What You Need to Know About Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Monoxide testing in your home is only important if you want to LIVE. Just kidding. Well, actually, not really. The fact is, if you have gas appliances in your home, there are steps you should take to ensure your safety.
Everybody knows about carbon monoxide being toxic, right? You know that scene in House of Cards, where he leaves the guy in the locked garage? Carbon monoxide poisoning. What you may not realize is that all of the systems and appliances in your home that use a fossil fuel (in Texas – natural gas), can produce carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide occurs naturally – our bodies produces small amounts of it. When you need to get worried is when it is allowed to accumulate. At about 35 parts per million, carbon monoxide will begin to affect you.
Here’s the science:
Carbon monoxide is formed when you have an incomplete combustion. When you burn fuel, it produces carbon dioxide. In an enclosed space, where there is less oxygen present, instead of carbon DI-oxide, you get one less oxygen molecule, forming carbon monoxide. In cabinets, closets or other enclosed spaces in your house, carbon monoxide can accumulate and cause you to get sick, or worse.
“If you start noticing that whenever you’re at home your short term memory is awful, like more awful than normal, it could be carbon monoxide. It makes you stupid before it kills you.” – Inspector, Marcus Butler
All joking aside, when we do home inspections, if gas is present, we do a Carbon Monoxide test. We make sure your required carbon monoxide testing equipment is functional and in the right places. Then we use a detector to measure levels that may be accumulating in your home and identify where it’s coming from.
If you have gas appliances in your home, make sure to keep them properly maintained and that your carbon monoxide detectors are in working order. Save yourself a headache (or worse) later on.
