Carbon Monoxide detectors
I have a smoke detector in my tenant’s apartment (it’s a two family, we live in the downstairs duplex, tenant lives on top floor.) When I asked both my electrician and plumber whether we should put in a Carbon Monoxide detector, both said i wasn’t necessary – that it was more of an issue in…
I have a smoke detector in my tenant’s apartment (it’s a two family, we live in the downstairs duplex, tenant lives on top floor.) When I asked both my electrician and plumber whether we should put in a Carbon Monoxide detector, both said i wasn’t necessary – that it was more of an issue in the basement. (BTW, we have forced air, gas-fired heat.)
My new tenant asked me about a carbon monoxide etector the other day, complaining that she was feeling “light-headed”, and was concerned that she might be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. I’m inclined to install the detector! – but also wanted to find out other people’s thoughts, as well as making sure of my legal obligations as a landlord. Also – where is the optimal placement for such a detector? (I ended up getting a combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector made by Kidde. is this adequate?) Comments, anyone?
CO detectors should be at knee level for best protection, and no higher than chest level. The ones that say to put them high are the smoke/CO detector combos. They are not as reliable as having separate CO detectors. Smoke rises. CO does not. My mom died from CO poisoning. It is not pretty. Just put in the detectors. It’s worth the cost.
There is too much conjecture here about placement. It’s best to look it up. I myself was told by a contractor that CO detectors needed to be lower, not by the ceiling. Which was confirmed by the info below. And yet someone here said to do that. But according to this below, that applies to combination smoke/CO detectors. Seems to me it’s best to have separate detectors for separate purposes.
Here’s what I found online on a fire marshal’s fire safety site:
Proper placement of a CO detector is important. In general, the human body is most vulnerable to the effects of CO during sleeping hours, so a detector should be located in or as near as possible to the sleeping area of the home.
If only one detector is being installed, it should be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you if you are asleep.
Where sleeping areas are located in separate parts of the home, a detector should be provided for each area.
Additional CO detectors should be placed on each level of a residence and in other rooms where combustion devices are located (such as in a room that contains a solid fuel-fired appliance, gas clothes dryer or natural gas furnace), or adjacent to potential sources of CO (such as in a teenager’s room or granny suite located adjacent to an attached garage).
Unlike smoke, which rises to the ceiling, CO mixes with air. Recognizing this, a CO detector should be located at knee-height (which is about the same as prone sleeping height). Due to the possibility of tampering or damage by pets, children, vacuum cleaners and the like, it may be located up to chest height. To work properly, a detector should not be blocked by furniture, draperies or other obstructions to normal air flow.
If a combination smoke/carbon monoxide detector is used, it should be located on the ceiling, to ensure that it will detect smoke effectively.
didn’t sound racist, sounds like that commenter had a tenant that fit the description he gave and was saying they are a problem tenant. The commenter gave a description in lieu of a name. Likely not helpful to the original poster, but not racist.
Did nobody notice that Anonymous at October 25, 2006 9:10 PM made a RACIST comment?
I’ve also had problems with my Kidde CO /smoke detector. I put one near the ceiling in the middle room of our parlor floor and, though a toaster oven was billowing smoke in the kitchen, it failed to go off.
Yes, I believe you are required to have a detector by law for all tenants’ apartments. I have Kidde carbon monoxide detectors on all floors. They plug in and have a 9v battery back up. On several of the units, I keep getting a low battery beep (and of course always in the middle of the night) even though they are plugged in. I have tried replacing the batteries and even replaced one of the units. If the battery is absent, they also beep. Does anyone have recommendations for a more reliable unit? Thanks.
I have smoke/CO detectors on every floor of my bstone…cellar, ground floor, parlor floor, top floor. Yes, one of them is near my kitchen, and I occasionally have false alarms when I open my oven door when the broiler is running, but it doesn’t bother me. I just go over to the detector and wave a magazine in front of it to clear the heat. It’s a small investment to make to keep everyone safe.
Original poster here – thank you all for your sobering and informative posts. I have given the tenant the aforementioned Kidde combination CO / Smoke detector.
Two questions- is there any reason to think that the CO part of that detector is in any way not as good as a dedicated CO detector?
And – I’m interested in Amy’s post – advising me not to put the CO detector in either the kitchen or the basement.
Do others here have the same advice? Since the plumber and electrician who advised me not to bother with the CO detector for the tenant are the same folks who told me to make sure to put a CO detector in the basement – their advice is suspect!
Thanks!
CO detectors are now law in New York City — certainly for multiple dwellings. But even if they weren’t, there is no downside to having them installed.