Carbon Monoxide Video

 Maple Trust Inspections and Health Canada Present: Carbon Monoxide. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is preventable.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Can you smell that?  Carbon Monoxide is something you can’t taste, feel, see or smell.   It’s easy to forget.  You  might pull your car in the garage, motor still running, and decide to answer that cell phone call.  You might use your fancy new remote car starter even though you are parked in a garage.  At Maple Trust we are your personal building consultants for life.  Ask us about anything, even Carbon Monoxide.

Carbon Monoxide detectors have really come down in price.  The last one I purchased was from Costco.  It was a similar model to this one for just over $30.00.  It is recommended that every home have at least one.  During home inspections we often find carbon monoxide detectors that are very dated.  Some have batteries, which are great if they are changed annually.  Some carbon monoxide detectors plug directly into electrical outlets.  These work well, as you don’t have to change batteries, but they do need to be plugged into an outlet with power.  Often, at the first inconvenience, when the outlet becomes needed for another use, they can get unplugged.  I’ve even seen Carbon Monoxide Detectors plugged into outlets that had the breakers turned off, or were switched off by a light switch. This is not recommended.

CMHC and CO The CMHC – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a great resource for learning more about Carbon Monoxide.  The article describes what CO is, where it comes from and how to eliminate it.  The CMHC article also describes different types of CO detectors and how they work.

If your Carbon Monoxide detector alarm goes off  do not ignore it. Make sure to evacuate the house safely.  Call 911 immediately if someone is showing flu symptoms .  Do not go back in to the home until the alarm stops sounding.

Do you have a Carbon Monoxide detector installed in your home? Check out this pole at the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors to see how many do have a carbon monoxide detector and how many do not.

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