Carbon Monoxide Alarms

“HOW OFTEN SHOULD A CO DETECTOR BE REPLACED AND DO THEY GO BAD”

Yes they do go bad and the average time frame is 7 years. Most manufactures recommend every 7 years however there are some that are coming out now that are good for 10 years. You do want to change your battery back up in that to make sure that it is working and make sure you are doing that before the season starts every year just to make sure you are good to go. Kind of the same rotation you would do with smoke detectors or things like that.

So yes they do go bad.. but while we are talking about them. They are very important to have but also to have in the right place. We go to a lot of homes where that CO detector is part of the fire alarm and its up on the ceiling. That is not where you want it to be. CO is very heavy and so you want that detector as close to the floor as possible. You should be plugging those in to a receptacle near the floor so that it can detect it sooner.

Also it is recommended to be in a hallway near where the bedrooms are so that you can hear it go off in the middle of the night. Carbon monoxide is definitely one of those things you don’t want to play with because it is odorless, colorless and is very deadly. Anytime you have a combustion item in the home whether it is heating and air, washer, dryer etc you should have a CO detector.

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Your friend in comfort and energy savings,

Derek Cole

Derek Cole is the General Manager of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning®, an independently owned and operated franchise based in Laurinburg, North Carolina since 1953. He has more than 14 years of experience in the HVAC industry and has created two You Tube broadcasts, The Comfort Experts and #AskDerekCole, filled with tips and tricks on saving energy and being comfortable.