Do we all have working carbon monoxide detectors?

It's CO (carbon monoxide) that's the silent killer. CO2(carbon dioxide) can still kill but you'd smell it first.

I live in a small council semi bungalow. It has a central heating boiler is in an outside cupboard but there are still 3 CO2 detectors inside as well as 2 heat detectors. All fitted and maintained by the council. It gives me peace of mind to know this.

Recently had my wood-burner re located and was told must have detector and was happy to do so. I find the flashing lights on detectors rather comforting and was shocked to read about a little boy who died fro the effects of a faulty appliance in the house next door. maybe everyone should have them as routine.

Hello again Welshwife - apparently if it's located on a wall it must be at least 5" from the ceiling - so I guess we're all right after all. Phew!

Yes, without a doubt. Unlike a 'gas' leak, you cannot smell the fumes. We had one in the kitchen in our old house because we had a gas fired boiler in the room. We now have a 'built in' version in our new house. If you have a free standing one, the company who supplies them usually replaces them for free (by return post) if the batteries have expired before the 'use by' date.

Hi Welshwife. We have 2 alarms both fitted by British Gas and which they check each year. We have a gas boiler in the kitchen and a living flame fire in the lounge, but they decided to put the one in the kitchen on top of the units and the one in the lounge above the door. I had assumed this was correct, I'll look into it further now! Thanks for that.

The first thing we bought when my daughter moved into her flat were mains smoke alarms and a CO2 monitor, They are essential.

Building regs for new builds and conversions now insist on CO2 detectors for woodburners. We also have one in our mobile home which has a gas boiler and heater.

Our council gave CO Detectors free to all oldies who requested them.

Thank you for highlighting the need for CO2 detectors Anya. I have just tested ours for the first time in ages. Although my ears are still ringing I did notice that it will need replacing next year. Hopefully I will be more aware now.

You need CO2 detectors if you have any appliance that combusts a fuel within the house: mains gas, gas from a containner, wood, coal, anything you can think of.

Yes, a properly installed wood burner/balanced flue boiler, properly serviced should not cause any problems, but I used to work for British Gas in a job where I knew or read about all the the deaths caused by faulty appliances and saw all the information on grossly incompetently, badly installed appliances done by both fully qualified technicians and amateurs who thought they knew better and could save money by DIying it and that has made me absolutely meticulous about gaa safety including having more than 1 CO2 meter in my house to make absolutely sure we have protection to the highest level.

What a good job you raised this Anya as people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning, particularly in the winter time. I think there is legislation that carbon monoxide detectors must be fitted when new wood burners are installed. It is also true that even coal fires in a room with poor ventilation can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, for example if chimney is unsound.

I think the advice has now changed with regards to wood burners and it is advisable to have the monitors.
When the firemen came and installed a smoke alarm in our last UK house - just knocked on the door one day and asked could they see what we had - decided we needed an extra one to be on the safe side and installed it - they told us to make sure any carbon monoxide monitor was lower than our head height would normally be. We have one on our TV cabinet and in our bedroom we have one on the floor - the chimney goes up through the room although well sealed etc. - Carbon monoxide fills the room from the floor up

I didn't realise you needed one for wood burning stoves. We've got smoke alarms all over the house but no CO2 ones as we don't have any gas appliances. Luckily, we rarely bother with the stove but I'll get a detector before we light the stove again.
Thanks for the warning.

Always supposing the room's on the ground floor!

This is a timely thread Anya. We have a couple of detectors but as we had the old gas fire removed, left them in a cupboard. I didn't realise a wood burner required one plus we still have a gas boiler and fire in the other room. I'll read up and be more organised.

If you have a gas heater you should have a hole/vent in the floor of the room in which it's used. Carbon monoxide is heavy relative to air and it sinks. Giving it a chance to sink is a good idea. In fact, I think the vent thing is required by law. I think you can have one in an outside wall of the room in question too.

We have two wood burners. Carbon monoxide monitors are no more required for wood burners than they are for open fires.

Oh dear Grannypiper they should use them, Carbon Monoxide creeps up on you and you really don't know. Some friends gave us a small portable gas heater when they sold their house, we used it one evening and I had terrible dreams all night and woke very late, my husband didn't wake until 11am. I am sure the heater was leaky. We installed a detector after that as we have a wood burner.

Oh no they wont! Carbon monoxide is odourless and all they will feel is drowsy and relaxed before slipping into unconsciousness and death.

grannypiper, what a dreadful situation to be in.

My brother and his wife have an on going problem with their gas boiler i have begged them to buy carbon monoxide alarms but they wont their argument is they will know if they are being poisoned ! Bought them a box of 2 as i was petrified of them dying but they are still in the box. You cant help some people.

Our central heating service company checks whether we have a working carbon monoxide monitor on every service call. They are not compulsory, but now we have them (our house needed two)he checks them on every visit and changes the batteries every year.

Useful to know J52

Not just gas appliances, you should (must) have one in the same room as a wood burning stove.

I'll never forget those poor children either

Too close for comfort oldgoat ~ scary.

We have one and I check regularly to see that it's working. Stories like yours Anya are heart-stopping - thank God they had a detector. I always think of those two poor children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Greece some years ago - so tragic,