Carbon monoxide poisoning

[Fido]

I read in another post someone suggesting the use of portable propane heaters inside to warm up parts of the house. Although I responded in that thread it still continues to itch at me so I decided to create this thread to warn of the dangers of this practice and of carbon monoxide in general.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is the byproduct of incomplete combustion. There are many sources of this gas in the average home. Furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, cars running in attached garages etc. Pretty much anything that produces a flame is capable of producing CO.
CO is colorless odorless and tasteless. It cannot be detected without expensive monitoring equipment.
Often the cause of CO buildup in a home is a blocked exhaust vent i.e. chimney. Sometimes though, dirty burners in furnaces and ovens/stoves can also cause the build up.
Prevention practices include keeping the burners clean, cleaning and inspecting chimneys. Making sure there are screens over chimney's to keep out birds and other critters.
Also, if you live in a newer home, be careful of Oxygen depletion. With the new insulation techniques often times homes are becoming airtight and if you run your ovens/stoves or gas fireplaces too long without opening a door or window occasionally you can statrt to deplete the amount of oxygen in the building, leading to incomplete combustion, leading to the creation of CO.

In a SHTF scenario, it may be that the only way to discover CO poisoning is by the symptoms. If you start developing symptoms then leave the house and start immediately feeling better, suspect CO.
The young and elderly are usually the first to develop symptoms.
Sympoms include:
Headache
Tachypnea (Rapid Respiratory rate)
Nausea and vomiting
Altered mental status (starting with confusion and progressing to unresponsiveness)
Red color to the skin (A Very late and ominous sign)

If you look at the signs you can easily see how people would think they had the flu instead of CO poisoning. However, there will be no fever or aches and pains with CO poisoning.
Treatment is to remove the person from the environment and give them supplemental Oxygen if you have it. In severe cases the patient may need treatment in a hyperbaric chamber although that obviously won't be possible in a SHTF scenario.
If you suspect a high level of CO, shut down all possible sources of CO and evacuate the building. Open some doors and windows and let the building air out. If its windy outside, you should only have to wait about 2 hours for the building to air out safely. If there is no wind, you may want to wait 24 hours before entering to try to figure out the source and making appropriate repairs.
Be very careful in a possible CO enriched enironment. If the levels are low you will be ok for a while but if levels are very high, unconciousness can occur within a few minutes.

So please be very careful with heating and cooking sources, especially in a post-SHTF scenario.

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I have never had an issue but my detectors both in the camper and house given power priority during outages. With the recent harsh winter weather there have been recent deaths from using generators to close to the house too. I had a close call once and had the worst headache ever and was totally drained of energy for about 7 hours.
Good Post

[Klayton]

There are VERY INEXPENSIVE CO detectors out there. In our old farmhouse we had one in every room approx 3 feet from the smoke alarm.
People, this is just common sense, and stupidity if you don't have these and have open flames in your house. Of course, a fire extinguisher should go without saying, but hey, lets say it. Indoor Fire = CO detector & Fire Extinguisher

[monkeybird]

I used to have a double fireplace. One side in the living room, one side in the family room. Apparently, the fireplace was improperly designed, and I and my husband experienced a 'mild' case of CO poisoning. There is no way to describe the feeling. Had not my loud alarm sounded, who knows what would have happened. We were both so sick. The headache is terrible. The nausea isn't like just being sick, it's like you're entire body is involved.

Get a CO monitor, it's worth the price.

[Bearman202]

One other thing. CO is apparently heavier than ambient air, so put the CO detector close to the floor, rather than up near the smoke detector.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

I believe CO is slightly lighter than air. The molar mass of CO is 12+16 = 28 --- When you figure air 21% O2 (16 x 2=32 x .21=6.72) and 79% N (28x.79=22.12) this equates to 6.72+22.12=28.84 or so. (I'm having to do too much chemestry this late so my math may be off). Now they are very close so they will mix quickly, but the CO is still slightly lighter. Now, physics class was a long time ago, but temps and humidity may play a role with these numbers.

I have always been told to put it at least 6 foot up. I don't know where I heard this, maybe on the box mine came in.

[Fido]

To put it in slightly simpler terms, the vapor density of CO is .97. Air is 1.0. Anything less than 1.0 is lighter than air anything greater than 1.0 is heavier than air. So while CO is slightly lighter than air, its density is so close to air that it easily mixes and stratifies with ambient air.
Heated CO will rise but the heated currents that carry it will mix throughout the room thus negating the effect.

[jimmycthemd]

Thought I'd bring this post to the forefront. I just inspected my furnace (preparing for winter) and found a rust hole in the chimney pipe. Replaced the section of pipe and checked my CO detector. The instruction manual (yes, I still have it after all these years) said that it was good for 10 years and then should be replaced. It was 8 years old so I replaced it.

Question is, have you checked the 'expiration' date on yours lately? They will probably work past the recommended date but they're not that expensive and I don't want to take the chance.

[Hiram]

DO NOT depend on CO detectors. CO is a cumulative problem. A small amount that doesn't register on your detector will still kill you over a long exposure period. The inexpensive detectors (non-laboratory / home monitors) only catch large fast amounts of CO but don't register minor amounts. Normally these minor amounts won't hurt you in passing, but they will kill you if they are in your home and you are there for a majority of your time over the course of a month or so. CO bonds to hemoglobin 10X better than Oxygen so oxygen doesn't displace it well. Think of an airport; when all the gates are taken up by empty airplanes CO, clean airplanes can't dock and discharge their passengers - oxygen.