How much do you really know about your furnace & carbon monoxide?

As the colder weather approaches the Charlotte area, we are noticing that more and more people have misconceptions about the dangers associated with carbon monoxide (CO) in the home.  At Five Star Heating & Cooling, this concerns us greatly.  Our owners want to make sure that not even one death or injury occurs in our area due to faulty heating systems.

Carbon monoxide is known as a “Silent Killer”.  Its symptoms resemble those of the common flu virus, and the gas is colorless and odorless making most people unaware of its presence in their home.  Carbon monoxide blocks oxygen to cells in the body resulting in flu-like symptoms which can include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and even death.

Some of the most common causes of carbon monoxide poisoning are located in the home.  Appliances using gas, oil or coal are the leading culprits.  Gas furnaces have heat exchangers which can develop cracks over time.  These cracks let out carbon monoxide.  Sometimes home carbon monoxide detectors cannot even catch a slow CO leak in time.

The only way to prevent carbon monoxide from leaking into your home is by getting your heating system checked and serviced every year.  At Five Star Heating & Cooling, our Service Technicians have a special cameras called C-snakes that push through the winding pipes of a heat exchanger to thoroughly check each bend for cracks that may not otherwise be visible.  Before you schedule an appointment with any other heating and air conditioning company, you should ask if their technicians will use a camera to inspect your heat exchanger.  Every Five Star Technician has one of these cameras on their van and uses them as part of our Fall Precision Tune Up. 

Don’t wait...Later may be too late!  Call Five Star Heating & Cooling today to schedule your Precision Heating Tune Up!

Here are some links for more information: 

http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/Mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5402a2.htm