Carbon monoxide is one of the most dangerous gases, and it’s a severe risk to homeowners with fireplaces, gas appliances, lanterns, furnaces, grills, and other tools or equipment that run on gas. That’s why it’s so important for homeowners to take the proper steps to protect themselves from this harmful gas.
Below, we look at why carbon monoxide is so dangerous and how you can protect yourself and your family from this poisonous gas. We even cover our three favorite carbon monoxide detectors that you can use to safeguard your home.
Why Carbon Monoxide is so dangerous?
Carbon Monoxide is a lethal gas when breathed in for even short periods because it takes the place of oxygen in your body. When carbon monoxide is present, your heart, lungs, and other vital organs can’t get the oxygen they need to survive.
If you continue breathing in carbon monoxide for an extended period, you can suffer from fatigue, seizures, drowsiness, or even death.
Many people begin suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning without realizing what’s happening. That’s why it’s so important to have detectors in place to indicate that carbon monoxide is in your home so you can get out as soon as possible.
How to Protect Yourself and your family?
The only way to effectively protect yourself against carbon monoxide is to install carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home. Please make sure you have detectors at every level of your home and that they’re positioned higher up on the wall.Experts recommend placing your sensors about five feet off the floor during installation.
This is recommended because carbon monoxide is slightly lighter than air and will rise toward the top of the room given enough time. Get the units placed around your home correctly, and you’ll have a way to know when you have a health hazard, and when you should get out of your home.
Choosing a Carbon Monoxide Detector:
When selecting a carbon monoxide detector, it’s essential to look for a unit with a battery backup and to decide whether you want to hardwire the unit in your home or you want one that runs on batteries. If you get a hardwired unit, you can easily connect it with additional units for unified warnings throughout your home.
If you go for a wireless unit, you will have to choose it carefully if you want a product that communicates with the other detectors in your home. Get several sensors for your home and install it correctly for reliable protection.
It’s much better to purchase several affordable detectors rather than getting one premium unit because you need more than one unit to safeguard your home.
Properly Installing Carbon Monoxide Detectors
When getting carbon monoxide detectors for your home, try to have a few on every level of your home evenly spaced out. Please do your best to keep them around five feet off the floor so that they can pick up the gases reliably. Also, take care to install the detectors at least 15 feet away from gas appliances, or you could end up with many false positives from your detector.
The 3 Best Carbon Monoxide Detectors:
Below are three of our favorite carbon monoxide detectors available for purchase today. Each sensor has something special about it, and no single option is going to be the best for everyone looking for protection. Look at these options for yourself and decide if any of them meet your needs properly.
1. Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm – 2nd Generation
This Nest Carbon Monoxide and the Smoke alarm is our top option for users that want to know what’s going on at home even when they’re away. The alarm stands out because it will send phone alerts if it picks up CO2 or smoke. That means you can be away from home and still find out if there’s a fire in your home or if CO2 is invading your space.
Nest Features:
- Detects CO2 and smoke
- Split spectrum sensor detects sooner
- Get phone alerts of alarm triggers
- Includes a motion sensor light
- Runs on a battery making installation simple
- Comes with built-in Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity
- Voice alert alarm
This alarm is more expensive than more traditional alarms are, but multiple alarms can be connected, and the split spectrum detection system picks up on smoke and CO2 sooner. A quick notification from the system will tell you all you need to know to notify the fire department and get the fire at your house taken care of effectively.
A battery powers the product so you can install it anywhere you like with ease. It features Bluetooth connectivity and even allows you to silence the alarm from your phone when you know that it’s a false alarm.
2. First Alert Combination Alarm:
For good basic smoke and carbon monoxide protection, it’s hard to beat the value of the First Alert hardwired combination detector. These little guys get wired into your electrical system, so you don’t have to worry about them running out of power. They come with a battery backup just in case the power goes down, and you can easily connect them so that one alarm will trigger all the alarms in your home.
First Alert System Features:
- Carbon monoxide and smoke alarm
- Electrochemical carbon monoxide sensor
- Connects to compatible devices
- Features a silence button
- Carefully tested to meet UL standards
- Long-lasting performance
Even though these systems take longer to install than the battery-operated units do, they work well to warn you of fire throughout your home, and they will last for up to a decade in your home before requiring replacement. It’s worth it to invest in getting several of these alarms for your home to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning and fires as well.
3. Kidde Nighthawk:
The Kidde Nighthawk carbon monoxide detector is one of our favorite options because it’s a reliable detector that’s quick to install and simple to use. It makes a fast addition to anyone’s home, and you can put it wherever outlets are in your house.
The Nighthawk Features:
- Simple LED display
- Ten-year operating life
- 9-volt battery backup
- Easy plug-in installation
- Flexible mounting options
This CO2 detector can be plugged directly into an outlet to install it, and it comes with a 9-volt battery backup just in case there is a power outage. The device also features a cord so it can be mounted on a wall away from an outlet as well. It’s a flexible tool that has a place in everyone’s home.
The one major downside of this device is that it doesn’t connect with other devices in the house. That means an alarm sounding in the basement wouldn’t trigger an alarm higher up in the home.
Conclusion:
Don’t let your family be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Get high-quality detectors for your home and install them properly throughout. With the units in place, you’ll get alerts if you ever have a carbon monoxide leak, and you can get out of your home to safety.