How to Create a Carbon Monoxide Safety Plan for Your Family

February 11th, 2025

carbon monoxide detector in wall plugged

Carbon monoxide is one of the most insidious threats faced by modern Canadian families. Nearly impossible to detect with your senses alone, this poisonous gas can cause harmful effects in mere minutes at sufficiently high levels.

Creating a carbon monoxide safety plan is the best way to protect your family from this common household hazard. Keep reading to learn how to do this in three simple steps.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon monoxide (also known as CO) is a colourless, odourless gas that is created when fuel is burned. Common fuels that produce CO include:

  • Gasoline
  • Natural gas
  • Wood
  • Charcoal

Many common household appliances produce CO when operated, including gas stoves and clothes dryers. These machines are equipped with ventilation lines to get rid of the CO safely before it can harm anyone in your home. If these vents become leaky or blocked, however, the gas may build up to dangerous levels.

Recognizing CO Poisoning

Signs of CO poisoning include:

  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Confusion
  • Loss of muscle control
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Brain damage
  • Death

Many of the early warning signs of CO poisoning are minor symptoms that many people brush off or attribute to other illnesses. Some people don’t experience any of the early symptoms before falling unconscious. Since these people can’t remove themselves from the source of the gas once they’ve passed out, they often die without knowing anything is wrong.

Your 3-Step Carbon Monoxide Safety Plan

It’s easy to keep your family safe from carbon monoxide when you plan ahead. Follow these three tips to protect your home from this invisible threat.

  1. Set up CO detectors in your home. Place one at the entrance to each floor of your home and an extra one over the door to each room where people regularly sleep. Test each one regularly (at least twice a year) and repair or replace any defective units.
  2. Get CO-producing appliances professionally inspected. Old or poorly maintained appliances may begin leaking CO into your home. Have a professional check yours out each year to catch the problem before it’s too late.
  3. Check your ventilation regularly. Inspect and clean all outdoor vents attached to CO-producing appliances (including your chimney) at least once every few months. Only use portable grills, gas heaters, gas ranges, or other small non-ventilated fuel-burning appliances when you are outside.

Get Professional Carbon Monoxide Protection Today

Most home detectors are set to go off at 30 ppm (parts per million) however that does not mean that you don’t have CO in your home at a rate slightly lower than this. Our recommendation is to have a TSSA certified technician inspect your equipment to ensure a safe home.

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