors have certain tolerances for heat and humidity. To limit false alarms, avoid installing them in bathrooms, in strong sunlight, near air vents, or close to heat-generating appliances.

How do I test/troubleshoot a carbon monoxide detector?

Depending on the specific unit, the manufacturer may suggest testing once a month and resetting to maintain proper functionality. Also, replace the batteries in battery-powered units twice a year. For hardwired units, replace the backup battery once a year or when the alarm starts chirping, whichever starts first. Then, replace the CO detector completely every 10 years or in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.

How to test your carbon monoxide alarm

You only need a minute to test your CO alarm. Review the instruction manual for directions individual to your unit, with the knowledge that testing practices this general routine:

Press and hold the Test button. It may need 5 to 20 seconds for the alarm to begin.
Loud beeping indicates the detector is working correctly.
Let go of the Test button and wait for two quick beeps, a flash or both. If the device goes on beeping when you let go of the button, press and hold it again for five seconds to silence it.

Change the batteries if the unit isn’t performing as expected for the test. If replacement batteries don’t help, replace the detector immediately.

How to reset your carbon monoxide alarm

You only have to reset your unit after the alarm goes off, after testing the device or after swapping the batteries. Certain models automatically reset themselves within 10 minutes of these events, while others need a manual reset. The instruction manual will note which function applies.

Follow these steps to reset your CO detector manually:

Press and hold the Reset button for 5 to 10 seconds.
Release the button and listen for a beep, a flash or both.

If you don’t get a beep or observe a flash, try the reset again or replace the batteries. If it’s still not working, troubleshoot your carbon monoxide alarm with assistance from the manufacturer, or get rid of the faulty detector.

What can I do if a carbon monoxide alarm starts?

Follow these steps to safeguard your home and family:

Do not dismiss the alarm. You won’t always be able to recognize dangerous levels of carbon monoxide until it’s too late, so expect the alarm is operating properly when it starts.
Evacuate all people and pets as quickly as possible. If you’re able to, open windows and doors on your way out to attempt to dilute the concentration of CO gas.
Call 911 or a local fire department and explain that the carbon monoxide alarm has started.

Don’t assume it’s safe to reenter your home when the alarm stops beeping. Opening windows and doors can help air it out, but the root cause might still be creating carbon monoxide.
When emergency responders arrive, they will enter your home, measure carbon monoxide levels, check for the source of the CO leak and determine if it’s safe to go back inside. Depending on the cause, you will sometimes need to schedule repair services to prevent the problem from reappearing.

Find Support from Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing

With the appropriate precautions, there’s no need to be afraid of carbon monoxide inhalation in your home. In addition to installing CO alarms, it’s important to maintain your fuel-burning appliances, particularly as winter arrives.

The team at Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing is ready to inspect, clean, diagnose and repair problems with furnaces, boilers, water heaters and other combustion appliances. We know what signs could mean a likely carbon monoxide leak— such as excessive soot, rusted flue pipes and a yellow, flickering burner flame—along with the necessary repairs to avoid them.

Do you still have questions or concerns about CO exposure? Is it time to schedule annual heating services? Contact Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing for more information.