To protect your family from the dangers of carbon monoxide, or CO, it’s important to be informed. Then you can make an accurate determination if your home needs to be examined for potential carbon monoxide emissions and other heating repairs.

CO emissions

Carbon monoxide gas is colorless and odorless and deadly if too much is inhaled. CO, is produced when fuel materials like wood, coal, charcoal, kerosene, oil, natural gas or propane are partially, but not completely burned. Cars, lawn movers, portable generators, water heaters, room heaters, appliances, power washers, furnaces, and other machines with internal combustion engines also generate CO emissions.

HVAC emissions

CO emissions can result from needed heating repairs. Your furnace may emit CO due to an insufficient supply of oxygen that hinders efficient combustion. Cracked or corroded heat exchangers, vent blockages, dirty filtration systems, inappropriate installation of blowers and fans, and issues with settings are among the neglected heating repairs that can cause CO emissions in your home.

Symptoms of CO poisoning

It’s possible for this deadly gas to be emitted, undetected in the home, until serious consequences occur. Early symptoms of moderate CO poisoning may resemble the flu, but without the usual fever. Other typical symptoms include dizziness, nausea, trouble breathing, headache, and fatigue. More severe symptoms of exposure include vomiting, confusion, loss of muscular control, unconsciousness, or death.

CO fatalities

In the U.S, an average of 170 people die each year due to CO emissions, not including emissions from automobiles. Cars left in garages with their engines running, or malfunctioning machines that emit CO, can be extremely dangerous. Statistics reveal that thousands of victims are treated in hospital emergency rooms as a result of CO poisoning every year. Heating repairs are essential, not just for comfort, but also for your safety.

Poisoning Prevention

• For your family’s safety, have your furnace inspected on a routine basis by a qualified HVAC technician.
• Ensure that any household appliances that burn CO emitting fuels are checked frequently to confirm that all are in proper working order.
• Install CO emissions detectors.
• Never leave your car running in the garage. Emissions from an attached garage also present a danger inside your house.

Please call Bruni & Campisis 914-229-2809 (New York) or 203-263-9662 (Connecticut) or fill out the contact form to consult with an expert about carbon monoxide in the home or other heating repairs. We have been proudly serving customers in Westchester County, New York, and lower Fairfield County, Connecticut since 1979.