Keep Safe from Carbon Monoxide | Columbia Heating & Cooling
Written by Columbia HVAC

Keep Safe From Carbon Monoxide

As we transition from fall to winter, make sure safety is the cornerstone of your home maintenance updates and routines. This includes ensuring that your furnace is running cleanly and efficiently to prevent the harmful effects of carbon monoxide from impacting you and your family. Carbon monoxide prevention is something most don’t consider until it’s too late.

What is carbon monoxide? Carbon monoxide is a naturally occurring gas which is created when there is not enough oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO2), due to incomplete combustion and a disruption of the fuel-burning process. Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it is colorless, odorless, and can be deadly if there is enough of it in an enclosed space.

Carbon monoxide can get into your home through a faulty or inefficient furnace or through other household appliances that produce heat, such as open fires, boilers, and water heaters.

You may have a problem with carbon monoxide in your home if you are experiencing headaches, flu-like symptoms or disorientation after running your furnace. If this is the case, open your windows, leave your home, and call a professional immediately. 

How to Prevent Problems With Carbon Monoxide

Even the most efficient furnaces produce trace amounts of carbon monoxide. Too much circulating in the air of your home is extremely dangerous. Here are some of the best ways to avoid any serious problems with carbon monoxide.

Install a carbon monoxide detector.

Test the detector once a month and replace with fresh batteries twice a year.

Change your furnace filter regularly.

Having a clean furnace filter will help your furnace produce heat more efficiently. We recommend changing your furnace filter every three months.

Keep up on HVAC maintenance.

Carbon monoxide can become a problem when a furnace is not running at peak performance levels. Most new furnaces have ways to detect when something is wrong and will shut off immediately. Older furnaces can develop cracks in the combustion chambers which lead to dangerous carbon monoxide leaks.

Whether your system is new or old, it’s important to have it checked regularly. Annual or even biannual maintenance will ensure that your HVAC system is running as efficiently as possible and will detect any potential carbon monoxide problems in advance.

Keep safe this fall & winter and schedule your annual furnace maintenance with our heating and cooling experts today! Call Columbia Heating and Cooling today and save an additional $10 off the total cost of two tune-ups (furnace, fireplace or air conditioner) through December 31st.