Carbon Monoxide - General Information

CO is often called the silent killer. You can’t see it, smell it or taste it, but it kills over 250 people each year in The United States. 

Carbon Monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of the fossil fuels – gas, oil, coal and wood used in boilers, engines, oil burners, gas fires, water heaters, solid fuel appliances and open fires. 

Dangerous amounts of CO can accumulate when as a result of poor installation, poor maintenance or failure or damage to an appliance in service, the fuel is not burned properly, or when rooms are poorly ventilated and the Carbon Monoxide is unable to escape. 

Having no smell, taste or colour, in today’s world of improved insulation and double glazing it has become increasingly important to have good ventilation, maintain all appliances regularly and to have absolutely reliable detector alarms installed giving both a visual and audible signal immediately when there is a build up of CO to dangerous levels.