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Carbon Monoxide It's colorless and odorless, and can kill you before you even know it's there. Because of this, Carbon monoxide (CO) puts everyone at risk, especially individuals with greater oxygen requirements such as infants, children, senior citizens, and people with respiratory problems. It is important for you to know how CO is formed and what you can do to detect high levels of CO. Carbon monoxide can be produced by common home appliances, such as refrigerators, clothes dryers, water heaters, space heaters, and wood burning stoves. CO is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel in burned. If a home is vented properly CO will most likely be vented to the outside. However, today we often focus on constructing, "energy-efficient" homes and the insulation meant to keep warm air in during the winter season, and cool air in during the summer season can actually trap CO polluted-air in a home all year-round. Installing at least one carbon monoxide detector per household, near the sleeping quarters is recommended. For more protection, you can place another detector hear the home's heat source. Make sure to chose a Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed, battery operated audible alarm detector. Once you have chosen a CO detector, make sure to regularly inspect and service it. For more information on carbon monoxide detectors, visit FirstAlert.com. For frequently asked questions about carbon monoxide detectors, click here.
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