Test Your CO Detectors Year-Round to Ensure Safety

Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are considered an essential safety feature in homes nationwide, with Illinois mandating properly functioning CO detectors in every dwelling. But CO detectors that aren’t tested regularly to ensure they’re working can give you a false sense of security and perhaps provoke a dangerous situation where you and your home’s occupants are exposed to this deadly gas.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas that’s a by-product of combustion, which takes place in fireplaces and gas-powered appliances such as generators, clothes dryers, ranges, water heaters and furnaces. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness, confusion and even loss of consciousness. Unfortunately, these symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses, so it’s important to have properly functioning carbon monoxide monitors to verify CO exposure.

Testing CO Detectors

For greatest safety, a carbon monoxide detector should be installed on each floor of the home, at least 10 feet from the nearest gas-burning appliance, and about 6 feet from the floor.

Testing CO Detectors

Every homeowner should test carbon monoxide detectors regularly to ensure they’re functioning properly. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Push the “test” button. If the monitor emits a loud beep or other sound, it’s working properly. If the monitor is battery operated, change the batteries.
2. Some monitors are hard-wired into your electrical system. If one of these emits a beep or other sound, there’s a chance the monitor is signaling it’s failing and should be replaced, or that a backup battery should be replaced. It’s a good idea for these hard-wired monitors to have digital readouts so you can tell if there’s an emergency-level CO leak, or if it’s just monitor or battery failure when the unit sounds off.
3. You can test digital readout monitors by waving a lit incense stick or cigarette within 8 feet of the monitor and confirming that the reading is below 70 parts per million. Below that level, the alarm will probably not sound.

Learn more about CO detectors and other indoor air quality solutions from the pros at Tempco Heating and Air Conditioning, or give us a call at (847) 670-7000.