Carbon Monoxide Detector Going Off – What to do?

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas produced from burning charcoal, wood, and gas. Since we all use gas or wood or charcoal for heating and cooking carbon monoxide often spreads our home. Spreading a little amount is not a big deal, but when it crosses the standard limit, it can be dangerous. That is why a lot of people use a carbon monoxide detector for safety.

But what if a carbon monoxide detector goes off?

Well, you should do whatever you should do.

But what should you do?

You should read this article and follow the instruction.

Is Carbon Monoxide dangerous?

Carbon monoxide is an extremely dangerous gas. It is an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas and it is available in almost all houses. As a result, you cannot get to know whether you have any carbon monoxide in your house or not. When anyone takes carbon monoxide, he can suffer from many problems such as headache, nausea, confusion, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, and others. Even it can cause death as well. Every year, almost 25 deaths happen in the UK due to CO gas. That means it is extremely dangerous.

What makes Carbon monoxide detector going off

Some common causes of CO detector going off are:

• A faulty furnace or heating system that has not been properly maintained;
• A malfunctioning or defective appliance;
• A blocked chimney or flue;
• Leaking gas pipes.

What will happen if Carbon monoxide detector going off

If you are in a car or building and the CO detector goes off, it means that there is a high level of carbon monoxide in the environment. The CO detector will go off if the concentration of CO exceeds 50 ppm.

The first thing to do when this happens is to get out of the building or car as quickly as possible. Once you are out, get fresh air into your lungs by breathing deeply. Then call 911 or your local emergency number for help.

What to do?

Since you know your gas has exceeded the standard limit, you are in danger. But what should you do when you see the alarm goes off? Well, follow the instruction we are going to mention below.

Turn off appliances, or other sources

Whenever you hear Carbon monoxide detector beeping, the first thing you need to do is to turn off all the appliances or sources of gases. The best thing you can do is to turn off the main switch of the gas line. That is why you should always know all the main switches of all types of supplies such as water, gas, and electricity. However, in case you do not know this time, call the gas suppliers and he might tell you where it is. Find it and turn it off.  

Do a headcount

Just after opening all the doors and windows, you need to evacuate the place. No one should remain inside the house, not even your pet. Do a headcount to be sure all persons are out of the danger zone. If anyone is still inside the room, make a hurry and take him away.

Immediately get fresh air

The next thing you should do is to get the premises fresh air. How can you do that? Well, by opening doors and windows of the room. If it happens in the kitchen, you should open all the doors and windows of the kitchen so that fresh air can come in and the gas can go out. It will decrease the chance of any difficulties.

Find out the sources

After that find out the sources. One of the main features of gas detectors is that they can tell you about the sources. So it will be easier for you to find out the sources. However, one thing you should remember here that you should not try to reach the sources as you already turn the line off.

Call a qualified technician

A lot of people try to fix the problem themselves after finding out the sources. But one thing you need to remember that it is a risky task and anything can happen. That is why you should call a technician. Also, make sure you call the fire department if you suspect any fire hazard. Many people think about why they should call the fire department for this silly task. But let me tell you one thing that gas leak is a big issue. So do not hesitate to call 999.

Do not re-enter the premises

Before completely solving the problem, you should not re-enter the premise at all. Even after repairing the leakage, you should not enter the room as well. Why? There still might be the gas that can harm you. So tell the technician to turn the carbon monoxide detector on and check if still Carbon monoxide alarm beeping or not.

Conclusion

Carbon monoxide is an extremely dangerous gas. So you should follow all the cautions whenever the Carbon monoxide detector going off. Remember, a silly mistake can damage you a lot and make you suffer in your whole life. So do not take a chance and take all the precautions to solve the problem.