A Small Investment to Protect Your Family at Home

$30 Can Save Your Family's Life

Every year, especially in winter with furnaces, boilers and wood stoves going, there are tragic stories of people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Luckily, this story (http://tinyurl.com/2ewmuxj) from the CBC News didn't result in any deaths, even though more than 30 people ended up being sent to the hospital.

At a very small cost when considering the lives and health of you and your family, is a plug-in carbon monoxide detector.

Even though current building code is to have a hardwired CO2 detector in newly built homes, they are almost always mounted on the ceiling and usually only on the top floor.

It is recommended to have one in bedrooms and one on each floor.  Also, because they are plug-ins, they are generally at knee level, which is preferrable because CO2 gas is heavier and builds up at floor level first.

Most plug-ins have a lifespan of 5 years or so once installed, so I usually mark the date I plug it in with a permanent marker so I know when to replace them.  This is just a general suggestion, so always follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

I am not promoting this particular store, but here is a link (http://tinyurl.com/2bqk2ec) to a decent brand name detector that costs less than $30 and sometimes goes on sale for as low as $20.

Take the time to pick up a couple new ones to replace your outdated ones or install them if you don't have any - it's nice peace of mind to start off the New Year.

Happy New Year everyone...