What to Do if Your Carbon Monoxide Alarm Goes Off

Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning kills around 30 people a year in the UK, and over 300 are admitted to hospital with non-fatal poisoning symptoms. Even so, many homeowners are unfamiliar with the dangers of Carbon Monoxide and unsure how to reduce the potential risk. In this post, we’ll show you how to keep your family safe from this silent threat and how to react if your Carbon Monoxide alarm goes off.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon Monoxide is a tasteless, odourless, colourless gas that is toxic to humans and animals.It’s produced from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and so can potentially come from your boiler, open fire, refrigerator, or dryer.

There is always a tiny amount of CO in the air, but it becomes life-threatening when it is left to accumulate to dangerous levels.

Poor ventilation in a home is the main reason why CO builds up to dangerous levels, which is why ensuring good airflow in the home is vitally important.

Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

When CO accumulates in the air, it builds up in the bloodstream, eventually leading to Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

• Mild poisoning symptoms usually look and feel like a bad case of flu: a gradual headache, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty breathing. However, you won’t get a fever or high temperature, which is how you know it’s not flu.
• Severe symptoms will occur if the poisoning goes untreated: severe nausea and dizziness, blurred vision, severe headaches.
• Eventually, you will fall unconscious which can lead to neurological problems and death in severe cases.

How to Fit Carbon Monoxide Detectors

The only proven way to detect CO and avoid poisoning is to install a Carbon Monoxide detector. Since there are no signs of the gas, a detector will alert you to dangerous levels building up in your home.

Here are some tips for installing your detector effectively:

• Fix it to the wall or place it on a high shelf (both work fine).
• Place one in the same room as any potential source of CO (you’ll need one near your boiler, near an open fire, in the kitchen, etc.).
• Install it 15cm away from the ceiling and more than 1 metre away from the source of CO.
• Routinely check your alarms are working by pressing the ‘test’ button.

What to Do if You Hear Your Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Carbon Monoxide alarms let off a loud, sharp alarm. If yours goes off, ensure all family members leave the house immediately.

Before leaving yourself, go around and open as many windows as possible to increase the airflow in the house. This will help prevent a dangerous build-up of the gas.

Once safely outside the house, call paramedics or your doctor if anyone is experiencing any of the above symptoms and needs to be tested for poisoning.

Next, call the National Gas Emergency Services on 0800 111 999 to seek advice and help on remediating the problem. Only go back in the property if they tell you it is safe to do so.