Your carbon-monoxide (CO) detector protects your family from carbon-monoxide poisoning. While installing home CO detectors in your Lubbock, Texas, house is important, ensuring correct placement and fresh batteries are two ways you can increase their accuracy.
Change the Batteries Once a Year
If your carbon-monoxide detector’s batteries fail, the device becomes useless. Set a time to change the batteries every year, such as during spring cleaning or right after the new year. Testing the batteries twice a year can also help guard against power loss.
Position the CO Detectors Near Bedrooms
A CO detector in your kitchen might not wake you up if you’re sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. Keep the detector in the kitchen, but add other units near each bedroom in your home. If a carbon monoxide leak occurs, you’ll hear the alarm even during the night.
Steer Clear of Fossil Fuels
If you install your CO detector near an appliance or other item that burns fossil fuels, you might get false positives. To avoid false positives, position your carbon-monoxide detector at least 15 to 20 feet away from gas stoves and ovens, gas fireplaces, and gas furnaces, as well as any other appliance that uses natural gas.
Avoid Heat and Humidity
Although CO detectors are designed to pick up traces of carbon monoxide in the air, they’re also calibrated to run in certain conditions. If you expose the units to too much heat and humidity, they might become less accurate. For the best results, don’t install the detectors where they can receive direct sunlight from a window or door. Additionally, keep them away from moisture-rich areas, such as bathrooms.
Don’t Obstruct the Sensor
Give the CO detector clear access to the room. Don’t put it behind curtains or artwork, for example, because those obstructions make it more difficult for the sensors to sample the air.
Protecting your family from CO poisoning is a critical part of home safety. To have your HVAC system and indoor air quality inspected, call Bruce Thornton Air Conditioning at 806-589-1014.
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