So what is Carbon Monoxide and where is it found?

Carbon monoxide or “CO,” is an odourless, colourless gas that can kill you. CO is a by-product of combustion. Common household items, such as gas fires, oil-burning furnaces, portable generators, charcoal grills, among others, put people at risk of exposure to this poison gas.

So where is CO found? CO is found in fumes produced any time you burn fuel in cars or trucks, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. CO can build up indoors and poison people and animals who breathe it.

Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. It has no smell, no taste, and no sound. Neither people nor animals can tell when they are breathing it, but it can be fatal.

Household appliances, such as gas fires, boilers, central heating systems, water heaters, cookers and open fires which use gas, oil, coal and wood may be possible sources of CO gas. It happens when the fuel does not burn fully.
Running a car engine in an enclosed space can cause CO poisoning.

If household appliances are well serviced and used safely, they should produce negligible quantities of CO gas. Using old appliances and not servicing them frequently, leads to a higher risk of CO emission.

Here are some other causes of CO gas emission and buildup:

Smoking cigarettes causes blood levels of CO to rise; leaving a car in a closed garage with its engine running can produce deadly amounts of CO within 10 minutes; burning charcoal produces CO gas; blocked flues and chimneys can stop CO from escaping and fumes from certain paint removers and cleaning fluids can cause CO poisoning.
Products that contain methylene chloride (dichloromethane) should be handled with care, because methylene chloride turns into CO when it is breathed in.