Were You Aware of National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week?

This important week passed by in early November with barely a notice.

I nearly missed it myself because I didn’t see any news broadcasts or PBS specials making note of it. What I did see last week was a news story about a local family awakened in the middle of the night by their CO detector, feeling sick and groggy they all made it outside to fresh air and survived. It was the furnace causing the problem and an inexpensive CO detector that saved their lives.

Carbon monoxide gets you in two distinctly different ways. As noted above, when there is a big dose all at once — more than 75 parts per million (ppm) — those levels and higher can make you really sick and cause death quickly. Most modest CO detectors alarm at 75 ppm and will protect you from the “big event.”

The other way carbon monoxide gets you is by building up over time. Once you are exposed to CO some of it stays in your system and take time to work its way out. If you are exposed to low levels of say 20 or 30 ppm over a period of time you will develop the typical side effects of headache, nausea, lethargy, lightheadedness and you will be more vulnerable to the “big event” because you already have a CO concentration in your system. The best solution is to get a low level CO detector that will read as low as 15 ppm. These devices are a little more expensive but well worth it.

The bottom line is that you should get a carbon monoxide detector and check it once or twice every year, make sure the batteries are fresh and the alarm works. There may come a day when you or someone you care about will be glad you did.