• Should every home have a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm?
• What kind of CO alarm is recommended?
• What appliances should a professional inspect annually?
• Can fuel-burning appliances ever be used safely in the home? 
• What are initial symptoms of CO poisoning?
• Chimneys, flues, vents - why inspect them annually?
• Can ventilation carry pollutants?
• What is the vent pipe recall program?
• Which vent pipes should be replaced?
• What about PVC Or CPVC? 
• NEWS from CPSC - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Q. Should every home have a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm?

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) continues to recommend that every home should have a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm.

Q. What kind of CO alarm is recommended?

CPSC recommends that every home should have at least one CO alarm that meets the requirements of the most recent Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 2034 standard or International Approval Services 6-96 standard.

Q. What appliances should a professional inspect annually?

CPSC urges consumers to have a professional inspection of all fuel-burning appliances -- including furnaces, stoves, fireplaces, clothes dryers, water heaters, and space heaters -- to detect deadly carbon monoxide leaks. 

Q. Can fuel-burning appliances ever be used safely in the home? 

These appliances burn fuels, such as gas, both natural and liquefied petroleum; kerosene; oil; coal; or wood. Under certain conditions, fuel-burning appliances can produce deadly CO. However, with proper installation and maintenance, they are safe to use.

Q. What are initial symptoms of CO poisoning?

CO is a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning any fuel. The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu, and include headache, fatigue, and shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. Exposure to high levels of CO can cause death. 

Q. Chimneys, flues, vents - why inspect them annually?

CPSC recommends that the yearly professional inspection include checking chimneys, flues and vents for leakage and blockage by creosote and debris. Leakage through cracks or holes could cause black stains on the outside of the chimney or flue. These stains can mean that pollutants are leaking into the house. In addition, have all vents to furnaces, water heaters, boilers and other fuel-burning appliances checked to make sure they are not loose or disconnected. 

Q. Can ventilation carry pollutants?

Make sure your appliances are inspected for adequate ventilation. A supply of fresh air is important to help carry pollutants up the chimney, stovepipe or flue, and is necessary for the complete combustion of any fuel. Never block ventilation air openings. 

Q. What is the vent pipe recall program?
Consumers should also have the vent pipes on their heating systems inspected. In 1998, virtually the entire furnace and boiler industry together with the manufacturers of high-temperature plastic vent (HTPV) pipes joined with CPSC to announce a vent pipe recall program. 
The program's purpose is to replace, free of charge, an estimated 250,000 HTPV pipe systems attached to gas or propane furnaces or boilers in consumers' homes. The HTPV pipes could crack or separate at the joints and leak CO. 

Q. Which vent pipes should be replaced?

Consumers can check the vent pipes attached to their natural gas or propane furnaces or boilers to determine if they are part of this recall. They can be identified as follows: the vent pipes are plastic; the vent pipes are colored gray or black; and the vent pipes have the names "Plexvent(r)," "Plexvent(r) II" or "Ultravent(r)" stamped on the vent pipe or printed on stickers placed on pieces used to connect the vent pipes together. Consumers should also check the location of these vent pipes. For furnaces, only HTPV systems that have vent pipes that go through the sidewalls of structures (horizontal systems) are subject to this program. For boilers, all HTPV systems are subject to this program. After checking the vent pipes, consumers should call the recall hotline toll-free at (800) 758-3688, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET, seven days a week, to verify that their appliance venting systems are subject to this program. Consumers with eligible systems will receive new, professionally installed venting systems free of charge. 
Additionally, consumers who already have replaced their HTPV pipe systems may be eligible for reimbursement for some or all of the replacement costs.

Q. What about PVC? Or CPVC? 

Other plastic vent pipes, such as white PVC or CPVC, are not involved in this program. 

NEWS from CPSC - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. For information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call the above numbers or visit the web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/103.html. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.

Fire & Safety Group does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process presented here.