Call (310) 980-9509 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Call (310) 980-9509 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Protect Yourself Against Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Posted by Sarah Human, February 6, 2018

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced by automobiles, many home appliances, fireplaces, and more devices… And it can make you very sick, or even kill you. Every year, more than 20,000 Americans are sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 400 wil die. How can you protect yourself from something you can’t even see or smell?

  • Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home, and check the batteries at least twice per year.
  • Ask a qualified service professional to check your heating system, water heater, and other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances each year. Ask this person to ensure that your gas appliances are vented properly.
  • Never patch vent pipes… Have them properly repaired.
  • Never use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors.
  • Don’t burn charcoal indoors.
  • Don’t use portable gas camp stoves indoors.
  • Never use a generator inside the home, in the basement, or within 20 feet of a window, door, or vent.
  • If you have a gas refrigerator, have it inspected immediately if you smell a strange odor radiating from it.
  • Only purchase gas equipment bearing the seal of a national testing agency.
  • Have chimneys inspected and cleaned annually.
  • Don’t run your vehicle in an enclosed garage.
  • Ask your mechanic to check your vehicle’s exhaust system each year.

Know the symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure. If you’re using your fireplace or any device which burns gasoline, natural gas, charcoal, take notice of the following symptoms:

  • headache
  • dizziness
  • weakness
  • confusion
  • upset stomach
  • vomiting
  • chest pain
  • a “flu-like” feeling

If you’re sleeping or intoxicated, you can die from carbon monoxide poisoning without ever noticing these symptoms. Take special care to use a carbon monoxide detector in your home, placed near your bedroom so that the alarm will wake you up.

Need more information on your insurance options?

Contact us online to learn more

Contact Us

Close Accessibility Tools
Accessibility Controls Reset
Content Adjustments
Font Size

Default

Line Height

Default

Content Scaling

Default

Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Highlight Forms
Align Left
Align Center
Align Right
Focus Mode
Color Adjustments
Desaturate
Monochrome
Contrast

Default

Saturation

Default

Accessibility Statement

Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

Our User Interface Adjustment Options

Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

Close