Carbon Monoxide Levels: Knowing How Much is Too Much

If you install a smoke detector in your home that also has a detector for testing carbon monoxide levels then you will be safe from any harmful build up of carbon monoxide or CO build up in your home. This is important because CO gas is tasteless and odorless and death is the only way in which humans can detect levels that are insufficient or too high. The detector is designed to sound an alarm when CO emissions for a stove, range, fireplace or other appliance in the home that emits CO are at or near the unacceptable levels for you to breathe. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) provides information regarding the acceptable and unacceptable levels of CO present in a home. They recommend the installation of a carbon monoxide alarm in the center of each floor in a home in order to detect the presence of the gas and determine what levels are insufficient. According to the NFPA information any level of  CO present in the home is too high. That is because small amounts of the gas can accumulate over time and a person who inhales these trace amounts over time are as susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning as a person exposed to a large dose of CO.

How to Eliminate Carbon Monoxide

Knowing this based on information from a credible source such as the NFPA the question is not what level of CO present is too much. The question becomes, what do I need to do to eliminate the present of carbon monoxide in the home in order to prevent exposure to my family? In this context a person should immediately install detectors throughout their home as a way to measure CO build up and alert them of some issues perhaps with their ventilation system and windows.

Number of Carbon Monoxide Incidents 

The NFPA estimates a rate of seven CO exposure calls an hour everyday in the United States. This suggests that the rate of CO poisoning and exposure is much higher than it should be given the methods that can help reduce and eliminate this exposure. If you suspect that your home has a higher level of CO than it should, call a building or home inspector to test air quality and get an accurate reading of the level of carbon monoxide that is present in the air.

How Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Presents Itself

Not only is carbon monoxide gas colorless, tasteless and odorless but a person who suffers from carbon monoxide poisoning masks the symptoms with those that appear to be the flu or a cold. A person who has a sore throat, running nose and fever can easily be misdiagnosed as a seasonal flu or cold suffered when in fact they have been exposed to a systematic process of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

If you suspect that you home has a carbon monoxide problem have it inspected and contact the appropriate people to come out and fix the problem.