According to a 2012 report by the National Fire Protection Association, fire departments respond to an average of 72,000 carbon monoxide incidents each year. Carbon Monoxide, or CO2, is a colorless, odorless gas by-product of burnt fuel. It’s often associated with wood stoves, car engines and other fire combustion sources along with gas or oil furnaces.
Why is Carbon Monoxide so important?
Not to be overly dramatic, but understanding the causes and ways to prevent excessive CO2 exposure is a matter of life and death. CO2 is tops when ranking leading reasons of accidental poisoning deaths in the US*, and conditions of CO2 poisoning can be mistakenly labeled as the flu, viral infections and continuous fatigue, among many others. This makes CO2 poisoning the invisible killer that needs to be taken seriously by every Charlotte homeowner. Serious poisoning takes place from inhaling large concentrations of CO2, but poisoning can also occur over many months or years. Some symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, flu-like symptoms, dizziness and fatigue.
How to protect your family from carbon monoxide?
- If you don’t have a CO2 detector in your home, get one right away. You can call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning to purchase one today.
- Existing CO2 detectors should be checked regularly (at least every 90 days). It's also wise to replace the detector every 3-5 years.
- If you experience or have experienced some of the symptoms stated above, ask your doctor to test for carbon monoxide poisoning, and get a second opinion if necessary.
*emedicinehealth.com. Prevention information for Carbon Monoxide poisoning may be inaccurate or incomplete; none of these methods guarantee prevention of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.