By DON RACKLER, Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning
Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas produced by gas appliances that is colorless and odorless. The greatest danger from carbon monoxide is that you can not smell it and many homeowners have become sick and even died from exposure to this deadly gas.
Gas space heaters, improperly vented kerosene heaters, leaking furnaces and chimneys, wood stoves and fireplaces, gas stoves and water heaters, and any gas powered equipment that vents into your home can produce deadly levels of carbon monoxide. Deaths from this gas are highest in the winter since people use heaters in the night in an attempt to stay warm, but never wake up. Carbon monoxide detectors can alert you to a rise in the levels of this gas and save your life and the life of your family.
If you have a low level of carbon monoxide in your home you may experience flu-like symptoms. In people who have heart disease, an early sign may be chest pain and in healthy people dizziness, impaired vision, loss of coordination and headaches.
Other symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can include nausea and confusion, reduced brain function and finally death. Small children and the elderly are especially susceptible to the effects of the gas. As you can see, the potential dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning are real and like smoke detectors, installing carbon monoxide detectors is a wise thing to do.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges all home owners to install carbon monoxide detectors. These devices look like smoke detectors but are sensitive to carbon monoxide levels. Acceptable levels of the gas in a home are from 0.5 to 5 parts per million (ppm). Carbon dioxide detectors alert you with a high pitch tone if the levels in your home rise above 5 ppm.
If it does alert you, open some windows and evacuate your home immediately. Do not return to your home for any length of time until a qualified HVAC technician has inspected and repaired the cause of the leak.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about carbon monoxide and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Jon Wayne Heating and Air Conditioning services San Antonio and the surrounding communities of Seguin, New Braunfels, Bulverde, Boerne, and Comal County. To get started, check out our website or see our current promotions.
Jon Wayne Heating & Air Conditioning
9272 US Highway 87 E
San Antonio, TX 78263
(210) 293-6700
