Protecting Your Home and HVAC System From Carbon Monoxide Risks

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re proud to offer several solutions for improving your home’s indoor air quality. From air cleaners and home humidifiers to duct cleaning, central AC repair and numerous other potential services, we’ll ensure you and your family always breathe clean, comfortable air.

When it comes to the safety areas associated with clean air, there are few areas more important than carbon monoxide prevention. This gas, which is virtually impossible to detect with normal human senses, can create major health risks when breathed in regularly. Let’s go over the risks and symptoms associated with carbon monoxide, plus the general areas you should be looking at to prevent this from ever becoming a concern in your home – plus how our HVAC professionals can help.

Carbon Monoxide Risks and Symptoms

As we noted above, carbon monoxide is very difficult to detect using our senses – impossible, in fact. It cannot be tasted, smelled or even seen within the standard human color spectrum, meaning it can be present in a room you’re breathing the air from without you even realizing it.

In a home situation, this can be extremely dangerous. Those who are continuously breathing in air mixed with carbon monoxide can see significant health risks, but another issue is the fact that their initial symptoms often appear very similar to a standard cold or flu: Things like headaches, dizziness or aching. People may not realize they have carbon monoxide poisoning until even more severe symptoms begin to show up, such as loss of consciousness, cardiorespiratory failure or even death in some extreme cases.

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

There are several basic areas you can cover that will help prevent any risks of carbon monoxide poisoning to anyone in your home:

• Detectors: Every floor in your home should have at least one functioning carbon monoxide detector, one with working batteries at all times. You should test these regularly to make sure they are working properly.
• Inspections: One major benefit of HVAC inspections from our professionals? We’ll help you detect carbon monoxide leaks from equipment or poor previous installations.
• Maintenance and upgrades: Keep up with standard HVAC maintenance, and consider upgrades to components as they age to prevent the risks of carbon monoxide leaks.
• Cleaning: Regularly clean air passages like vents, chimneys, fireplaces and others so air can flow properly, including out of the home when needed.
• Leak detected: In cases where your home’s carbon monoxide detector goes off and signals a leak in the home, evacuate everyone from the home right away, including pets. There’s no need to bring belongings with you, as they will not be damaged. Call the fire department first to inform them of the leak, then assess whether anyone from inside the home needs medical assistance. From here, call our HVAC pros to assess the issue.

For more on ensuring carbon monoxide doesn’t become an issue in your home, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.