Environmental Inspections
Our job as your professional home inspection company is to alert you, to the extent possible, to unknown problems and potential environmental hazards in your current or potential house. We offer inspection and testing services for carbon monoxide.
Carbon Monoxide Testing
Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. A faulty or dirty burner combined with a cracked heat exchanger in a furnace is a common cause of carbon monoxide poisoning. A carbon monoxide test is normally performed on the air coming from your furnace's supply vents.
Carbon Monoxide can be deadly. You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, but at high levels it can kill a person in minutes. Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced whenever any fuel such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal is burned. If appliances that burn fuel are maintained and used properly, the amount of CO produced is usually not hazardous. However, if appliances are not working properly or are used incorrectly, dangerous levels of CO can result. Hundreds of people die accidentally every year from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning appliances. Even more die from CO produced by idling cars. Fetuses, infants, elderly people, and people with anemia or with a history of heart or respiratory disease can be especially susceptible.
Know the symptoms of CO poisoning. At moderate levels, you or your family can get severe headaches, become dizzy, mentally confused, nauseated, or faint. You can even die if these levels persist for a long time. Low levels can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea, and mild headaches, and may have longer term effects on your health. Since many of these symptoms are similar to those of the flu, food poisoning, or other illnesses, you may not think that CO poisoning could be the cause.
