As we are in the colder months of the year, and our homes are closed up, carbon monoxide poisoning is more likely to occur. Carbon monoxide is produced when fuel is burned, such as in your furnace, boiler, gas clothes dryer, fireplaces, and space heaters.   

1. Have a CO detector on each level of living space, and where your heating system is located.
2. Furnaces (hot air) and boilers (hot water) should be serviced every year, particularly if they are ten years and older.
3. Check the flue connection at the chimney and to the appliances for holes and/or rust.
4. Chimney flues should not show signs of water streaking or sooting. This would indicate that combustion gases are not flowing into the chimney.

   Probing the rust in this pipe with a screwdriver shows that it is still solid.

5. Check your clothes dryer vent to make sure it is not blocked. Over 10,000 house fires are caused each year from blocked dryer vents.
6. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu - without the fever: dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headache and irregular breathing.
7. Do not keep a car running in the closed space of a garage.