Carbon monoxide alarms, where they go and what they mean

Carbon monoxide is a gas you can't see, taste or smell. Each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires, more than 100,000 go to an emergency room, and more than 14,000 are hospitalized. Furnaces, water heaters, dryers, cooking appliances, portable generators and cars idling in a garage can all produce it. Infants, older adults, and people with heart disease, anemia or breathing problems are more likely to get sick from it.

What you need

• A step stool, to reach the test button
• Fresh batteries of the type each alarm uses
• The alarms' manuals, or the model numbers to look them up

Steps

1. 1

   Find every alarm in the house

   Walk each floor, including the basement, and note where each CO alarm is.

   5 min

2. 2

   Check that every place that needs one has one

   Put a CO alarm in every room where someone sleeps, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level, including the basement. Mark any spot without one.

   3 min

3. 3

   Press the test button on each

   Test each one at least once a month, and replace any that doesn't respond.

   5 min

4. 4

   Check the batteries

   Check them when you change the clocks each spring and fall, and replace them as the manual says.

   3 min

5. 5

   Check each alarm's age

   The sensors have a limited life. Replace an alarm when its maker's instructions say to, or when its end-of-life signal sounds.

   2 min

What the sounds mean

Smoke alarms and CO alarms sound different, so learn each one and what to do. The manual gives your model's pattern.

• A low-battery signal. Replace the batteries or the alarm.
• An end-of-life signal. The sensor is worn out, and the alarm needs replacing.

When the alarm sounds

Go outside right away, call 911 once you're out, and stay outside until emergency responders say it's safe to go back in. The symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. Several people in the same place with these symptoms at once can be a sign of CO poisoning.

Keeping CO out of the house

• Have gas appliances, fuel-burning heating equipment and chimneys inspected every year.
• Never use the oven or stove to heat the house.
• Keep dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace vents clear of snow and debris.
• Never run a car or other engine in the garage, even with the door open.
• Run a portable generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents.

If something goes wrong