Everyone Breathes the Same Air. Not Everyone Faces the Same Carbon Monoxide Risk.

Most of what we learn about carbon monoxide is about emergencies or tragedies. The alarm sounds, everyone gets outside, someone calls 911. That is the right response, but it is only part of the picture. A cracked furnace or a vehicle left running in an attached garage can put CO – which is invisible, tasteless, and odorless – into a home at levels that never set off a standard alarm. Everyone in the house is breathing the same air. Not everyone is affected the same way.

The problem is not shrinking. CO poisoning deaths in the United States rose 85.7% between 2012 and 2022.¹

Those numbers are part of why Kidde built low-level alerts into our newest line of CO alarms. The other part is the difference between the people inside a given living space.

What to know about low-level CO

1. Children, older adults, pregnant women, people with pre-existing conditions, and pets are more vulnerable to low levels of CO and may be affected faster than a healthy adult.

2. Standard CO alarms are not designed to alert at low levels. They warn you before CO reaches a concentration that would keep a healthy adult from reacting.

3. Low-level CO detection alerts are designed to prompt early awareness and action, allowing you to address an issue before it becomes a full alarm.

4. Headaches, nausea, or fatigue that ease when you leave the house are worth investigating, even if your CO alarm has never sounded.

5. Pets often show symptoms of CO poisoning first. This can manifest as vomiting, uncoordinated movement, sleepiness, labored breathing, cherry red gums, or unusual behavior changes.

What most residential CO alarms are built to do

Every listed residential CO alarm sold in the U.S. follows a safety standard called UL 2034. It sets how fast an alarm must respond at a given CO concentration in parts per million (PPM), and it sets a floor: an alarm is not permitted to sound below 30 ppm, and at 70 ppm it can take up to four hours.²

That is on purpose. An alarm reacting to everyday background CO from cooking or traffic outside could go off too frequently, and alarms that go off constantly get unplugged. The standard exists to help prevent this.

But helping protect a healthy adult from being incapacitated is a narrower promise than most homeowners hear. It is not the same as keeping everyone under the same roof safe.

Who feels CO poisoning first

Carbon monoxide crowds out oxygen in the bloodstream. Anyone with less room to spare, because of body size, breathing rate, or a heart or lung condition, feels its impact sooner.

• Children. Small bodies, faster breathing. The CDC lists infants and young children among the groups with greater susceptibility to CO.³

• Older adults and anyone with a pre-existing condition. People with coronary artery disease are considered the most susceptible group of all, with chest pain during exertion beginning at levels a healthy person would not notice.⁴

• Pregnant women. CO reaches the fetus, builds to higher levels than in the mother, and clears more slowly.⁵

• Pets. Pets have smaller bodies and faster metabolisms, and no way to tell you they have a headache. A dog or cat that suddenly turns lethargic or sick deserves attention.

What you can do about it

• Service your gas appliances every year. Furnace, water heater, range, fireplace, generator.

• Cover the basics first. An alarm on every level and outside every sleeping area. Nothing replaces it, and it is still where most households fall short: 36% of U.S. adults have no way to detect a CO leak at home.⁶

• Add low-level detection where it matters most. Select models in Kidde's new CO alarm line include low-level alerts, so you can act while CO is still at a low level instead of waiting for it to climb. The nursery, a parent's room, and wherever the dog sleeps are good places to start.

• On-The-Go detection. Hotels, rentals, and cabins vary widely in what safety they provide. Take a battery-powered CO alarm in your suitcase for added peace of mind*.  

  *Not approved for RV or boat use. Pack carefully to help avoid damage to the device. Remove batteries prior to travel and reinsert upon arrival. For use in conditioned spaces only. Test device before use to ensure proper operation.

Match the detection to the people

Ask most homeowners about CO safety and the conversation stops at yes or no: do you have an alarm? Whether that alarm suits the people living there rarely comes up. A house of healthy adults and a house with a newborn, an 88-year-old, or a golden retriever are not carrying the same risk from the same air.

Kidde has been helping keep families safe for more than 100 years. To learn more about low-level CO detection, visit Kidde.com.

Sources

¹ USAFacts, carbon monoxide poisoning deaths, 2012 to 2022. https://usafacts.org

² U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Carbon Monoxide Alarm Conformance Testing to UL 2034. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/COAlarmConformanceReportPhaseI.pdf

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Household Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224264

⁴ National Research Council, Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Carbon Monoxide. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220007/

⁵ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Toxicological Profile for Carbon Monoxide. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp201.pdf

⁶ UL Standards & Engagement. https://ulse.org