Hey y’all! Cool Cat shouting out to you from Surfside with some important information for your safety. Cool Cat and the cats at Carolina Cool care about your safety so, we want to make sure everyone is in the know about Carbon Monoxide (CO). CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can poison people and animals exposed to it, causing illness and possibly even death. Every year, 400 people die from unintentional CO poisoning. 20,000 people end up in the ER every year due to CO poisoning and 4,000 people end up hospitalized. Winter is a common time for CO poisonings because people are firing up their furnaces, generators and fireplaces. However, CO poisoning can be a risk year round from stoves, lanterns, grills and gas ranges. So, it’s important to be aware of CO poisoning all year and not just when the weather is cold.
About Carbon Monoxide
CO is released by combustion or burning of fuels or coal, in particular. CO can be released by our cars, fireplaces, stoves, ranges, furnaces, yard equipment and any other device or equipment that uses combustion from gas or fuel. The symptoms of CO poisoning can be mild, such as a flu-like feeling, headache, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath and nausea. Or the symptoms can be severe at high levels of CO poisoning, including loss of muscle coordination, vomiting, mental confusion, loss of consciousness and death. Never ignore a CO alarm. Always remove all animals and people from the home and call 911. Don’t re-enter the home until given the all clear by emergency personnel.
Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips
CO poisoning is a serious issue but there are things you can do to help protect yourself and your family. Let’s take a look:
1. Have your furnace, water heater and any other gas or coal-burning equipment inspected and serviced at least once per year.
2. Have your chimney checked and cleaned every year.
3. Never use a gas oven to warm your home.
4. Never use a generator inside your home. Generators should be a minimum of 30 feet away from your home when in use.
5. Never run a vehicle inside a garage, even with the door open. The CO gas can build up in the garage despite the open door and cause poisoning.
6. Never use portable flameless chemical heaters inside your home.
7. When you have a CO alarm go off, always take all people and all pets with you when you leave the home. CO can poison your pets just as quickly, if not faster than a human.
8. Have all CO-causing repairs performed immediately before resuming residence in the home. There is no safe level of CO exposure.
Keeping your family safe is important to us at Carolina Cool. With the influx of colder weather, more people are using various sources to heat their homes. Please be safe this season and every season using these tips for CO safety. And if you need your yearly HVAC service, don’t wait. Give us a call and we’ll get your system cleaned up and inspected for any problems.
