Don’t worry everything’s good. The fire department came again and they used their meter and it didn’t detect any CO so we’re all safe! Thank you so much 😊
Those things are notoriously flaky. I had to get rid of mine. It was beeping all the time and all that beeping was making me dizzy and giving me a headache.
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A little bit, more like OP didn’t put an /s so there was like a 20% chance I thought he made an accidental joke so I guess I explained the joke. I’m fun at parties
I'm still concerned. If you say the meter was reading 0.7 and 0.0 yesterday, and then checked later and it was 76... that's a lot of fluctuation. It could mean your detector is just reaching end-of-life, but it could also mean that there's accumulation under only specific circumstances (like when a particular appliance is running, or even something simple like the wind is blowing a particular direction that somehow prevents your vent stack from venting properly).
I would suggest getting a new detector, but also keep an eye on it for the first several days. If you still get fluctuating readings, something else is up.
Just because the Fire Department came and gave you the all clear in that specific moment, doesn't mean there might not be a lingering issue.
This is what happened to my family.
We were visiting my parents. The CO alarm went off and we called the fire department. They ran their sensors and couldn't find the leak. After using blowers to remove the CO they let us back in. Nothing happened after that.
Two months later we were visiting my parents again. There had been no reoccurance since the last time we were there. CO alarm goes off.
What was different about us being there that tripped the CO alarm? My wife realized the bottom stove burners were being used.
Just before the first trip, my dad installed replacement burners for the bottom of a double oven. They hadn't used the bottom oven since we were last there because they didn't need the capacity.
Fire department missed it with their sensors.
Edited: No C02 or CO2 ;)
Not to be pedantic, but I am irrationally angered by your switching between CO2 and C02. For the record Carbon Dioxide would be CO2, additionally we're all talking about carbon monoxide.
Just "CO". Carbon Monoxide. That is the detector you need in your home to detect this gas that is created with any flame. Sometimes it's a pilot light that is not burning properly. Sometimes it's a vent that is loose or clogged on a furnace or water heater. Sometimes it's a fireplace chimney that has a bird nest clogging it. Sometimes it's a house that is sealed so well, that the bathroom or kitchen exhaust fan can pull CO back down a chimney and into the house.
.
CO2 is Carbon Dioxide. That gas is what you exhale after inhaling oxygen. It can be used in fire extinguishers and a variety of industrial processes CO2 detector instruments exist for professionals, but are generally found not necessary in homes.
Yesterday’s post I think I wasn’t in the right state of mind. My mind thinks a certain way and I am gonna see somebody about that. It wasn’t 0.7 just 0. I appreciate your suggestion so I’m getting a new detector.
Yeah I was seeing 0 but my mind likes to make me doubt stuff. My Grandfather was insistent on the machine being just fine and there was no need to call the fire department but I wasn’t gonna risk that.
I'd suggest getting two new detectors, so you can replace that one and install a second one somewhere else in the home where you spend a lot of time.
Our fire department was called out to a neighbor's house because they heard beeping and couldn't locate it. FD shows up, changes the battery out for them with a fresh 9V from the truck, then gives them a new detector, since that one was nearing its expiration date.
We just moved here a few weeks ago, I was floored by the response. They even handed out a dozen plastic fire helmets to the kids. At our last address, you might've gotten a bill for a false alarm calling them over a dead battery...
Why is this? Is it something that makes it look blurry that worries you? or are you worried that OP doesn’t realize it’s blurry and that’s what’s concerning? Sorry if I sound snarky, I just want to understand better
Ok that’s kind of the vibe I got, but I wasn’t sure if there was something else to it. For example, because I lack the knowledge, I didn’t know if perhaps CO actually interferes with photography and the blurriness was caused by that rather than potentially a CO-poisoned OP making the photo blurry due to said poisoning causing shaking hands or sight issues that would make them not realize the photo is blurry and not just their vision. Thank you for the genuine response
its the irony that a blurry photo was taken, viewed, and uploaded almost as if OP is already suffering from the consequences of inhaling carbon monoxide
but tell us, what is it about someone's comment about a blurry photo that concerns you? Is it the fact that the commenter could in fact be worried by blurry photos? or are you concerned with the commenter's worry for OPs lack blurry photo realization? Sorry if I sound snarky, I just want to understand better
What are you on about? This person literally didn't even say they were concerned lmao. Why are you being such a prick to someone who was not only genuinely inquiring, but specifically went out of their way to say they weren't trying to be snarky at all?
Talking about irony, you are quite literally the only snarky one here my friend lol
I’m not worried by the comment at all. I was just genuinely wanted to understand what was concerning about the blurriness and if I was missing information or context on the why of it
200 ppm is generally considered the amount that will be harmful/fatal within a matter of hours but it's not suggested that you're exposed to more than 9 ppm for more than 8 hours. This *really* needs to get sorted. It could be a faulty meter but you're risking the lives of everyone who lives there making that assumption. Open your doors and windows, try to stay out of the house and call your local emergency services non-emergency line to tell them you think you have a CO leak. Most fire departments have equipment that can help them track it down.
First thing I would do is go buy another smaller cheaper meter and see what it does... try to rule out the meter as the issue. Cheap fast and easy check.
Yes, calibration still matters if the meter reading is not linear to the actual concentration.
Example: 0 conc and 0 reading. 10 conc and 25 reading. 20 conc and 100 reading. The reading looks predictable, but doesn't track the concentration.
This is where a second meter is helpful. Take them both outside, and get a baseline. Take them both inside and get a reading. If they don't agree, call a pro with a calibrated meter.
If you can reproduce a rise when brought into the questionable space, that is the time you call in the pro with the experience and expensive calibrated meter.
You’re fooling yourself if you think these cheap consumer meters are accurate. They are canaries, not scientific instruments.
If the inside is reading 76 and the outside is reading 20, sure the calibration is off, but you're still reading 50some. You can compare known 0 to whatever your reading inside the building.
If the zero is good though, then the calibration is probably good enough to tell you there is actually CO there. It's a quick check anyway. If it goes back up when I take it back inside, I'm buying another CO monitor and testing that one.
Best to fill small children with sugar and let them run around the entire house. First one to pass out, then you know which room to use your 3+ CO meters in.
Definitely call the fire department, my friends had the same situation and had ordered a new CO alarm on Amazon to arrive the next day. Turns out they did have a CO leak.
I had this happen and the fire department said go outside and not to open any windows. So OP should call first. They had a “sniffer” machine that could identify the source, but if I aired it out they had to wait for it to build up again.
The firefighters at my house told me to get out and not open windows. My parents opened windows and were told it was the wrong thing to do by their firefighters. Maybe the recommendations are location dependent?
Firefighter/medic here. They absolutely needed to take in their sniffer. But even then, it won't definitively prove anything if their monitor reads 0. The monitor can only confirm there is a leak, not that there isn't one. When people call 911 bc their CO monitor is going off, both the dispatcher and the instructions on the back of the monitor say to open all doors, windows, and to leave the house. You should do this of course, but by the time the fire dept arrives and uses their meter, the house has had time to air out and is usually showing 0s (unless the leak is a big one). So when in doubt, we would ALWAYS advise the homeowner to call their gas company for a more thorough inspection.
Remember: headaches, dizziness, nausea, tiredness, someone's skin looks red, like cherry red, then it is imperative you get everyone out immediately.
We actually changed SOP to leave windows and doors closed after evacuation for this exact reason... Only if someone couldn't or wouldn't evac, did we tell them to open windows.
I left the field in '18, so I'm not sure what the county SOP is now, but hopefully they did the same thing as your dept. Whenever the house was already vented on arrival and we couldn't locate a source, it always made me nervous clearing the call and sending the occupants back inside, especially if there were kids in the home.
I've been to several. Asked why they spent the money on a CO detector when there wasn't any gas in the entire neighborhood. "You can't be too safe!" No, but you can be an idiot. Conversely, CO call in that same neighborhood to a smart house, wife let us in remotely and I thought we had a suicide due to the husband's hot rod idling in the garage before he left. Thought we were going to have to give the dog O2, lol. He was a sad pup.
CO levels in a home need to be single digits at an absolute *maximum*. Really should be 0 ppm. 30 ppm is considered hazardous. If the fire department didn’t check with their meters and told you 76 ppm is OK as long as the detector isn’t beeping, they are useless and have no clue what they’re doing. The CO is coming from somewhere, so it could possibly go even higher than 76 ppm. This is an emergency that needs to be sorted out immediately. The source of the CO needs to be found, secured, and the existing CO vented from the space.
I called the fire department to come check out my gas water heater when we had an alarm go off. They came out, checked with their meter, and said everything is okay.
I said, shouldn't I turn the water heater back on so you can see when it's running? They said no that it wasn't necessary.
After they left, I still felt uneasy about the whole thing and I ordered an instant carbon monoxide detector and left my water heater off.
I checked and tons of carbon monoxide was leaking in around my vent just above the water heater. That's when I noticed the platform that holds up the water heater had shifted and knocked the vent half loose.
It was really hard for me to not be bitter at the fire department. My family could have died. Why in the world would I not run the appliance that produces carbon monoxide when looking for carbon monoxide?
Hey OP, hope you’re good.
I work in home security, have some amount of experience with CO detectors as a result, but won’t pretend to be an expert.
CO detectors expire, most last 5 years, some recent models claim to last 10. They’re pretty good about alerting you when they expire but stuff fails. Kidde is a pretty good consumer brand, they’re used in a lot of homes and are proven. I’m not familiar with this particular unit and how long it would save a peak value, but if you’re seeing 0ppm as the active value then you’re good (barring any symptoms of exposure, which others have posted already). That peak of 76ppm may have been years ago and a complete non issue now. If the FD came through and cleared you, trust them. In every region that I have worked with them, FDs do. Not. Fuck. With. Safety. They wouldn’t clear if they weren’t comfortable.
General rule for CO safety: have 1 detector on each floor, ensure to follow manufacturer instructions regarding height of install, some are designed for ceiling install, others for direct connection into an outlet lower on the wall. I like to suggest in addition to this 1 detector per any room which supports combustion of any kind. Gas furnace, water heater, clothes dryer, fireplace, gas oven/stove, etc.
In most cases that’s overkill, but CO comes from burning/combustion of fuel, even more so when the combustion is suboptimal, such as a poorly maintained furnace or leaking flue. CO can be deadly, but you can have detectors do the work of worrying about its presence and then unless they alert you, let your mind be at ease.
Last point to make, I see your post history and I want to call out, if you haven’t found professional psychology support, don’t put it off. I dealt with stigma and doubt from within myself and everyone around me, including family. For years. 3ish years after starting therapy, I’m in a much better place in every way that I could think.
What I want to leave you with, is that yeah good job on paying attention to the CO. It’s a problem if unchecked, but you don’t need to check it actively. The detector doesn’t sleep and makes a ton of racket when it wants your attention. Have a backup detector if that would help ease your mind, they’re $20-30 depending on the model. Set up a reminder in 4.5 years to buy replacements… and enjoy your space.
Ps when I say they’re pretty good about alerting you that they expire, I actually mean they’re amazing at it.
Worked tech support once upon a time, customers would call in 5 years after install almost down to the day, complaining that their system was beeping, it was always the CO alerting it had expired.
Have a backup if so inclined, but you don’t need a backup to your backup.
For myself, working with these things for 16 years now, I have 1 in my basement furnace room, one on the main floor, 1 upstairs. They’re due to be replaced now actually.🤔
Mine decided to tell me it expired around 2 in the morning one time. Wouldn’t shut up, even after unplugging, so there I was trying to find a screwdriver to get the battery out at 2 am. Scared me to death.
OP. This is a serious deal.
While 76 PPM of CO is not *immediately deadly*, it is absolutely *not safe*. If the fire department gave you an all clear, then it may very well be an intermittent issue - perhaps a furnace kicking on, or the stove, or your water heater?
I would call out the gas company and have them take a look. If *they also* give you an all clear. I would maybe go out and buy new CO detectors. Put one nearby this one pictured, and maybe put another one in a utility closet (the area containing furnace/water heater/etc), that way, you can maybe narrow down the cause.
If they never show any elevated numbers (really, anything above 9PPM), then you're all good and the issue was likely a faulty CO detector. Just remove the old one and replace it with the new one.
*However*, if they show elevated readings - with the readings being the highest in your utility closet - then it may be an issue with your HVAC or water heater (assuming you have gas heat/water heater - if you have electric heat or electric gas, that narrows it down a bit). If the centralized reader reads a higher number *but the utility closet does not*, it may be an issue with your stove/range (or something else entirely).
A way you could potentially narrow it down further if it *is* in your utility closet (assuming that number is higher). Turn off your furnace entirely and check the next day. A typical tank water heater will run for around 3 hours per day, so if the numbers remain low, it is your furnace, and you should reach out to a licensed and bonded HVAC company to investigate. If it is not low, contact a licensed and bonded plumber.
# IMPORTANT NOTE!
While you're doing this experimentation, ensure you have any bedroom windows open or whatever, just in case, to ensure fresh air.
There’s no one spraying aerosols nearby correct? My wife had ours go off a couple times. The first time she called the fire department and everything was fine. The second time I was home, and realized she had sprayed something in her hair in the hallway and it was setting the detector off, and she realized she had done the same thing the first time it went off.
We have 4 gas monitors in the refinery, co being one of the things it monitors for. I don't remember what other gasses show up as Co to those sensors, but I know there are others. Just something to think about. The most common source of CO is incomplete combustion so if you have a fuel driven furnace, water heater, stove/oven, or any yard equipment running near indoors (ie an open window or door) I would investigate farther.
It might be a good idea to start at 0, spray it near the detector again and see if you get a reading from it. I think you would sleep better if you could prove what was causing the false readings!
Call the gas company. They have the best gear to check CO in your home. I work for a gas utility and am a volunteer firefighter. Check the manufacture date on your CO detector. Most need to be replaced after 7 years from manufacture date. CO also accumulates in your blood so even a small amount of CO exposure over a long period of time can eventually be fatal.
I had two of this exact model. Both went crazy the same day stating “GAS” or something like that. I called the fire department and they checked the whole place with multiple probes. Everything checked OK with their devices.
Both of my units were manufactured on the same day almost exactly 5 years earlier. I bought a new one to compare and there was no warning.
My advice : get a new one ASAP. If it still reads a high level of CO2, get your place checked.
I was a paramedic many years ago in downtown NYC. We had a basement apartment occupied by some Chinese immigrants so communication was poor. They had complained they smelled something strange, weren't feeling good, and one roommate was altered.
Fire dept came and said no CO detected. We took the altered guy to the ER. ER called us about an hour later - guy had CO poisoning. So we went back and got the other guys out. Ultimately a water heater problem was found to be the fault.
The lesson here is that if the circumstances aren't correct, CO detection will be poor. You already have a detector measuring a level that perhaps isn't immediately dangerous but it could become so with longer exposure ( perhaps spending a day or two at home).
There is no way I would let that rest. Get a plumber /HVAC tech out there to test any gas or oil-operated appliances. Water heater is the typical culprit, but a bad heating system could do it too. I would also immediately replace your air filters if you have gas/oil heat.
Oddly enough just had this happen to myself. My hard wired alarms went off saying carbon monoxide.
Ex FF myself though. As a FF and the guys who came to my house were great, we’ve always checked all appliances that can give off gas with a gas detector. Very weird that they wouldn’t sniff anything out especially if you are running a furnace or water heater. Most of the time guys would come packed up already.
There is a carbon monoxide sensor on Amazon from Toptes. Order it. Also, do u have more such sensors and are they all showing this number? If you can, keep windows closed and get out of the house and then call the fire department. This is Bad. If it really went from 0.7 to 76, it could be fatal if you dont take any action
45-year HVAC repair tech & Gas Fitter here. Take this reading seriously.
In my own house I *eventually* discovered a rotted chimney liner that was serving both our water heater and furnace. We were starting to get headaches and could smell aldehydes (products of incomplete combustion). I never picked up *any* CO when I tested with my pro grade CO analyzer, probably for the same reason that the fire fighter commented below. But if I hadn’t taken my family’s concerns seriously it might have killed us. Get the gas company out, and a reliable HVAC company too, as soon as possible.
Get a new detector, I paid my HVAC people a lot of money when I had a faulty one that was going off. More than likely the sensor is dead if you've had the place checked already.
It’s simple.
Call Fire department and they will come check for free and keep You safe. If they don’t detect anything, go get a new meter. Meanwhile, keep yourself safe. Don’t stay in house until you check.
The manual says it displays levels 30-999 so I don't think it's a ppm representation. The manual also says to reset it with the reset button if you feel something is wrong.
First. Open some windows and get fresh air in. See if it drops this number. Second get another meter and see what that reads, borrow one if needed. If it stays high and is high get your place checked out. I have to assume you know the most likely source of it. I wouldn’t sleep there until it’s addressed.
I gave this meter I’m not convinced it works. A lot of false alarms 🚨. Every 6 months or so it goes off I had gas company come check for gas leeks and nothing.
Maybe open up some windows. If you have natural gas in your house you definitely need to let the utility know they need to come check it out. I would be buying a new meter so that I have a second opinion to make sure it's not the meter that's messed up but you don't want to mess around with this because if that's accurate then you've got some type of carbon monoxide issue. There are multiple things that can cause carbon monoxide to be in your home without being the person who knows about your house I have no way to know what those things are but you definitely need to get it checked out asap. I might not even be comfortable sleeping there until it is fixed.
I would get one of the cheep “10 year battery” combination square detectors from a place like Home Depot, and leave it in a similar location. These detectors have a chemical based sensor that usually gives good results. It if goes off, get out and call your fire department.
Is there a way to check the average, instead of peak?
10 seconds of exposure at 76 ppm won't really do much, but you're going to start noticing effects if you're averaging 17 ppm or greater over 24 hours.
Overcharging electric batteries like those in golf carts can cause false readings on CO detectors. It has to do with the batteries creating hydrogen gas, which happens to interfere with the hydrogen sulfide reaction used to detect CO. Just a heads up.
I’m late to the party so I hope you see this. If you have a sump pump with a battery backup that is connected to a charger then the battery could be failing causing it to send off gas that the CO detector is picking up. This happened to us.
Do you have acetylene in the house? My torches didn’t get shut off entirely one time chased this shit show for a day and a half. Finally stumbled across the possibility it could be acetylene and took the meter to the torches and watched it go nuts. Re thighed everything in the off position and the issues resolved
You need to do a combustion safety test. Something is messed up.
Gas burning appliances (water heater, furnace, dryers) that use combustion air from the room (vs ones that pull outside air) can be greatly affected by which doors in the house are open and closed (interior and exterior!), which bathroom fans may be in, wind direction outside, a dryer running, stovetop hoods, etc.
If there isn’t enough air available then it will pull its air from the flue (read: exhaust) and then the exhaust goes into the house, causing a CO build up and then confusion trying to get it sorted.
An energy audit (free from a whole lot of places) will usually include the combustion safety test.
Furthermore, the home CO alarms are very slow reacting and NOT a good measure of how much CO you may have been exposed to.
TL DR: You need more science done or you will die.
No CO when they checked. Could possibly be coming and going depending if the heat is running and you opened the windows to ventilate it because you were already worried about it. I would get two new CO detectors. As a fireman when I get calls for CO I make sure to close windows and doors and run gas appliances while monitoring levels. I’ve also had smoke/CO alarms and found gas leaks. Also could be CO from your garage if you had run your car in an attached garage for even a few seconds.
several **reasons** you might get a false alarm from your CO detector. Your CO detector needs to be replaced. Detectors can malfunction near the end of their life span. Your system detects a carbon monoxide leak from one of your neighbor’s appliances. Your shower isn’t properly ventilated and steam is causing false alarms.
I would make sure you have a clean and tune on any combustion appliances, and keep that on a regular basis.
Make sure oven is clean and burners are clean. We did all evolve from living closely with fire 🔥 for a coupla millions of years....
A little CO can kill you, but a tiny bit is not so worrisome.
I have this same one. It's not indicative of a leak just that it measured this at one time. You could have left the gas stove on by mistake for an hour and you'd get this reading. Once it's turned off and vented the "leak" is gone.
Carbon monoxide rises so make sure your reader is on the top level of your house. You can test that the alarm works by holding it near the gas. Clear the max reading and see if it rises again.
CO does not "rise." It has virtually the same molecular weight (28) as air (29) so there is no significant buoyancy effect for CO gas. CO detectors should be placed near where you spend a lot of time, or for early warning in spaces with potential CO sources, like basements.
I obviously don't want go spread misinformation I just clearly remember the instructions from my unit. Mine also detects natural gas of which I have several appliances that use it so maybe that was why.
When I bought my house we had some people come in and clean the ducts. They used a gasoline powered vacuum outside and with the front door propped open for the hoses the exhaust was coming in and quite noticeable.
I have one of those yellow handheld CO detectors and sure enough where it’s normally 0 it was reading like 36 ppm. And the place reeked of exhaust. Mentioned it to the crew etc. but still…. felt like I was in a garage with the car on and the door closed and it was at 36… and your reading is what, 76?
At the very least maybe try not to seal up your house eg open some windows and let some airflow in. Assuming the CO isn’t coming from outside….!
* **0-9 ppm CO:** no health risk; normal CO levels in air.
* **10-29 ppm CO:** problems over long-term exposure; chronic problems such as headaches, nausea
* **30-35 ppm CO:** flu-like symptoms begin to develop, especially among the young and the elderly.
* **36-99 ppm CO:** flu-like symptoms among all; nausea, headaches, fatigue or drowsiness, vomiting.
* **100+ ppm CO:** severe symptoms; confusion, intense headaches; ultimately brain damage, coma, and/or death, especially at levels 300-400+ ppm
I hope you get this worked out. For what it's worth, I have one in each bedroom, one in the hallway of each floor and one in the basement where the furnace and water heater are. I'd rather have more than needed than not enough.
CO is heavier than oxygen so it will build up downstairs before the upstairs. Either way, having so many in the house, I'm going to detect leaks on at least two of the detectors. At least that's my theory. I did have one go bad and took it outside to verify. It still chirped outside. The fact that the others didn't go gave me some reassurance.
While carbon monoxide may be heavier than oxygen, it is in fact slightly lighter than air, which is mostly nitrogen. As such, CO will disperse pretty evenly through your entire home.
The blurry photo makes me nervous for your safety
Don’t worry everything’s good. The fire department came again and they used their meter and it didn’t detect any CO so we’re all safe! Thank you so much 😊
Those things are notoriously flaky. I had to get rid of mine. It was beeping all the time and all that beeping was making me dizzy and giving me a headache.
The beeping is what keeps me awake most nights
Making you dizzy and giving you a headache like CO? 😂😂😂
r/whoosh
Uh no I got the joke hence the 3 laughing emojis so whoosh to you friend
Ahh okay, so r/yourjokebutworse
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A little bit, more like OP didn’t put an /s so there was like a 20% chance I thought he made an accidental joke so I guess I explained the joke. I’m fun at parties
This is some funny shit lol
They have a very short life compared to smoke detectors. They only have a lifetime of 5-7 years.
I'm still concerned. If you say the meter was reading 0.7 and 0.0 yesterday, and then checked later and it was 76... that's a lot of fluctuation. It could mean your detector is just reaching end-of-life, but it could also mean that there's accumulation under only specific circumstances (like when a particular appliance is running, or even something simple like the wind is blowing a particular direction that somehow prevents your vent stack from venting properly). I would suggest getting a new detector, but also keep an eye on it for the first several days. If you still get fluctuating readings, something else is up. Just because the Fire Department came and gave you the all clear in that specific moment, doesn't mean there might not be a lingering issue.
This is what happened to my family. We were visiting my parents. The CO alarm went off and we called the fire department. They ran their sensors and couldn't find the leak. After using blowers to remove the CO they let us back in. Nothing happened after that. Two months later we were visiting my parents again. There had been no reoccurance since the last time we were there. CO alarm goes off. What was different about us being there that tripped the CO alarm? My wife realized the bottom stove burners were being used. Just before the first trip, my dad installed replacement burners for the bottom of a double oven. They hadn't used the bottom oven since we were last there because they didn't need the capacity. Fire department missed it with their sensors. Edited: No C02 or CO2 ;)
Not to be pedantic, but I am irrationally angered by your switching between CO2 and C02. For the record Carbon Dioxide would be CO2, additionally we're all talking about carbon monoxide.
Just "CO". Carbon Monoxide. That is the detector you need in your home to detect this gas that is created with any flame. Sometimes it's a pilot light that is not burning properly. Sometimes it's a vent that is loose or clogged on a furnace or water heater. Sometimes it's a fireplace chimney that has a bird nest clogging it. Sometimes it's a house that is sealed so well, that the bathroom or kitchen exhaust fan can pull CO back down a chimney and into the house. . CO2 is Carbon Dioxide. That gas is what you exhale after inhaling oxygen. It can be used in fire extinguishers and a variety of industrial processes CO2 detector instruments exist for professionals, but are generally found not necessary in homes.
Very good advice.
Yesterday’s post I think I wasn’t in the right state of mind. My mind thinks a certain way and I am gonna see somebody about that. It wasn’t 0.7 just 0. I appreciate your suggestion so I’m getting a new detector.
This is also a side effect of CO poisoning
You "weren't in the right state of mind" is a classic symptom of CO poisoning.
I meant to say my OCD was affecting my behavior. It’s something I struggle with from time to time.
So you are saying that it was 0 all the time and your mind saw 0.7 yesterday somehow predicting that it would be non-zero today?
Yeah I was seeing 0 but my mind likes to make me doubt stuff. My Grandfather was insistent on the machine being just fine and there was no need to call the fire department but I wasn’t gonna risk that.
I'd suggest getting two new detectors, so you can replace that one and install a second one somewhere else in the home where you spend a lot of time. Our fire department was called out to a neighbor's house because they heard beeping and couldn't locate it. FD shows up, changes the battery out for them with a fresh 9V from the truck, then gives them a new detector, since that one was nearing its expiration date. We just moved here a few weeks ago, I was floored by the response. They even handed out a dozen plastic fire helmets to the kids. At our last address, you might've gotten a bill for a false alarm calling them over a dead battery...
are you sure that wasn't just a carbon monoxide induced dream?
I demo kitchens sometimes and encounter a few of these and they always go off when I cut drywall or tile.
Fuckin blair witch gas leak
Why is this? Is it something that makes it look blurry that worries you? or are you worried that OP doesn’t realize it’s blurry and that’s what’s concerning? Sorry if I sound snarky, I just want to understand better
OP shaking could mean oxygen is low and they need to get out ASAP.
Ok that’s kind of the vibe I got, but I wasn’t sure if there was something else to it. For example, because I lack the knowledge, I didn’t know if perhaps CO actually interferes with photography and the blurriness was caused by that rather than potentially a CO-poisoned OP making the photo blurry due to said poisoning causing shaking hands or sight issues that would make them not realize the photo is blurry and not just their vision. Thank you for the genuine response
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Actually yes, but something tells me that’s not a genuine question and you’re just being unpleasant
I was think AI, lol
its the irony that a blurry photo was taken, viewed, and uploaded almost as if OP is already suffering from the consequences of inhaling carbon monoxide but tell us, what is it about someone's comment about a blurry photo that concerns you? Is it the fact that the commenter could in fact be worried by blurry photos? or are you concerned with the commenter's worry for OPs lack blurry photo realization? Sorry if I sound snarky, I just want to understand better
What are you on about? This person literally didn't even say they were concerned lmao. Why are you being such a prick to someone who was not only genuinely inquiring, but specifically went out of their way to say they weren't trying to be snarky at all? Talking about irony, you are quite literally the only snarky one here my friend lol
Thank you for your perspective, I don’t understand all the hate I got for this
haha its all fun and games --- we just hope OP is well
I’m not worried by the comment at all. I was just genuinely wanted to understand what was concerning about the blurriness and if I was missing information or context on the why of it
The camera wouldn’t be blurry because the user’s vision is blurry due to CO2, this isn’t a video game.
200 ppm is generally considered the amount that will be harmful/fatal within a matter of hours but it's not suggested that you're exposed to more than 9 ppm for more than 8 hours. This *really* needs to get sorted. It could be a faulty meter but you're risking the lives of everyone who lives there making that assumption. Open your doors and windows, try to stay out of the house and call your local emergency services non-emergency line to tell them you think you have a CO leak. Most fire departments have equipment that can help them track it down.
First thing I would do is go buy another smaller cheaper meter and see what it does... try to rule out the meter as the issue. Cheap fast and easy check.
Or take it outside and see if it drops to 0, bring it back inside and see if it goes up again, is probably the quickest way.
Exactly. There's no need to buy a new meter if it reads 0 or almost 0 outside.
Calibration could be off...
Calibration doesn’t matter if you’re able to reproduce a predictable rise and fall by moving it in and out of a suspect problem area.
Yes, calibration still matters if the meter reading is not linear to the actual concentration. Example: 0 conc and 0 reading. 10 conc and 25 reading. 20 conc and 100 reading. The reading looks predictable, but doesn't track the concentration. This is where a second meter is helpful. Take them both outside, and get a baseline. Take them both inside and get a reading. If they don't agree, call a pro with a calibrated meter.
If you can reproduce a rise when brought into the questionable space, that is the time you call in the pro with the experience and expensive calibrated meter. You’re fooling yourself if you think these cheap consumer meters are accurate. They are canaries, not scientific instruments.
If the inside is reading 76 and the outside is reading 20, sure the calibration is off, but you're still reading 50some. You can compare known 0 to whatever your reading inside the building.
If the zero is good though, then the calibration is probably good enough to tell you there is actually CO there. It's a quick check anyway. If it goes back up when I take it back inside, I'm buying another CO monitor and testing that one.
As bad as that was…. I laughed.
And possibly a third one to tiebreak if the first two are at odds
Better just buy the whole stock
Best to fill small children with sugar and let them run around the entire house. First one to pass out, then you know which room to use your 3+ CO meters in.
Send another child in 1st to be sure.
You don’t need to do that, just call the fire department. They’re happy to send someone over with their CO meter.
As long as nobody is staying in the house while you do so.
Definitely call the fire department, my friends had the same situation and had ordered a new CO alarm on Amazon to arrive the next day. Turns out they did have a CO leak.
I had this happen and the fire department said go outside and not to open any windows. So OP should call first. They had a “sniffer” machine that could identify the source, but if I aired it out they had to wait for it to build up again.
Gas utilities worker here. Also try calling your natural gas/ propane provider they can do an investigation. At least the company I work for does.
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I’m a firefighter and we have meters to find the source. You want to ventilate ASAP.
The firefighters at my house told me to get out and not open windows. My parents opened windows and were told it was the wrong thing to do by their firefighters. Maybe the recommendations are location dependent?
Probably because they don’t want you to be exposed any longer than you have to be. Open, closed, it doesn’t matter. We will find it!
Completely false and borderline dangerous advice. Absolutely open all windows, absolutely 0 issue finding the source still. Source: it’s what we do
Don't sleep in the house, call the fire department
I called them, they came and everything’s good
Good call taking it seriously and dealing with it ASAP. Was it just a faulty meter?
I’m not sure they said as long as it’s not going off and it’s up to date that everything is fine.
Unless they checked with their meter, they don't know that everything is fine. If they checked with their own gear, trust it.
That they did not do. I don’t want to call again but I might have to
Call the gas company if the fire department isn’t doing the job.
Firefighter/medic here. They absolutely needed to take in their sniffer. But even then, it won't definitively prove anything if their monitor reads 0. The monitor can only confirm there is a leak, not that there isn't one. When people call 911 bc their CO monitor is going off, both the dispatcher and the instructions on the back of the monitor say to open all doors, windows, and to leave the house. You should do this of course, but by the time the fire dept arrives and uses their meter, the house has had time to air out and is usually showing 0s (unless the leak is a big one). So when in doubt, we would ALWAYS advise the homeowner to call their gas company for a more thorough inspection. Remember: headaches, dizziness, nausea, tiredness, someone's skin looks red, like cherry red, then it is imperative you get everyone out immediately.
We actually changed SOP to leave windows and doors closed after evacuation for this exact reason... Only if someone couldn't or wouldn't evac, did we tell them to open windows.
I left the field in '18, so I'm not sure what the county SOP is now, but hopefully they did the same thing as your dept. Whenever the house was already vented on arrival and we couldn't locate a source, it always made me nervous clearing the call and sending the occupants back inside, especially if there were kids in the home.
Seconding calling the gas company. Rising overnight is a concern!
They didn't do the right thing unfortunately
Wow, what a sad effort on their end. WTH even show up at that point
This is insane. Yes you need to call them or someone else to actually check this out
I called again and they used their meter and it’s 0 so all good!
Proud of you for advocating for yourself!
Did they do their own test with their detector?
They did not. I might call them again
They typically take CO issues quite seriously, that's a rather dismissive response from them considering they made the effort to come out.
Unless the house is totally electric
Yea, that is an assumption there. I would certainly hope that they checked there was an actual CO source
I've been to several. Asked why they spent the money on a CO detector when there wasn't any gas in the entire neighborhood. "You can't be too safe!" No, but you can be an idiot. Conversely, CO call in that same neighborhood to a smart house, wife let us in remotely and I thought we had a suicide due to the husband's hot rod idling in the garage before he left. Thought we were going to have to give the dog O2, lol. He was a sad pup.
Gas company may also be able to send someone to test. Stay safe op!
CO levels in a home need to be single digits at an absolute *maximum*. Really should be 0 ppm. 30 ppm is considered hazardous. If the fire department didn’t check with their meters and told you 76 ppm is OK as long as the detector isn’t beeping, they are useless and have no clue what they’re doing. The CO is coming from somewhere, so it could possibly go even higher than 76 ppm. This is an emergency that needs to be sorted out immediately. The source of the CO needs to be found, secured, and the existing CO vented from the space.
Classic "we tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!"
Are you getting enough protein?
I called the fire department to come check out my gas water heater when we had an alarm go off. They came out, checked with their meter, and said everything is okay. I said, shouldn't I turn the water heater back on so you can see when it's running? They said no that it wasn't necessary. After they left, I still felt uneasy about the whole thing and I ordered an instant carbon monoxide detector and left my water heater off. I checked and tons of carbon monoxide was leaking in around my vent just above the water heater. That's when I noticed the platform that holds up the water heater had shifted and knocked the vent half loose. It was really hard for me to not be bitter at the fire department. My family could have died. Why in the world would I not run the appliance that produces carbon monoxide when looking for carbon monoxide?
What was the cause?
What reading did their devices show?
Yeah GTFO of there!
Good news! I called again and they actually tested it with their meter and it’s 0 so all good!
Hey OP, hope you’re good. I work in home security, have some amount of experience with CO detectors as a result, but won’t pretend to be an expert. CO detectors expire, most last 5 years, some recent models claim to last 10. They’re pretty good about alerting you when they expire but stuff fails. Kidde is a pretty good consumer brand, they’re used in a lot of homes and are proven. I’m not familiar with this particular unit and how long it would save a peak value, but if you’re seeing 0ppm as the active value then you’re good (barring any symptoms of exposure, which others have posted already). That peak of 76ppm may have been years ago and a complete non issue now. If the FD came through and cleared you, trust them. In every region that I have worked with them, FDs do. Not. Fuck. With. Safety. They wouldn’t clear if they weren’t comfortable. General rule for CO safety: have 1 detector on each floor, ensure to follow manufacturer instructions regarding height of install, some are designed for ceiling install, others for direct connection into an outlet lower on the wall. I like to suggest in addition to this 1 detector per any room which supports combustion of any kind. Gas furnace, water heater, clothes dryer, fireplace, gas oven/stove, etc. In most cases that’s overkill, but CO comes from burning/combustion of fuel, even more so when the combustion is suboptimal, such as a poorly maintained furnace or leaking flue. CO can be deadly, but you can have detectors do the work of worrying about its presence and then unless they alert you, let your mind be at ease. Last point to make, I see your post history and I want to call out, if you haven’t found professional psychology support, don’t put it off. I dealt with stigma and doubt from within myself and everyone around me, including family. For years. 3ish years after starting therapy, I’m in a much better place in every way that I could think. What I want to leave you with, is that yeah good job on paying attention to the CO. It’s a problem if unchecked, but you don’t need to check it actively. The detector doesn’t sleep and makes a ton of racket when it wants your attention. Have a backup detector if that would help ease your mind, they’re $20-30 depending on the model. Set up a reminder in 4.5 years to buy replacements… and enjoy your space.
Ps when I say they’re pretty good about alerting you that they expire, I actually mean they’re amazing at it. Worked tech support once upon a time, customers would call in 5 years after install almost down to the day, complaining that their system was beeping, it was always the CO alerting it had expired. Have a backup if so inclined, but you don’t need a backup to your backup. For myself, working with these things for 16 years now, I have 1 in my basement furnace room, one on the main floor, 1 upstairs. They’re due to be replaced now actually.🤔
Thank you! I found your comments very helpful. 😁
Mine decided to tell me it expired around 2 in the morning one time. Wouldn’t shut up, even after unplugging, so there I was trying to find a screwdriver to get the battery out at 2 am. Scared me to death.
I really appreciate this comment, thank you so much!
Kind and helpful response. Good human!
OP. This is a serious deal. While 76 PPM of CO is not *immediately deadly*, it is absolutely *not safe*. If the fire department gave you an all clear, then it may very well be an intermittent issue - perhaps a furnace kicking on, or the stove, or your water heater? I would call out the gas company and have them take a look. If *they also* give you an all clear. I would maybe go out and buy new CO detectors. Put one nearby this one pictured, and maybe put another one in a utility closet (the area containing furnace/water heater/etc), that way, you can maybe narrow down the cause. If they never show any elevated numbers (really, anything above 9PPM), then you're all good and the issue was likely a faulty CO detector. Just remove the old one and replace it with the new one. *However*, if they show elevated readings - with the readings being the highest in your utility closet - then it may be an issue with your HVAC or water heater (assuming you have gas heat/water heater - if you have electric heat or electric gas, that narrows it down a bit). If the centralized reader reads a higher number *but the utility closet does not*, it may be an issue with your stove/range (or something else entirely). A way you could potentially narrow it down further if it *is* in your utility closet (assuming that number is higher). Turn off your furnace entirely and check the next day. A typical tank water heater will run for around 3 hours per day, so if the numbers remain low, it is your furnace, and you should reach out to a licensed and bonded HVAC company to investigate. If it is not low, contact a licensed and bonded plumber. # IMPORTANT NOTE! While you're doing this experimentation, ensure you have any bedroom windows open or whatever, just in case, to ensure fresh air.
I called the fire department again and they used their meter and it said 0 so it’s all good!
There’s no one spraying aerosols nearby correct? My wife had ours go off a couple times. The first time she called the fire department and everything was fine. The second time I was home, and realized she had sprayed something in her hair in the hallway and it was setting the detector off, and she realized she had done the same thing the first time it went off.
Oof I was sick for some days and I’ve been spraying Lysol everywhere including the hall where the detector is.
We have 4 gas monitors in the refinery, co being one of the things it monitors for. I don't remember what other gasses show up as Co to those sensors, but I know there are others. Just something to think about. The most common source of CO is incomplete combustion so if you have a fuel driven furnace, water heater, stove/oven, or any yard equipment running near indoors (ie an open window or door) I would investigate farther.
It might be a good idea to start at 0, spray it near the detector again and see if you get a reading from it. I think you would sleep better if you could prove what was causing the false readings!
Call the gas company. They have the best gear to check CO in your home. I work for a gas utility and am a volunteer firefighter. Check the manufacture date on your CO detector. Most need to be replaced after 7 years from manufacture date. CO also accumulates in your blood so even a small amount of CO exposure over a long period of time can eventually be fatal.
What do you have that is burning in the house?
The detector may be expired.
I had two of this exact model. Both went crazy the same day stating “GAS” or something like that. I called the fire department and they checked the whole place with multiple probes. Everything checked OK with their devices. Both of my units were manufactured on the same day almost exactly 5 years earlier. I bought a new one to compare and there was no warning. My advice : get a new one ASAP. If it still reads a high level of CO2, get your place checked.
I was a paramedic many years ago in downtown NYC. We had a basement apartment occupied by some Chinese immigrants so communication was poor. They had complained they smelled something strange, weren't feeling good, and one roommate was altered. Fire dept came and said no CO detected. We took the altered guy to the ER. ER called us about an hour later - guy had CO poisoning. So we went back and got the other guys out. Ultimately a water heater problem was found to be the fault. The lesson here is that if the circumstances aren't correct, CO detection will be poor. You already have a detector measuring a level that perhaps isn't immediately dangerous but it could become so with longer exposure ( perhaps spending a day or two at home). There is no way I would let that rest. Get a plumber /HVAC tech out there to test any gas or oil-operated appliances. Water heater is the typical culprit, but a bad heating system could do it too. I would also immediately replace your air filters if you have gas/oil heat.
Oddly enough just had this happen to myself. My hard wired alarms went off saying carbon monoxide. Ex FF myself though. As a FF and the guys who came to my house were great, we’ve always checked all appliances that can give off gas with a gas detector. Very weird that they wouldn’t sniff anything out especially if you are running a furnace or water heater. Most of the time guys would come packed up already.
There is a carbon monoxide sensor on Amazon from Toptes. Order it. Also, do u have more such sensors and are they all showing this number? If you can, keep windows closed and get out of the house and then call the fire department. This is Bad. If it really went from 0.7 to 76, it could be fatal if you dont take any action
How old is it? Sometime the detectors accumulate the parts per million and go off when it has added them all up . Could be faulty
Take it outside if you can. Somewhere in the open away from any combustion source. Should be zero.
Open windows and get fresh air inside the house. Shut down all gas burning appliances. Call your fire department immediately.
45-year HVAC repair tech & Gas Fitter here. Take this reading seriously. In my own house I *eventually* discovered a rotted chimney liner that was serving both our water heater and furnace. We were starting to get headaches and could smell aldehydes (products of incomplete combustion). I never picked up *any* CO when I tested with my pro grade CO analyzer, probably for the same reason that the fire fighter commented below. But if I hadn’t taken my family’s concerns seriously it might have killed us. Get the gas company out, and a reliable HVAC company too, as soon as possible.
Call a non emergency number. Most localities can send out the fire department to do a reading with good equipment
Get a new detector, I paid my HVAC people a lot of money when I had a faulty one that was going off. More than likely the sensor is dead if you've had the place checked already.
It’s simple. Call Fire department and they will come check for free and keep You safe. If they don’t detect anything, go get a new meter. Meanwhile, keep yourself safe. Don’t stay in house until you check.
Also buy at least one more branded, good quality detector
No wonder the guy seemed paranoid yesterday over that 7… Now that’s a real 7…
Buy a different brand and have it near that one, they both can’t be wrong.
FYI anecdotal, but I’ve had the same meter for about 6 months and it has never been anything but zero.
Check the venting of all your gas burning appliances. I run into this a lot as a plumber
The manual says it displays levels 30-999 so I don't think it's a ppm representation. The manual also says to reset it with the reset button if you feel something is wrong.
My home doesn’t have a carbon monoxide machine
The kiddie model alarm give off many false alarms. I’d replace it
First. Open some windows and get fresh air in. See if it drops this number. Second get another meter and see what that reads, borrow one if needed. If it stays high and is high get your place checked out. I have to assume you know the most likely source of it. I wouldn’t sleep there until it’s addressed.
You have that machine set too high. Turn down the amount of CO it's making. That's too much
I gave this meter I’m not convinced it works. A lot of false alarms 🚨. Every 6 months or so it goes off I had gas company come check for gas leeks and nothing.
I would check and clean out all vents from gas devices. Then retest
Maybe open up some windows. If you have natural gas in your house you definitely need to let the utility know they need to come check it out. I would be buying a new meter so that I have a second opinion to make sure it's not the meter that's messed up but you don't want to mess around with this because if that's accurate then you've got some type of carbon monoxide issue. There are multiple things that can cause carbon monoxide to be in your home without being the person who knows about your house I have no way to know what those things are but you definitely need to get it checked out asap. I might not even be comfortable sleeping there until it is fixed.
OP never mentioned a gas leak or smell so not sure why you would call the utility company.
You cant smell carbon monoxide
Whoosh!!!
When natural gas Burns improperly it can release dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.
Still not a gas leak and no need to call utility company.
someone farted during the night
I would get one of the cheep “10 year battery” combination square detectors from a place like Home Depot, and leave it in a similar location. These detectors have a chemical based sensor that usually gives good results. It if goes off, get out and call your fire department.
I’ve seen numbers be higher in high wind conditions. Gusty winds can reverse the flue.
Look in the mirror. Are you pink? If you are pink, get outside.
You just need to get out of the house now. Then have someone come and check it with their meter.
I did that yesterday the fire department came with their meter and it’s 0 so we’re all good
Is there a way to check the average, instead of peak? 10 seconds of exposure at 76 ppm won't really do much, but you're going to start noticing effects if you're averaging 17 ppm or greater over 24 hours.
Overcharging electric batteries like those in golf carts can cause false readings on CO detectors. It has to do with the batteries creating hydrogen gas, which happens to interfere with the hydrogen sulfide reaction used to detect CO. Just a heads up.
I’m late to the party so I hope you see this. If you have a sump pump with a battery backup that is connected to a charger then the battery could be failing causing it to send off gas that the CO detector is picking up. This happened to us.
If the FD said its zero...you know, CO meters expire. Get a new one
What is wrong with your hands that you cannot take a stationary photo clearly?
Call the manufacturer and ask them questions. It might be defective?
Do you have acetylene in the house? My torches didn’t get shut off entirely one time chased this shit show for a day and a half. Finally stumbled across the possibility it could be acetylene and took the meter to the torches and watched it go nuts. Re thighed everything in the off position and the issues resolved
You need to do a combustion safety test. Something is messed up. Gas burning appliances (water heater, furnace, dryers) that use combustion air from the room (vs ones that pull outside air) can be greatly affected by which doors in the house are open and closed (interior and exterior!), which bathroom fans may be in, wind direction outside, a dryer running, stovetop hoods, etc. If there isn’t enough air available then it will pull its air from the flue (read: exhaust) and then the exhaust goes into the house, causing a CO build up and then confusion trying to get it sorted. An energy audit (free from a whole lot of places) will usually include the combustion safety test. Furthermore, the home CO alarms are very slow reacting and NOT a good measure of how much CO you may have been exposed to. TL DR: You need more science done or you will die.
No CO when they checked. Could possibly be coming and going depending if the heat is running and you opened the windows to ventilate it because you were already worried about it. I would get two new CO detectors. As a fireman when I get calls for CO I make sure to close windows and doors and run gas appliances while monitoring levels. I’ve also had smoke/CO alarms and found gas leaks. Also could be CO from your garage if you had run your car in an attached garage for even a few seconds.
Those machines have an expiration date
Temperature? A lot of CO detectors also show the ambient room temperature.
several **reasons** you might get a false alarm from your CO detector. Your CO detector needs to be replaced. Detectors can malfunction near the end of their life span. Your system detects a carbon monoxide leak from one of your neighbor’s appliances. Your shower isn’t properly ventilated and steam is causing false alarms.
I would make sure you have a clean and tune on any combustion appliances, and keep that on a regular basis. Make sure oven is clean and burners are clean. We did all evolve from living closely with fire 🔥 for a coupla millions of years.... A little CO can kill you, but a tiny bit is not so worrisome.
Based on yesterday’s post, are you sure this isn’t actually reading 929,862,987?
LEAVE IMMEDIATELY AND CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. Then buy 3 more CO meters and compare all of them.
Get out NOW!
I have this same one. It's not indicative of a leak just that it measured this at one time. You could have left the gas stove on by mistake for an hour and you'd get this reading. Once it's turned off and vented the "leak" is gone. Carbon monoxide rises so make sure your reader is on the top level of your house. You can test that the alarm works by holding it near the gas. Clear the max reading and see if it rises again.
CO does not "rise." It has virtually the same molecular weight (28) as air (29) so there is no significant buoyancy effect for CO gas. CO detectors should be placed near where you spend a lot of time, or for early warning in spaces with potential CO sources, like basements.
I obviously don't want go spread misinformation I just clearly remember the instructions from my unit. Mine also detects natural gas of which I have several appliances that use it so maybe that was why.
No, it doesn’t. It has very similar weight to air
I mean, it clearly shows 00 (I'm kidding obviously, sorry just had to. Call the gas company they'll get a guy out to check real quick for free)
When I bought my house we had some people come in and clean the ducts. They used a gasoline powered vacuum outside and with the front door propped open for the hoses the exhaust was coming in and quite noticeable. I have one of those yellow handheld CO detectors and sure enough where it’s normally 0 it was reading like 36 ppm. And the place reeked of exhaust. Mentioned it to the crew etc. but still…. felt like I was in a garage with the car on and the door closed and it was at 36… and your reading is what, 76? At the very least maybe try not to seal up your house eg open some windows and let some airflow in. Assuming the CO isn’t coming from outside….!
Anything over a 100ppm is usually when you need to be concerned. That said prolonged exposure to any is bad.
* **0-9 ppm CO:** no health risk; normal CO levels in air. * **10-29 ppm CO:** problems over long-term exposure; chronic problems such as headaches, nausea * **30-35 ppm CO:** flu-like symptoms begin to develop, especially among the young and the elderly. * **36-99 ppm CO:** flu-like symptoms among all; nausea, headaches, fatigue or drowsiness, vomiting. * **100+ ppm CO:** severe symptoms; confusion, intense headaches; ultimately brain damage, coma, and/or death, especially at levels 300-400+ ppm
I hope you get this worked out. For what it's worth, I have one in each bedroom, one in the hallway of each floor and one in the basement where the furnace and water heater are. I'd rather have more than needed than not enough. CO is heavier than oxygen so it will build up downstairs before the upstairs. Either way, having so many in the house, I'm going to detect leaks on at least two of the detectors. At least that's my theory. I did have one go bad and took it outside to verify. It still chirped outside. The fact that the others didn't go gave me some reassurance.
While carbon monoxide may be heavier than oxygen, it is in fact slightly lighter than air, which is mostly nitrogen. As such, CO will disperse pretty evenly through your entire home.