If you are in Sterling, VA, or the surrounding area, our team at Meade’s Heating and Air wants to be sure that you are safe. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, scentless gas that can be a very dangerous presence in your home. It is possible that it can get into your household by means of appliances and systems such as your clothes dryer, water heater, boiler, gas stove, furnace, or fireplace. Since it is scentless, there are many cases of people not knowing there is a problematic level of carbon monoxide in a household until it is too late.
All of these systems and appliances feature designs to address safely any carbon monoxide leakage. However, machines can fail or malfunction, oftentimes without you realizing it right away.
In order to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and the symptoms that go with it, have detectors installed throughout your home. These detectors can sense when there is a level of this odorless gas in your home that is unsafe.
To get the most out of your carbon monoxide detectors, a professional should place them in different areas throughout your residence or commercial building. They should also be professionally hardwired into the electrical wiring and tested on a monthly basis.
There are some major benefits to having a professional install your carbon monoxide detectors:
- More reliable than DIYing it
- Expert placement of detectors
- Expert understanding of the devices
- Professional adherence to any local laws
- Establishing a relationship with a local service technician
We want to ensure your safety by having one of our trusted professionals install carbon monoxide detectors for you. It is also important that you know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. If you suspect that you or someone else is experiencing these symptoms, you should call emergency services right away and have a trained technician turn off the source of the carbon monoxide.
Symptoms
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when there is a buildup of it in your blood. This happens when there is an excess of the gas in the air, and the body takes the carbon monoxide as a replacement for oxygen in red blood cells. This can result in major tissue damage or even death, so it is important to be able to recognize the symptoms should they occur.
The organs most heavily affected by carbon monoxide are the brain and the heart. In cases of prolonged exposure, the symptoms can appear flu-like, except that there is no fever.
The symptoms of carbon monoxide include the following:
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Shortness of breath
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Confusion
- Loss of muscle control
- Drowsiness
- Loss of consciousness
Symptoms After Recovery
Once you have experienced carbon monoxide poisoning, there are symptoms that can occur even after recovery. These are due to the effect that the poisoning has had on the brain and nervous system. The risk of these symptoms after recovery is highest in people who lost consciousness from the poisoning, as well as in the elderly.
Symptoms after recovery can include movement problems, memory loss, and even changes in personality.
How Common Is It To Experience Symptoms?
While everyone is at risk of experiencing the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, it is most common in the following groups:
- Infants
- Elderly
- Those with anemia
- People with chronic heart disease
- People with respiratory issues
Every year, more than 400 people in the United States die from carbon monoxide poisoning that is not related to fires. Also, every year, more than 100,000 people visit the emergency room with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, and 14,000 of those people require hospitalization.
Preventing the Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
The easiest and smartest way to prevent the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning is to have one of the professionals at Meade’s Heating and Air install detectors in your home. However, your preventative measures should not stop there. After installation, you should set up a routine maintenance plan. A routine maintenance plan ensures that your detectors are working optimally, and your technician can also check all of your systems that could potentially emit the gas for any leaks. Establishing a routine maintenance plan with one of our technicians will help prevent having to experience the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning by also catching any red flags in your household that could lead to future potential carbon monoxide problems.
The best way to prevent the onset of the symptoms that go with carbon monoxide poisoning is to have detectors installed and establish routine maintenance. However, if you have a situation where you or a loved one is already experiencing symptoms, it is critical to get help before the symptoms get any worse. Therefore, even if you or someone else is experiencing only a few of the symptoms listed above, it is important to act fast.
Additional Preventative Measures
Along with professional carbon monoxide detector installation and routine maintenance, there are additional preventative measures you can take for added safety.
Battery-Powered Detectors
You can purchase battery-powered carbon monoxide detectors to place throughout your home as a backup for the ones a professional hard wires in. However, these types of detectors are not a substitute for having carbon monoxide detectors professionally installed and hardwired throughout the home, only an additional preventative measure.
Purchase Safe Gas Equipment
When you buy new gas equipment, make sure that it displays the seal of a trusted national testing agency.
Practice Proper Ventilation
Take proper care to ensure that all of your gas appliances receive the right amount of ventilation.
Keep Your Chimney Clean
Chimneys can get blocked up with debris that can lead to a buildup of carbon monoxide. Be sure to have it checked out and cleaned every year.
Your Trusted Experts in Sterling
At Meade’s Heating and Air, we take great pride in being a trusted team for the community of Sterling, VA. We are here to make sure that you can be confident that the carbon monoxide detectors you get installed from us will be in optimal working order as well as reliable. By working out a maintenance plan with one of our technicians, you can also feel safe knowing that we will be there to check up on your household to make sure everything is working as it should throughout the year.
We also provide emergency services, so you can count on us being there for you when you need us the most. Our company goes above and beyond with a set of core values that include transparency at all times, always doing things the right way, and providing quick as well as thoughtful communication.
We bring these values to all of the services we provide, which include heating and cooling repairs, installations, and maintenance. Give us a call today for more information about what we can offer.
