We've talked about how to survive a winter storm at home in case your power goes out. (Here's some great information to help you prepare, but I realized I'd missed something important and thought I should address it in its own post – the danger of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and what you absolutely need to know about it.

A few days ago, Colorado hit the lowest recorded temp in the continental US in history at -32F. We've also had a couple of really bad storms blow across the US already this winter and several people have died. In many emergencies, such as this, you need to rely on emergency heating, and if you don't have the right heater or setup, there is a real danger of getting carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) vs. Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

So a lot of people first get a little confused because they think CO is harmless because that's what we breathe out, right? Actually,  no. We breathe out carbon dioxide (CO2), not CO. CO2 is what plants use to convert to sugar and oxygen during photosynthesis and is a by-product of complete combustion (burning). CO is a by-product of inefficient burning and is extremely dangerous.

According to the CDC, over 400 people die in the US alone every year and over 50,000 people go to the emergency room for CO poisoning. One note here, the death rate around the world is MUCH higher than that, due to hospitals here being able to recognize and test for it so they can treat people before it's too late.

Your body can take in a lot of CO2 so even though it's not impossible for it to be dangerous, it's extremely rare. CO, on the other hand, does bad things to your body. I'm not going to go into deep scientific detail here since most of you just want to know what the danger is and what you can actually do about it but essentially, CO binds with the hemoglobin of your blood easier than oxygen does, so it basically starves your body of oxygen.

It's so effective that CO poisoning is a very popular method of suicide around the world, in no small part due to the inaccurate representation of it being portrayed in the media as being painless. It's not, btw. Here are some common symptoms:

    • aches and pains
    • headaches
   •  weakness
    • nausea or vomiting
    • chest pain
    • shortness of breath
    • dizziness or lightheadedness
    • balance problems
    • memory problems
    • unconsciousness

There are more bad things it does to your body but they're much more technical. If you want some of that good ol' sciency stuff, read this.

Basically, CO2 = good, CO = bad.
What Heaters Cause CO Increases?

Basically, any heater that burns something (coal, propane, whatever), can cause CO output and put your life in danger. This includes:

    • fireplaces
    • wood stoves
    • gas appliances
    • kerosene heaters
    • charcoal grills
    • oil, propane or gas furnaces

Basically, if it burns some kind of fuel and isn't properly ventilated to the outside world, it can be a problem. The heaters listed above are most likely safe, as long as you have some sort of sensor to tell you in case of a leak.