Is Your Furnace Leaking Carbon Monoxide into Your Home?

The dangers of carbon monoxide gas in your home must be addressed given how common gas furnaces are in Georgia homes. More often than not, furnaces are damaged by water from air conditioning units – a scary fact many homeowners are unaware of. That’s exactly why it is imperative to have you furnaces checked annually.

According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America , carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. It is produced by common home appliances, such as gas furnaces as well as other gas-operated refrigerators, clothes dryers, ranges, water heaters or space heaters, fireplaces, and wood burning stoves.

Consumer confidence in the safety of today’s home heating systems is usually quite high but, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200 people across the country have died each year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by problems in the venting of toxic gases produced by their home heating systems. Other agencies estimate actual numbers between 2,000 and 4,000 and over 10,000 carbon monoxide related injuries.

Fortunately, regular (annual) heating system inspections and maintenance can prevent poisoning incidents like these. Regardless of how new your system is, it remains subject to weathering, animal invasions, deterioration and rust-out and the accumulation of nest materials and debris.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can also avoid carbon monoxide poisoning in your home by installing a battery-operated CO detector in your home. Place your detector where it will wake you up if it alarms, such as outside your bedroom, and consider buying a detector with a digital readout. This detector can tell you the highest level of CO concentration in your home in addition to alarming.

Let us at Home Comforts Solutions in Northeast Georgia check your gas-operated appliances including your furnace. It could mean the difference between life and death.

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