I can’t stress enough how important it is for you remain vigilant about your family’s safety. After all, it only takes a few seconds for a house fire to rage out of control or just a split-second for an innocent “mistake” to change a life.
Similarly, carbon monoxide poisoning is one of those things you can’t take back… get too much and you’re dead. Your family is dead. There are no do-overs here. Yes, stuff happens, but you can put the odds back in your favor…
As you might suspect it starts with knowledge. Here’s a few good article to read about carbon monoxide poisoning that discuss the most likely sources of CO, signs and symptoms to watch for, how to prevent it, and more:
- How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning After an Emergency (sources, symptoms, treatment)
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (prevention, symptoms, treatment)
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Can be a Major Cause of Death After TEOTWAWKI (sources, symptoms, prevention)
- How to Recognize and Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (what happens to your body, signs of poisoning, prevention)
Hopefully, you choose to read those articles. Yes, some of the information is repeated but that’s a critical part to understanding–and remembering–how to stay safe from CO poisoning!
Just to be sure, it bears repeating a few major points here:
- “Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but because it is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and it is very difficult for most people to detect.” Source
- “Carbon monoxide is often found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by small gasoline engines, stoves and gas cookers, generators, lanterns, and gas ranges, or by burning charcoal and wood. The gas may be caused to leak by rupture from movement of a building or equipment due to a storm, etc., the equipment being used may be defective, or there may be some other cause for the leakage of carbon monoxide, such as inadequate ventilation.” Source
- “Common symptoms are as follows: Headache, dizziness, confusion, yawning, weariness, nausea, and ringing in the ears. Bright red color on lips and skin. Victim may become drowsy and collapse suddenly. If personnel are found unconscious in an enclosed shelter, carbon monoxide poisoning should be suspected.” Source
- “NEVER run a generator in your home or garage. NEVER install fuel burning appliances in your home without proper knowledge, skills, or tools. NEVER operate an unvented gas burning appliance in a room where you are sleeping. NEVER leave a car running in a garage even with the garage door open. NEVER burn charcoal in homes, tents, vehicles, or garages. NEVER put foil on bottom of a gas oven; it interferes with combustion.” Source
Now, to the question at hand: Why You Should Have a CO Alarm, Even if None of Your Appliances Produce Carbon Monoxide.
As a background, we’ve always lived in a home that’s had something that can produce CO, be it a gas hot water heater to a wood-burning stove. As such, I’ve always had one or two CO alarms nearby those potential sources. Fortunately, they’ve never gone off and so they’re easy to forget about.
Since we’ve moved I found that I seemed to have no need for a CO alarm because everything in our house runs on electric and, sadly, we don’t have a wood-burning fireplace… yes, it makes me feel slightly naked not having one, thanks for asking. But, we’re renting right now so we’ll just have to do without one.
So, why do I choose to keep a CO alarm in my home even though nothing in my house can cause carbon monoxide poisoning? Because I DO have emergency gear that *could* produce carbon monoxide, including:
- a propane heater (even though it’s supposed to be indoor-safe)
- propane lighting (which are not to be used indoors)
- kerosene lanterns (yes, they can produce CO too)
- candles (could also produce CO, eventually)
- propane grills (only to be used outdoors)
- a kerosene heater could produce CO as well (I do not own one)
- charcoal grills are among the worst (must ONLY be used outdoors)
Basically, anything that burns a fuel could produce CO. Actually, what’s most likely to happen (as I understand it) is that as fuel gets burned oxygen gets depleted and, as a result, is more likely to produce carbon monoxide. Therefore, you wind up with two problems: oxygen depletion AND carbon monoxide… yikes!
Now, the odds are pretty good that I know how to use this stuff and SHOULD keep my family safe but you never know. It could be that after a disaster has happened, I’m stressed, I just want to get things done, and low-and-behold I’ve done something stupid, something that could put my family’s lives in danger. Maybe I’ve decided to use a camping stove indoors because it’s cold and freezing outside. Who knows why.
Besides, it could be that my family or even kids are getting into my preps because I’m not around and now THEY’RE doing something stupid. Again, who knows what circumstances caused the situation. I’d simply rather have the extra warning layer than not. The same goes for including many more smoke alarms than the minimum housing codes require.
It’s about about early warnings because it only takes ONE time for things to go wrong! So, if you have ANY device that might produce CO then by all means get a quality carbon monoxide alarm. It’s a small cost compared to the potential for saving your family’s lives.
Leave a Reply