ADT® Authorized Dealer Serving Tuscon & Southern Arizona
Carbon monoxide detector attached to wall of home
January 08, 2024

Where To Place Carbon Monoxide Detectors In Your Tucson Residence

Property owners must defend against numerous risks like burglary, flooding, and fire. But what about a risk that can’t be discerned by human senses? Carbon monoxide poses unique challenges because you may never be aware that it’s there. Despite that, using CO detectors can easily shield you and your household. Find out more about this dangerous gas and where to place carbon monoxide detectors in your Tucson residence.

What Is Carbon Monoxide?

Called the silent killer because of its absence of color, taste, or odor, carbon monoxide is a common gas caused by an incomplete combustion of fuels. Any appliance that consumes fuels like a fireplace or furnace can generate carbon monoxide. Although you usually won’t have any trouble, complications can arise when an appliance is not routinely maintained or properly vented. These mistakes could result in a build-up of this potentially deadly gas in your residence. Generators and heaters of various types are the most consistent culprits for CO poisoning.

When in contact with lower levels of CO, you could experience dizziness, headaches, fatigue nausea, or vomiting. Continuous exposure to higher levels can result in cardiorespiratory arrest, coma, and death.

Recommendations For Where To Place Tucson Carbon Monoxide Detectors

If you don’t own at least one carbon monoxide detector in your residence, buy one now. Preferably, you ought to install one on each floor of your home, including basements. Browse these suggestions on where to place carbon monoxide detectors in Tucson:

  • Put them on each floor, particularly in places where you utilize fuel-burning appliances, such as furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, and gas dryers.
  • Always install one no more than 10 feet away from bedroom areas. If you only install one CO detector, this is where it should go.
  • Position them approximately 10 to 20 feet away from sources of CO.
  • Avoid installing them right above or next to fuel-consuming appliances, as a small amount of carbon monoxide could be discharged when they turn on and prompt a false alarm.
  • Secure them to walls about five feet from the ground so they can sample air where inhabitants are breathing it.
  • Avoid using them near doors or windows and in dead-air places.
  • Install one in spaces above garages.

Check your CO detectors often and maintain them in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. You will generally need to switch them out within five or six years. You should also ensure any fuel-utilizing appliances are in in optimal working condition and appropriately vented.