Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Carbon monoxide detectors are crucial for home safety, warns Utah Poison Control.
- Carbon monoxide is odorless and can originate from fireplaces, stoves and heaters.
- Regular maintenance and proper placement of detectors can prevent fatalities and health issues.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's beginning to look a lot like ... time to check the carbon monoxide detector ... everywhere you go.
Not only the one that you took off your ceiling when it started beeping and never put back up when you changed the battery. No, you need to also look at the others in your house, placed preferably on each floor and stuck close to the baseboards.
Poison control centers, fire departments, universities and medical professionals remind people each year about the importance of not only having a detector but keeping it up to date and placing it in the best spots.
Sherrie Pace, from the Utah Poison Control Center, sends the same message, especially knowing that carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and colorless, so everyone needs to be extra aware before it's too late.
"People are the most surprised that carbon monoxide can come from things inside the home: fireplaces, stoves, water heaters, furnaces," she said. "We get between 300-400 calls with people calling about a carbon dioxide concern ... and we're glad they call. We call this 'the silent killer,' so we want people to call us before something worse happens."
Each year in the U.S., roughly 100,000 people head to the emergency room with a carbon monoxide-related issue. Nearly 14,000 of them will be admitted for carbon monoxide poisoning. In 2022, the most recent year data was available, slightly more than 600 died as a result of non-intentional carbon monoxide ingestion.
Utah also sees, on average, at least one death per year caused by carbon monoxide ingestion, although 2023 saw no such fatalities. Nearly 300 people did visit the emergency room with carbon monoxide-related illnesses. A carbon monoxide detector can go a long way toward keeping everyone safe, as long as you remember to take care of it.
How can I prevent carbon monoxide poisoning?
Carbon monoxide poisoning is preventable. The following are important steps people can take to help keep themselves and others safe.
- Heating systems, water heaters and any other gas, oil, wood or coal-burning appliances should be serviced by a licensed technician every year.
- Install an Underwriters Laboratory-approved CO detector on each level of your home near sleeping areas. Check or replace the battery twice a year. (An easy way to remember is to do this when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.) Boats and recreational vehicles with propane stoves or heaters should also be equipped with CO detectors.
- Inspect your home after heavy snowfall, and make sure snow is removed from around exhaust stacks, vents and fresh-air intakes.
- Do not use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or other gasoline- or charcoal-burning devices inside your home, basement or garage. Generators should be located outside at least 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
- Do not run a car, truck or other motorized vehicle inside a garage attached to your house, even if you leave the door open.
- Do not burn anything in an unvented stove or fireplace.
- Do not heat your house with a natural gas oven.
- Installing and maintaining smoke detectors can prevent most fire-related CO poisonings.
Source: University of Utah Health Care
"People don't realize anything with a flame and no venting can cause a problem," said Benjamin Porter, from the Unified Fire Authority. "A lot of people also don't realize a detector has an expiration date, so you should get rid of it after 10 years. And we suggest you get a detector separate from your smoke detector. You should have one on each floor of your home, unlike a smoke detector."
Having appliances checked out and fixed if there are problems can make a difference. The same is true for any item with a flame, including the fireplace. It is also important to remember to never use a gas stove to heat your home, even if a power outage has caused your place to lose heat, and you get cold.
There is also the issue of when you change the batteries in your detector. Both Pace and Porter suggest doing it every six months, with daylight saving time changes good times to take the detector down to change the batteries, as long as you put it back. "When you change your clock, you change your battery" is a good phrase to remember.
Adults are not the only ones who can suffer from carbon monoxide ingestion. The gas can have a stronger negative impact on anyone smaller than a grown adult. The same is true for the elderly; they can have more intense reactions to the gas.
Local health officials do believe the education on carbon monoxide is working. Carbon monoxide detectors have become as essential for families as smoke alarms. Now, it is time to educate communities on what to do if their alarm goes off.
"If you suspect carbon monoxide in your home, get everyone out of where you are, and get to fresh air," Pace said. "And call us. We're available 365 (days a year), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We're available all the time, and we're happy to answer any question you have."
