In the past year, fourteen people have died and over two hundred have suffered from serious health problems as a result of CO exposure, mainly due to faulty gas appliances within the home such as heaters, boilers and stoves.
What you can do about it?
If your home features gas appliances of any sort, it is highly advisable to fit some kind of carbon monoxide alarm system.
CO(Carbon Monoxide) alarms work just like smoke alarms, but instead of alerting you to the presence of smoke particles, they alert you when they encounter potentially dangerous levels of CO, which is odourless and can kill or damage humans before they realise it.
Which type of alarm should I choose?
Make sure that you buy an audible carbon monoxide alarm, of the type that adheres to the British Standard EN 50291, for every room in your home that has a gas appliance.
It should also be marked by a national or European approval mark, such as a Kitemark, if you are to be sure of its safety and reliability.
Although they are a good deal cheaper, avoid the use of black spot detectors that change colour when carbon monoxide is present in the air, as they do not make a sound.
Above all else, it is important that you are alerted as soon as CO levels start to become dangerous, and this may occur while you are sleeping, when you are unlikely to be woken by the changing of colour of a piece of cardboard.
CO alarms can be bought from DIY centres and hardware stores for around ?20 each, and can usually be found amongst the home security products.
Ask your Gas Safe registered engineer as to the best type of alarm to buy and how to fit it, if you are not sure.
CO alarms are a vital last line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning, but they are no replacement for making sure that all your appliances are installed correctly and maintained by a qualified engineer.
