New Law On Carbon Monoxide Alarms (July 28, 2010)
Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has been one of the more under-publicized households’ hazards until two years ago when a Denver family, won a chance to stay in a nearly $9-million estate east of Aspen died there over the weekend of carbon monoxide poisoning. The family was the Parker Lofgren family.
On March 25, 2009 Governor Bill Ritter signed into law Colorado Bill 1091 requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in all residential properties. The new act is names after Parker, Caroline, Owen, and Sophie Logren, all whom dies as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
What does this new law do? This law requires homeowners and owners of rental property to install carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms (or other room lawfully used for sleeping purposes) in every home that is heated with fossil fuel, has a fuel-fired appliance, has a fireplace, or has an attached garage.
This requirement applies to every home that is sold, remodeled, repaired, or leased to a new tenant after July 1, 2009. This law applies to the following homes:
– Single-family homes: Property used or intended to be used as a residence that contains one dwelling unit
– Multi-family homes (including condominiums and cooperatives): Property used or intended to be used as a residence that contains more than one dwelling unit
– Homes that are owned by the residents, and homes used for rental purposes
(Information came from http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/dc/ehs/HouseBill09FAQ.pdf)
Knowing that there is a new law in place to keep you and your family safe, Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating wanted to give you some education on ways to keep your family safe from this poison.
There is a lot of uncertainty because CO is tasteless, colorless and odorless – undetectable except by sophisticated gear. Also the main symptoms of CO poisoning are the following:
Fatigue | Headaches | Dizzy Spells | Nausea.
Thus CO poisoning is easily misdiagnosed, and people can succumb to it with very little physical discomfort, almost like falling asleep.
CO is given off by incomplete combustion of flammable fuels such as natural gas, oil, wood, coal, or kerosene. Common household appliances such as furnaces, boilers, water heaters and stoves are all potential sources of CO gas. All of these products are designed with elaborate safeguards and under normal operation conditions, all the CO produced from combustion will be harmlessly vented to the atmosphere.
Poor venting, due to leaks or blockages in the vent system, is the most common cause of CO build up in the house. To prevent poor venting, have your furnace or boiler regularly inspected, at least once a year. When Grand Lake Plumbing & Heating comes out to your house we will check all connections to flue piping and check vents for cracks, gaps, rust, corrosion or debris. We will also look over the combustion chamber and heat exchanger for cracks, holes, metal fatigue or corrosions, as well as the filters and filtering system for dirt and blockage.
Also install a UL-approved CO Detector. The UL standard requires home CO detectors to sound a warning before CO levels reach over 100 parts per million (ppm) over 90 minutes, 200 ppm over 35 minutes or 400 ppm over 15 minutes. Theses warnings should allow the average person to safely evacuate the premises.
Approved CO detectors are now available; they are similar to smoke detectors in both appearance and installation. Please call us today for one of our technicians to come to your house and install ones for you. If you already have CO detectors, make sure on a monthly basses you check the batteries to make sure they are still working. Once our technician comes out to the house, he will show you how to work the detector and also what to do if the alarm does go off.
We want to make sure all of our families are safe from this poising. Please call us today to make sure your home is safe, and that we take all the precautions possible to safeguard your home, your family and your loved ones!
