By Anthony Carvalho – Executive Director Healthy Living Group Corp.
Part II of VIII-Carbon Monoxide
Bacteria, Carbon Monoxide, Dead Skin, Mold, Pollen, Radon, Viruses and VOC’s.
All of the above contributes to Allergies, Asthma, Lung Cancer, Lung Disease, Respiratory Tract Infections and a host of Other Ailments.
Most of us are unaware that the air indoors can be 4 to 5 times more polluted than the air outdoors and in some cases 100 times more polluted. We spend about 95% of our day indoors. When you look at how some of us try to improve our overall health by eating healthy and exercising routinely we ignore our most important source of energy; The Air we Breathe. Air is responsible for over 50% of our energy, more than food and water combined.
I will go over each pollution trigger and solution with each blog posting.
Blog 2- Carbon Monoxide
So where do you start?
First and Foremost make sure you have at least one carbon monoxide detector in each bedroom of your home, it can save your life. It is also recommended that you have one in your basement, garage, living room and any other room you spend any significant amount of time in. Instead of just having a standard smoke alarm I recommend buying a combination carbon monoxide/smoke alarm. Another very important place to have a Carbon monoxide detector is at work.
Carbon monoxide is a gas that’s odorless, colorless and toxic. It is formed anytime there is combustion.
Some of the most common sources are:
barbeque, candles, car/truck, boiler, fire places, Furnace, generator, hot water heaters, gas stove, tobacco smoke.
Here are some dangerous scenarios:
- Car in an attached garage with auto start is started accidentally by the key fob by a child or inadvertently while in your pocket.
- Heat is not working and you use a gas stove to try to heat your house.
- Flue pipe in boiler room rusts and disconnects from the chimney.
- Your flue pipe becomes clogged due to animals looking for heat or trying to build a nest.
- A crack develops in your furnace and instead of exhausting the carbon monoxide outdoors it enters your home.
- Your fire in the fire place goes out and the hot air is no longer forced up the chimney so air starts to make its way down the chimney and keeps the embers smoldering filling your home with carbon monoxide.
- Carbon monoxide can enter your car while working on your laptop or smart phone while sitting idling or from a hole in your exhaust pipe.
- Carbon monoxide can also enter your car if you have a vehicle with a back/trunk window open (some SUV’s have this feature where you can drive with the back/trunk window open) causing the exhaust to get sucked back into the car as you drive.
As you can see there are many possibilities for Carbon Monoxide to affect you.
Some of the Symptoms from Carbon Monoxide exposure:
Chest Pain, Blurry Vision, Dizziness, Headache, Nausea, Shortness of Breath, Vomiting, and Weakness.
Higher levels can lead to death. If you are sleeping or have had a few alcoholic beverages you may not experience any symptoms until it’s too late.
What you need to do:
- Over 500 people per year die and thousands end up in the hospital every year because of Carbon Monoxide poisoning.
- Put a Carbon Monoxide/smoke detector in every room in your home.
- Make sure there is a Carbon Monoxide detector at work
- Be conscious of anything that requires combustion in how it could release Carbon Monoxide in a confined space.
- Inspect all flue piping and chimneys twice a year in your home and or business.
- Have your car inspected annually or if involved in any type of car accident regardless of how minor it maybe to see if there are any exhaust leaks.
As you know we all learn by sharing experiences and knowledge. One person can’t know everything, feel free to email me if you have an experiences or ideas to share that can help others.
Visit http://www.HaveCleanAir.com for a survey and access to additional tools.
I will continue to post additional steps on how to improve the air quality in your home.
The key question is? Will you act on it? Most people unfortunately only act on news that will be catastrophic in the short term. If it is a long term issue most people tend to wait until it becomes a more pressing issue. I believe the time is now for us to start improving our health and well being.
Anthony’s goal is to make a difference for People and the Environment. His belief is we can all benefit from Living a Healthier and Greener Lifestyle. Change is hard and with support from Family, Friends and Organizations we can help others live a Healthier and Greener lifestyle one day at a time. Anthony is a Green Technology and Air Quality expert with over 18 years construction experience and 15 years dealing with Air Quality issues.
