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Today, mainly the carbon monoxide detectors have been going off but a few of the smoke detector in my house keep chirping every now and then. It was quiet for some time and know there going on and off about every 30 seconds. I have never heard the the carbon monoxide detector in my life! is there any danger, are they malfunctioning, should i step outside of the house or are they just old and need new batteries. please help, especially if you have experience with this, thanks!
Answer
Combination of previous answers. There are 2 sources of carbon-monoxide in your home, your car running in the garage, or a malfunctioning furnace or water-heater. Obviously if your car is not running in the garage, you can rule that one out. If you don't have gas appliances you can rule that one out. If you do have gas appliances, call the gas company or fire-department to come inspect your home. You can smell the natural gas that runs the appliances, but you can't smell the exhaust from the appliances. Carbon-monoxide detectors don't detect natural gas leaks, they detect an exhaust leak. Side-note: Natural gas is odorless too, but the gas company adds that funky smell to it so leaks can be detected. It is recommended that all your smoke and carbon-monoxide detector batteries be changed once a year to keep the units serviceable. Another side-note, and maybe the first thing you want to try; the carbon-monoxide detectors are more ultra-sensitive than the smoke detectors so they tend to give false readings more quickly from common dust particles in the air. If you have some compressed air like in a can of computer keyboard cleaner, squirt some of that into the CM detector and see if that shuts it off. Chirping is an indicator that your batteries are going dead.
Combination of previous answers. There are 2 sources of carbon-monoxide in your home, your car running in the garage, or a malfunctioning furnace or water-heater. Obviously if your car is not running in the garage, you can rule that one out. If you don't have gas appliances you can rule that one out. If you do have gas appliances, call the gas company or fire-department to come inspect your home. You can smell the natural gas that runs the appliances, but you can't smell the exhaust from the appliances. Carbon-monoxide detectors don't detect natural gas leaks, they detect an exhaust leak. Side-note: Natural gas is odorless too, but the gas company adds that funky smell to it so leaks can be detected. It is recommended that all your smoke and carbon-monoxide detector batteries be changed once a year to keep the units serviceable. Another side-note, and maybe the first thing you want to try; the carbon-monoxide detectors are more ultra-sensitive than the smoke detectors so they tend to give false readings more quickly from common dust particles in the air. If you have some compressed air like in a can of computer keyboard cleaner, squirt some of that into the CM detector and see if that shuts it off. Chirping is an indicator that your batteries are going dead.
How does carbon monoxide in the home start?
JOLIE69
Answer
It can come from a lot of places. An attached garage is a potential source of CO because they are usually not sealed very well. You start your car, lawnmower, whatever in the garage and one of the byproducts of combustion is CO gas.
Spillage of flue gases is even more dangerous because your water heater, furnace, boiler, etc are inside he house and run more often. Spillage can occur when flues are undersized for the appliances they serve or when a backdraft situation occurs. Backdrafting happens when the pressure in the combustion zone goes negative - enough to actually suck fumes down the chimney. This can happen when you turn on a clothes dryer, exhaust fan, etc.
A poorly tuned or dirty gas range can produce alarming levels of CO. Because these appliances are not vented outdoors, high levels in these are quite dangerous.
Other sources are things like unvented space heaters, or from stupidity/ ignorance: running a generator in the basement during a power outage.
This is a short list. If you suspect that you have a carbon monoxide problem, buy a good detector (real time w/ display is best) and monitor the levels. If you get high readings, open your windows and get out. Call the fire dept or your fuel supplier to come test.
It can come from a lot of places. An attached garage is a potential source of CO because they are usually not sealed very well. You start your car, lawnmower, whatever in the garage and one of the byproducts of combustion is CO gas.
Spillage of flue gases is even more dangerous because your water heater, furnace, boiler, etc are inside he house and run more often. Spillage can occur when flues are undersized for the appliances they serve or when a backdraft situation occurs. Backdrafting happens when the pressure in the combustion zone goes negative - enough to actually suck fumes down the chimney. This can happen when you turn on a clothes dryer, exhaust fan, etc.
A poorly tuned or dirty gas range can produce alarming levels of CO. Because these appliances are not vented outdoors, high levels in these are quite dangerous.
Other sources are things like unvented space heaters, or from stupidity/ ignorance: running a generator in the basement during a power outage.
This is a short list. If you suspect that you have a carbon monoxide problem, buy a good detector (real time w/ display is best) and monitor the levels. If you get high readings, open your windows and get out. Call the fire dept or your fuel supplier to come test.
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