Leaving no smell and having no taste Carbon Monoxide is very dangerous and toxic. Conventional gas fire or boiler operation produces harmless gases but lack of oxygen can result in Carbon Monoxide generation. Properly balanced ventilation will result in Carbon Dioxide output, Carbon Monoxide will result if the level of oxygen is restricted with reduced airflow or a blocked flue.
Tragically there are 30 carbon monoxide poisoning deaths every year and many more injuries although this could be worse without the implementation of ventilation guidelines and adoption of regular boiler servicing.
Can you identify a carbon monoxide problem if you look at your gas appliances?
Carbon Dioxide production is often a result of incomplete combustion and this can be seen as the deposit of soot discolouring surfaces near your gas appliances. Another way to check for gas burning problems is to inspect pilot lights and see whether they are burning with a yellow or other colour flame rather than the blue light of a well maintained system. Treat the pilot light like a traffic light, if it turns yellow this is a warning and you should arrange for the boiler to be serviced as quickly as you can.
Tell me how to reduce the chances of Carbon Monoxide related illness.
Bad ventilation resulting in lack of oxygen leads to the production of poisonous carbon monoxide. On the assumption that there are no design faults in the ventilation of your boiler, frequent boiler and gas appliance servicing will help to avoid any problems which could lead to the production of carbon monoxide.
To ensure that you get expert appliance service you should check that the engineer is CORGI-registered. Fitting a carbon monoxide detector with an audible alarm is also a valuable investment to provide early warning of potential carbon monoxide poisoning.
Provision of the recommended ventilation to gas appliances is essential and you should regularly inspect any ventilation vents to ensure that the flow of air can be maintained. Gas appliances and boilers may not be used in the summer months but air vents can become obstructed at this time through the growth of plants and vegetation in the garden, this is a potential problem which you should keep in mind. Chimney ventilation can become obstructed in the summer by a birds nest and you may not notice id a fire is not used in the summer so a visual inspection should be incorporated in your home maintenance plans.
What should I look for as early signs of poisoning from carbon monoxide?
If you suspect there is carbon monoxide in your home you should err on the side of caution. Do not read this or other articles and form your own judgement.
Seek help without delay. Age and good health are no defense against poisoning from carbon monoxide. Pets, large and small, are also potential victims. Carbon Monoxide poisoning exhibits symptoms which can appear like other illnesses, for example: -
persistent headaches
dizziness
loss of energy
nausea
If you notice symptoms such as these when you have gas appliances in the home, stop using the appliance without delay, increase ventilation to the rooms, take any inhabitants outside and ensure that your gas appliances are inspected by a CORGI registered gas engineer.
Are you able to purchase carbon monoxide detectors?
Carbon monoxide detectors should have a very loud alarm and be certified to British Standards. Such alarms have long lasting batteries (5 years) and the alarm is triggered when abnormal levels of carbon monoxide are detected enabling people to escape the area. Battery powered models with electronic detection are better than the paper based models which use chemical reactions to show a spot on a cardboard detector that changes colour when carbon monoxide levels have increased. With a colour change detector you may forget to replace the detector when it has expired after 6 months creating a risk. Also the lack of an alarm means that you may not be made aware of a problem in the critical early hours. The ability to wake you from your sleep at night is an important advantage that battery detectors have over the more passive chemical detectors.
Carbon Monoxide detectors are now readily available in the high street being stocked by many types of stores.
