Protect yourself from carbon monoxide

From Nov. 1 to 7 is Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week — a good time to review how to keep your family safe and protect them from this dangerous gas.

We’ve all heard the stories — a power outage during winter; a family desperate for heat so they decide to bring a barbecue or fuel-burning heater inside, or they run a generator inside the garage, which is attached to the home. The next thing you know we have a major tragedy on our hands.

Let’s do everything we can now to prevent this from happening this year.

1. Make sure you have working carbon monoxide (or CO) alarms in your home. There should be one next to all sleeping areas, but I also recommend having one on every level of your home. If you have an attached garage a CO alarm is a must-have. Dangerous fumes from your cars or fuel-powered tools can make their way inside your home, especially if the garage area hasn’t been properly sealed from the rest of the living area. (Rule of thumb: never leave your cars running or use gas-powered tools inside the garage even if the garage doors are open.)

2. Maintain your CO alarms, and smoke alarms, too! We turn our clocks back an hour on Sunday. This is a great time to also change the batteries in both your CO and smoke alarms. You should be changing them twice a year. Doing it when we change our clocks is an easy way to remember, and keeps you on a schedule. You should also be testing your alarms monthly, and keeping them clean by vacuuming them once a month, too. Like all things, CO and smoke alarms wear out and should be replaced about every 10 years or so, but always check the user guide or manual for proper care and maintenance.

3. Get fuel-burning appliances checked every year by a pro. Before we move into the winter season get your HVAC systems checked by an HVAC specialist/ technician. Any appliance in your home that burns fuel — whether it’s your furnace, hot water heater, gas stove or fireplace — must be checked annually by a qualified pro.

If you have a wood-burning fireplace, open windows when you have a fire going, and make sure there’s a constant supply of fresh air coming into your home. And you must get your chimney cleaned every year — no exception. I’d book that now, before fireplace season really gets underway.

CO can get into your home a number of different ways. Sometimes it’s because of the appliances we use — they start to wear down and don’t burn fuel the way they should, or there isn’t enough ventilation. In some cases, they weren’t installed right to begin with. Other times it’s because crucial venting was blocked.

4. Make sure all venting is clear from debris and snow. That includes chimneys, flues, furnace, stove and dryer venting. Blocked venting can lead to loads of problems, including ice damming and mould, but CO poisoning is top of the list when it comes to real threats to your family. Symptoms of CO poisoning include nausea, dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, and even confusion.

If your CO alarm goes off and anyone in your home is feeling the above symptoms, get everyone out of the house immediately and call 911. If the alarm goes off but no one is feeling any symptoms, open all the windows and check the alarm. It could be that the batteries need replacing or the device is malfunctioning. If that’s the case get it checked by a qualified technician.

5. Whatever you do, do not use a barbecue, fuel-burning heater or generator indoors! And don’t use your stove or oven for heating. If you don’t have heat, call a friend or family member and ask to stay with them while the system is serviced — it’s not worth your life or your family’s.

Let’s make it a safe season, and make it right!