HELENA — As temperatures drop and furnaces kick on, it’s important to make sure your home is safe from carbon monoxide, a potentially deadly gas that you can’t see or smell, but there are simple steps you can take to keep your family safe.
Carbon monoxide is a toxic, colorless, odorless gas produced by burning gas and oil furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, and wood and gas stoves. In concentrated amounts, carbon monoxide can be deadly.
Evan Charney reports - watch the video here:
If left unchecked, you could be putting you and your family at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. In November 2022, two Cascade County residents died when their RV heater malfunctioned.
“We have a lot of people shut off furnaces for the summer, and furnaces and hot water heaters kick on, so they're being utilized a lot more,” said Helena Assistant Fire Chief Mike Chambers. "Snow sometimes can block exhaust piping and that sort of thing, so we do see an increase.”
The best way to keep yourself safe is to install a carbon monoxide detector in your home.
There are different kinds of detectors you can find in hardware stores: wired, battery-powered, and even plug-in. They all work the same; it's just about preference.
“Just make sure you check your batteries twice a year, because even the plug-in ones have backup batteries, and the ones that are battery only, you need to check them twice a year,” said Ace Hardware store manager Julie Ann Galinec.
Side effects from exposure to carbon monoxide include headaches, dizziness, and flu-like symptoms.
According to the CDC, each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning not linked to fires, with more than 100,000 emergency room visits, and more than 14,000 people hospitalized across the country.
“If you get it, you want to get outside immediately because what happens is you've lost oxygen in your blood, and so you want to breathe in the clean air, the fresh air,” said Tiffany Kniepkamp, an emergency physician at St. Peter's Health in Helena.
Be sure to look for the signs and get your detectors installed to keep your home safe.
From the CDC website:
- Install a battery-operated or battery back-up CO detector in your home. Check or replace the detector’s battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. Place your detector where it will wake you up if it alarms, such as outside your bedroom. Consider buying a detector with a digital readout. This detector can tell you the highest level of CO concentration in your home in addition to alarming. Replace your CO detector every five years.
- Have your heating system, water heater, and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
- Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors.
- If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator have an expert service it. An odor from your gas refrigerator can mean it could be leaking CO.
- When you buy gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as Underwriters’ Laboratories.
- Make sure your gas appliances are vented properly. Horizontal vent pipes for appliances, such as a water heater, should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors, as shown below. This prevents CO from leaking if the joints or pipes aren’t fitted tightly.
- Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys can be blocked by debris. This can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
- Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
- Never use a gas range or oven for heating. Using a gas range or oven for heating can cause a build up of CO inside your home, cabin, or camper.
- Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal – red, gray, black, or white – gives off CO.
- Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors. Using a gas camp stove indoors can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
- Never use a generator inside your home, basement, or garage or less than 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
- When using a generator, use a battery-powered or battery backup CO detector in your home.
