Carbon Monoxide Detector Safety Tips You Need To Know

By Author: Tom Buchanan
Total Articles: 36
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Because carbon monoxide is both colorless and odorless, the dangers of being exposed to an excessive amount of this substance can be silently lethal or damaging. Hence, any homeowner should have at least one carbon monoxide for each level of your home, and one within 5m from a bedroom. If you have multiple alarms at home, they should connect with each other in such a way that once one detector gets activated, other alarms in the house will also ring.

This safety tip is more than a residential electrician's precautionary advice to keep your house safe and sound, along with the installation of power surge protector and smoke detectors. In fact, about three years ago, all Alberta residences that either share a wall with a carport/garage or use appliances that burn fuel, such as fireplaces, furnaces, heaters, stoves, etc. Carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are more than a trend now; they're a mandate.

Ensuring your safety, not only this hot summer season but all year round, you have to make sure that you test each CO detector in your home. If you don't have one or have an inadequate ...
... number of alarms in place, you know you can always search Homestars for an expert electrician to do the job for you.

The "When and Why" Of CO Detector Tests
Under any circumstance, you should test your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors once a month, even if your CO alarm comes with a 10-year lithium battery while battery replacement must be at least once annually.

When it comes to the safety of your household and property, we can always anticipate all risks and possibilities, including the failure of even the most sturdy carbon monoxide detectors and their batteries. Testing your alarms shouldn't take rocket science to accomplish. Just make sure you asked your favorite Calgary electrician to teach you how to replace batteries or units altogether should something fail.

The "How"
Now that almost everyone in the family stays at home most of the time this summer, please make sure you that let everybody else know about the detector test. You either don't want to scare them off or give them a pain in the ears. You may also want to set their expectations, especially when this test needs to happen every month.

Every model of a carbon monoxide detector has a "Test" button you can press and hold to see if the alarm if working. You may have to be ready, especially if you have those sensitive ears because the sound of the alarm/siren can be, well, very "alarming."

You may have to replace your alarm, or have expert electricians install new units when you (a) don't hear any siren after pressing the "Test" button after a few seconds, (b) the sound wasn't too audible, and (c) other alarms linked to the smoke detector being tested don't ring. Inspect your units against expiration. You must replace expired detectors as soon as possible.