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Everyone should have a Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector, and change batteries as needed

pearlsngems

pearlsngems

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I just read that Gene Hackman as well as his wife and their dog were found dead in their home today, and that foul play is not suspected.
While no cause of death has been reported yet, an obvious possible cause is carbon monoxide poisoning. CO is odorless. It competes with oxygen to bind with the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. People basically die from lack of oxygen.

Whether that was the cause or not, this is a good time to remind folks that CO detectors can be life saving, and everyone should have at least one.
If you have one and have not changed the batteries this past year, consider doing it now.
 
We just replaced our old one due to age. A simple thing to have that saves lives
 
do we need one if we have no gas appliances inside, have a very drafty house in a tempertae climate and there is a good distance between our house and driveway and the neighbour's

when i worked in a hardwear store we had them but i never sold a single one ?
i just dont see the need in our situation
 
How do you heat your home? I assume there are times of the year when you need to heat your home.

CO comes from combustion.

If you use any kind of combustible fuel (propane, natural gas, heating oil, charcoal, or wood),to heat your home, or if you have an attached garage and your car has a combustion engine (not an electric vehicle), you need a CO detector.

If a near neighbor uses any kind of combustible fuel for heating their home or has a gasoline powered car, their CO could enter your home. So then you would need a CO detector.

From the Internet:

"Carbon monoxide is generated during the heating process. Its invisible and odorless nature means it can't be detected by smell or sight. If your home uses propane, natural gas, heating oil, charcoal, or wood, installing a carbon monoxide detector is critical to ensure safety.Oct 7, 2024
www.noonanenergy.com

Carbon Monoxide Detector: What To Consider - Noonan Energy

Use A Carbon Monoxide Alarm & Stay Safe. Noonan Energy Offers Trusted HVAC Services, Heater Repairs, & More. Free Consultations. Call Now!
www.noonanenergy.com www.noonanenergy.com

If you use a heat pump system to heat your home, there is no fuel involved and a CO detector is not needed-- but you could still get CO from your neighbor's home or car.

Same goes if your home is 100% heated by electricity. That won't generate CO, but CO could still drift over from your neighbor's home or car.
https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/t0uv7v/do_i_need_a_carbon_monoxide_alarm_in_my_home_if
 
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Daisys and Diamonds said:
do we need one if we have no gas appliances inside, have a very drafty house in a tempertae climate and there is a good distance between our house and driveway and the neighbour's

when i worked in a hardwear store we had them but i never sold a single one ?
i just dont see the need in our situation
Click to expand...
10 year battery combo co/smoke per floor is ideal.
I would at least have one in the living/sleeping area no matter what heat source.
Some types of fires the co will kill people before the smoke detector is triggered from the smoke of the fire.
Some furniture fires in particular the flame retardant keeps the smoke down but the smouldering foam puts out a ton of co.
I have heard first hand stories of firefighters going into a house and finding entire families dead not a mark on them and the only sign of fire was a slightly chard couch.
They had working smoke alarms that finally went off and someone heard them and called the fire department.
It was hours too late.
 
go
Karl_K said:
10 year battery combo co/smoke per floor is ideal.
I would at least have one in the living/sleeping area no matter what heat source.
Some types of fires the co will kill people before the smoke detector is triggered from the smoke of the fire.
Some furniture fires in particular the flame retardant keeps the smoke down but the smouldering foam puts out a ton of co.
I have heard first hand stories of firefighters going into a house and finding entire families dead not a mark on them and the only sign of fire was a slightly chard couch.
They had working smoke alarms that finally went off and someone heard them and called the fire department.
It was hours too late.
Click to expand...

good point about furniture inners
 
Put it this way: Why not have one? Play it safe.
 
My CO detectors can be plugged into an outlet and also have a battery backup. I test them occasionally, but they are always plugged in. When I lose power, I go to to a hotel!
 
I don't have one at home, however, I have one in my van, even though I do not use gas/LPG for cooking and heating.

I use diesel from the fuel tank of my van/RV for heating and hot water, and there is a low risk of CO leaking into the van, and was advise to have CO monitor in the van in case there is a leak in the exhaust pipe.

I also carry spare batteries for the fire alarm in the kitchen area and also the CO monitor in the living area.

Both would beep when the batteries start to fail, which was no fun the first time when that happened with the fire alarm in the middle of the night!

DK :))
 
100%. We replace the batteries in the carbon monoxide detectors (we have 9 of them) every six months. We have them doubled up. We have a set hardwired to the house and separate ones connected to our security company so in case of any malfunction we should be covered.
 
BTW, I read in the UK's Times that the investigation is still ongoing for the death of Gene Hackman, his wife and one of their 3 dogs, and CO poisoning was unlikely to be the cause, etc. etc...

DK :confused2:
 
For any animal love who hasn't read up on the deaths, I advise you caution. I wish I hadn't due to this.
 
My husband is Norwegian - we always have windows cracked open… or tent vents, when applicable… no matter what the outside temp might be. And we have CO detectors in hubby’s house, in the trailer, and even in the plane. BUT the detector in my house is still in its plastic bubble due to my procrastination. It will be unpackaged and on a wall within the hour, I promise!

ETA - ok, I misspoke (aka lied). The detector in the package is a smoke detector, and the reason it’s not a CO detector is that we didn’t like the big box store options and I was going to order one online but forgot. So, @pearlsngems, thank you for the reminder to take care of this!
 
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I hope it is OK to update this with the Hackman's family cause of death. I didn't want to start a new thread and it's a follow up. It was not carbon monoxide which authorities knew initially as well. But here is their causes of death

Expert explains the deadly virus behind Hollywood tragedy | MDLinx

www.mdlinx.com www.mdlinx.com

"
Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead, along with their pet dog, at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico in February 2025, sparking intense online speculation about the cause of death.

In March, New Mexico's chief medical examiner, Dr Heather Jerrell, announced that Hackman, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, died from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease – a combination of high blood pressure and a buildup of plaque in the arteries.

Arakawa, however, died around a week before her husband from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – an infection transmitted to humans from rodent faeces, urine and saliva.

It's unknown how Arakawa contracted hantavirus. Usually, farmers and forestry workers are most at risk of exposure to infected rodents.

There are at least 38 recognised species of hantavirus across the world, 24 of which cause disease in humans. It's considered a rare virus but it's also likely to be underdiagnosed in many areas of the world because the initial symptoms can be mistaken for cold and flu-like viral infections.

Hantaviruses are typically divided into "old-world" and "new-world"types. Old world hantaviruses are found in Europe and Asia, including the puumala hantavirus, which uses the bank vole as its host, and the Hantaan virus and Seoul virus, carried by the striped field mouse and the common brown rat.

These hantaviruses cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) – bleeding from various areas of the body and varying degrees of kidney impairment.

Estimated to affect 150,000 people annually, this condition is usually reversible. Some patients may develop nephropathia epidemica – a milder form of the virus.

New world hantaviruses, found in North and South America, result in hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), which tends to be more severe than HFRS. It affects the lungs and heart, impairing the delivery of oxygen around the body.

In North America, the most common type of hantavirus is the sin nombre virus spread by the deer mouse. In South America the andes virus, often carried by the long-tailed pygmy rice rat, is most common.

Hantavirus transmission​

The disease is caused by inhaling rodent faeces, urine or saliva – often from disturbing rodent nests and droppings while cleaning. More rarely, hantavirus is transmitted by bites and scratches from infected animals.

A small number of studies have documented human-to-human spread of the andes strain in South America, but a systematic review of the research didn't find enough evidence of human-to-human transmission.

The incubation period of hantavirus is relatively long, typically two to three weeks, but can be as long as six weeks. This may be why cases are underreported – patients may forget the potential exposure event. Diagnosis is usually based on symptoms and history, although laboratory tests can detect antibodies to hantavirus in human serum.

The virus causes a change in the permeability of the cells that line blood vessels so that fluid leaks out in places it shouldn't, such as the lungs and kidneys. It also reduces the number of platelets in the blood, reducing blood clotting so that blood leaks from organs and vessels.

The hantavirus also appears to prevent apoptosis – when the body kills cells in response viral infection – so the body is unable to get rid of infected cells as efficiently, which prolongs the virus.

The severity of the virus depends on a number of factors, including age and genetic predisposition. People over the age of 70 are most likely to die of hantavirus, while some human leukocyte antigens– the immune system markers that check which cells belong in your body and which do not – show an increased risk of severe disease.

It isn't known how long immunity following hantavirus infection lasts, but immunoglobulin G antibodies – a type of protein that helps the body fight infections from viruses and bacteria – are likely to protect against subsequent symptomatic infection from the same strain.

However, given the large number of hantavirus species, having had one form would be unlikely to protect against catching a different form.

Symptoms​

Infection with either old or new world strains start with similar viral symptoms: fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pains, abdominal issues including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains. The old and new strains have different disease progression. Both strains should be treated promptly to reduce risk of death.

In old-world infections leading to HFRS, patients move from the generic symptoms to low blood pressure and then reduced urinary output. Patients may need dialysis to protect the kidneys.

Those infected will then experience increased urinary output to clear the excess fluid collected in the previous stage of the disease. Finally, patients enter the convalescent phase with fatigue and muscle pains.

In HPS from new-world hantavirus strains, symptoms usually appear within eight weeks of exposure. Three to five days of generic symptoms are followed by rapid deterioration as fluid fills the lungs making breathing difficult.

Many patients require mechanical ventilation such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – a kind of life support where blood is pumped outside of the body to a heart-lung machine. In the final stage of the disease, urine output will increase significantly as the body attempts to expel excess fluid.

With early treatment, most people with HPS fully recover with no lasting effects – but mortality rate can be as high as 40 percent.

Treatments​

Treatment is targeted towards symptom management with oxygen therapy. Antiviral medication ribavirin has shown in trials to be more beneficial for HFRSthan HPS. A hantavirus vaccine trailed in South Korea generated a good immune response and was well tolerated for prevention of HFRS but wider results are unclear.

As always, prevention is better than cure and the most effective way to prevent hantavirus infection in humans is to keep surroundings free from rodents. But, this is easier said than done – so cleaning with disinfectant is essential to ensure areas are free of rodent fluids and faeces.

Allow disinfectant or bleach to soak the area for at least five minutes before cleaning with absorbent materials. Gloves and a mask, of course, should be worn at all times.

Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University




"
 
Thanks, Missy. I always wear a mask and gloves when cleaning up mouse poop that we find in our basement. I don't think we have mice at present, but we have had at times. Last year I had to clean out my glove box of mouse poop! No more keeping snacks in the car!
 
pearlsngems said:
Thanks, Missy. I always wear a mask and gloves when cleaning up mouse poop that we find in our basement. I don't think we have mice at present, but we have had at times. Last year I had to clean out my glove box of mouse poop! No more keeping snacks in the car!
Click to expand...

Smart! I watch the show "Medical mysteries" and while I don't think there have been any new episodes for over a decade I watch the reruns. I really like that show. And that's where I first heard about Hantavirus. It's scary all the potential diseases we can get from humans and animals.
 
My husband's family has an unoccupied house in New Mexico, north of Santa Fe.
There are outbuildings that are full of mouse and bat droppings. It is so gross, I cannot even describe how bad it is.

We will probably have to get these buildings professionally cleaned before the property can be sold.
One building is full of tools, and my husband wants to clean it out.
I told him that he is not allowed in there, under any circumstances!
 
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