3 On Your Side: Carbon Monoxide Detector Warning
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's called a silent killer. Every year more than 400 people die and thousands of people head to the emergency room after being exposed to carbon monoxide. It's an odorless, tasteless gas. Many homeowners rely on detectors for protection.
But 3 On Your Side's Jim Donovan has a warning about them you can't afford to miss.
When seconds count will a carbon monoxide detector alert your family in time?
Stacy Lahorgue knows how deadly carbon monoxide can be.
Just weeks before her parent's 50th wedding anniversary, their heater malfunctioned. Overcome by carbon monoxide, Stacy's father died.
"We loved him so much, it's very hard to think about him sometimes," said Lahorgue.
The Lahorgue's didn't have a carbon monoxide detector but experts say everyone should have one.
"You see more people coming in now to buy more carbon monoxide detectors since you see these things on the news, it's becoming a bigger thing now," said John Herbert with Home Depot.
But even if you have a detector you still may be at risk. 18 carbon monoxide detectors were put to an unscientific test by the Grand Prairie Fire Department.
They were both new and used, and made by various manufacturers. The detectors were mounted in a small room, and carbon monoxide was pumped in, produced by a generator.
Underwriters Laboratories require the devices to activate within 15-minutes of reaching an air concentration of 400-parts per million. Prolonged exposure at that level can be fatal.
But even lower levels can be dangerous too and the firefighters expected the detectors to go off almost immediately. But they didn't.
At 525 parts per million, only three detectors went off.
Within 10 minutes, 12 additional devices sound their alarms.
So according to UL standards, 15 of the devices worked as designed.
But three others didn't. So, what happened?
Well over time carbon monoxide detectors can break down.
It's a warning you'll only find in small print, buried in manuals and industry reports which say chemical and dust build up causes the detectors to lose their effectiveness.
"Some people's houses have a lot of dust. The sensors are just so dirty that they're not going to work anymore," said Lieutenant Kevin Briggs.
"In most people's mind, they think if they changed the battery, it's a good detector and that's not always the case," said Captain Chris Kinney.
Most experts agree that the lifespan of a carbon monoxide detector is 5-7 years. If your home is especially dusty, replace them sooner than later.