Winter came early here this year. It’s been snowier and colder than normal so far this winter. It was -5 degrees a few days ago, which is January temperatures, not usually December weather.
My home is heated with oil and hot water baseboards. I always have the heating system cleaned and serviced once a year to make sure it’s running efficiently. Last month, there wasn’t heat on the main floor, so a circulator was replaced. After that, it seemed like there was a more noticeable oil smell, but things seemed to be working ok. For a while, even before that, the furnace seemed to quickly turn on and off a few times before staying on longer. Last week that got worse and a bit louder. A -5 degree night did it in. I woke up about 3am to no heat, a terrible oil smell and the furnace struggling to turn on even for a second.
The nozzle needed to be replaced. A few hours after the repairman left, a carbon monoxide detector started going off. I had changed the batteries the night before, so I opened windows, reset it, changed the batteries again. It kept going off, but would stop when I took it outside. The repairman came back and changed a setting to add more air and taped up a few spots along the pipe that had loose silicone. That fixed the issue.
If I hadn’t had a carbon monoxide detector, I would have just assumed things were working ok and who knows what would have happened.
Carbon monoxide is produced when there is not enough oxygen available when burning carbon-containing fuels like gasoline, natural gas, oil, kerosene, wood, and charcoal. Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced instead of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Carbon monoxide is odorless, so I never would have known there was a leak. Pretty scary.
When carbon monoxide is breathed in, it replaces oxygen in red blood cells. It affects the brain and heart the most and keeps building up in the body, leading to symptoms like:
- Headache
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Confusion
- Blurred vision
- Sleepiness
- Loss of muscle control
- Loss of consciousness
Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause loss of consciousness leading to brain damage or death.
Carbon monoxide should be placed on the wall a few feet below the ceiling on each floor of a home, including the basement and attic, in bedrooms, outside sleeping areas, 10 – 15 feet from fuel burning appliances and devices like kitchen stoves, wood stoves and furnaces, in the garage, in rooms above a garage and in the doorway of a room next to a garage.
Challenge:
If you don’t have carbon monoxide detectors in your home, start adding them. Start with one area and work your way up adding one to each key area. They average around $20 – $30.
If you have some, make sure you have one in each key area, that they are working properly and have one in each key area.
Also, make sure batteries are changed regularly and that they are tested.
While you are at it, also make sure smoke detectors are working properly.
Resources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/carbon-monoxide/symptoms-causes/syc-20370642
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-carbon-monoxide
https://www.adt.com/resources/carbon-monoxide-detector-placement
https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/where-to-place-and-install-a-carbon-monoxide-detector/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90e36b7503
https://www.kidde.com/safety-hub/smoke-and-co-detection/placement-of-carbon-monoxide-alarms
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/where-should-i-place-carbon-monoxide-detector