Carbon Monoxide Detector Maintenance Tips

CO2 Maintenance Tips

Carbon monoxide can leak into your home’s air during any time of the year, but the winter months are when the risk is the most prevalent. That’s because one of the most common sources of carbon monoxide leaks in homes is malfunctioning furnaces. In order to keep your family protected in the event that carbon monoxide is leaking into your home’s air, it’s important to ensure that all of your carbon monoxide detectors are working properly before winter kicks into full gear. Today we’re going to help you do that by talking about five carbon monoxide detector maintenance tips for your home!

Why is a carbon monoxide leak more likely during winter?

As we mentioned above, carbon monoxide leaks are more likely to happen during winter because that’s when we use our fuel-burning furnaces in our homes. Common furnace problems like a cracked heat exchanger, clogged flue pipe or incomplete combustion can all cause carbon monoxide to leak out of your system and get into your home’s airflow. That’s on top of the year-round risk of a carbon monoxide leak from other sources like your stove, oven or garage.

In addition, homes tend to be sealed up most often during the colder months of the year. We don’t open our doors and windows as much during winter, and many people seal up their home with caulk and weather stripping to prevent cold drafts from getting indoors. Because of this, if carbon monoxide leaks into your home’s air it has less of a chance to get vented outside during winter.

5 carbon monoxide detector maintenance tips for your Coachella Valley home

1. Change the batteries. Some carbon monoxide detectors run completely on batteries, while others are connected to a power source but still have batteries as a backup. Either way, it’s best to be on the safe side and change the batteries in all of your detectors before every winter in order to ensure that all of your detectors have an adequate power supply.
2. Remove dust. If a carbon monoxide detector gets too dirty, it can give off false positives or it might not go off when it is supposed to. You can help prevent this issue by removing any visible dust from your detectors with a soft brush.
3. Test alarms. Every CO detector has a test button that allows you to test its alarm. You should test all of your detectors’ alarms before winter begins in order to ensure they are working properly. If you’re unsure how to test a CO detector, consult its owner’s manual.
4. Replace old units. Carbon monoxide detectors typically last around 5 years, at which point they should be replaced by new units. If you have any detectors that are 5 years old or older, replace them with new units that you can rely on.
5. Add more units. In order for your home to be fully protected, you should have a carbon monoxide detector on each floor (including the basement), immediately outside of each bedroom and inside of any bedrooms that have gas appliances. If you don’t have a detector in one or more of these places, contact Hydes to have new detectors installed.

Signs that it’s time for a carbon monoxide detector replacement

Because we install fuel-burning furnaces in Coachella Valley homes, we also offer and install carbon monoxide detectors that will protect your family in the event that your system begins to operate unsafely. We want make sure your CO detectors are up-to-date and working properly, so today we’re going to talk about how to know when it’s time for a carbon monoxide detector replacement!

Your detector is more than 5 years old.

Carbon monoxide detectors don’t last forever, and it’s very important to replace them when their time is up. Most carbon monoxide detectors are designed to last about 5 years. If any of your detectors are older than that, replace them with new units. In addition, don’t replace your detector with a carbon monoxide/fire alarm combo unit. Fire alarms tend to last longer than carbon monoxide detectors, so it’s best to have separate CO detectors that are designed for a specific job and that you can replace when needed.

The test button is not working.

Your carbon monoxide detectors should have a test button that you can press to ensure that they are working properly. It’s good practice to use this test button about once per month on all of your detectors to ensure that they are working properly. If the test button on any of your detectors fails, it’s a good sign that it’s time for a replacement.

Your current detector is not approved by the UL.

There are many brands and models of carbon monoxide detectors out there, and some are better than others. Check to see whether or not your detectors have been reviewed by the Underwriters Laboratories (UL), an independent company that tests safety products like CO detectors. If any of them have not been tested by the UL, replace them with units that have so that you can be sure you have a quality product installed in your home.

You don’t have enough CO detectors in your home.

Beyond replacing old and malfunctioning CO detectors with new units, you should also install new detectors in areas of your home that aren’t currently protected. State law requires that you have a carbon monoxide detector outside of each bedroom and on every floor of your home.

When it’s time for a carbon monoxide detector replacement in your home, contact Hydes! We’ll provide you with one or more high-quality, UL-reviewed detectors that will keep your home safe, and we’ll install them the right way so that you don’t have to worry about whether or not they are ready to work properly after they are installed.

If you have any questions about carbon monoxide detector maintenance or replacement, or if you’d like a heating system serviced or installed in your home, contact Hydes, your Indio, CA, furnace installation and HVAC repair contractor.