Carbon Monoxide poisoning has been in the news far more frequently than we at NACE would like. It is imperative that your chimney is in optimal working order at all times, and the NACE standards of workmanship and quality are intended to provide the safety you need and deserve.

Heating and cooking appliances fuelled by coal, smokeless fuels, wood and oil can be just as likely as a gas appliance to cause carbon monoxide poisoning if they are poorly installed,faulty or incorrectly used. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning is mostly caused by inadequate ventilation or a lack of correct maintenance of appliances, Flues and Chimneys. Some incidents are also due to incorrect installation or deterioration of the structure of the chimney.

Poisonous Carbon Monoxide Gas gas is produced when fuel does not burn properly. You can die from Carbon Monoxide poisoning, or your health can be permanently damaged. If you would like to learn a little more about CO poisoning then please follow our short guide below.

What is Carbon Monoxide?

By now we all know that carbon monoxide is a very dangerous, colourless, odourless gas, generally associated with your home heating system, but for a little better understanding, let's take a quick trip back to school chemistry class. The gas or oil you burn for home heating are compounds known as hydrocarbons (hydrogen + carbon). In your Stove or Fire these hydrocarbons are mixed with oxygen from the air in your home, and burned to produce heat.. When your Stove or Fire and chimney are working properly, the gas or oil is burned more or less completely, and the resulting fumes are mainly carbon dioxide (carbon + 2 oxygen atoms) and water vapour. If your boiler doesn't get enough oxygen, either because the house is too tight or the chimney isn't functioning properly, carbon monoxide (carbon +1 oxygen atom) is produced instead. It's the lack of that one little oxygen atom that causes all the trouble.

What does Carbon Monoxide do to you?

Too much carbon monoxide in your blood will kill you. Most of us know to try to avoid this. Less well known is the fact that low-level exposure to this gas also endangers your health. One of the imperfections of our human bodies is that, given a choice between carbon monoxide and oxygen, the protein haemoglobin in our blood will always latch on to carbon monoxide and ignore the life-giving oxygen. Because of this natural chemical affinity, our bodies - in effect - replace oxygen with carbon monoxide in our bloodstream, causing greater or lesser levels of cell suffocation depending on the intensity and duration of exposure. The side-effects that can result from this low-level exposure include permanent organ and brain damage. Infants and the elderly are more susceptible than healthy adults, as are those with anaemia or heart disease. The symptoms of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning are so easily mistaken for those of the common cold, flu or exhaustion that proper diagnosis can be delayed. Because of this, be sure to see your doctor about persistent, flu-like symptoms, chronic fatigue or general depression. If you ever suspect a carbon monoxide problem, immediately open doors or windows to ventilate the house and get everyone outside for fresh air. Most utility companies will respond to emergency calls and check your house and heating system for the presence of carbon monoxide. Do NOT re-inhabit the house until you are certain there is no longer a problem. If necessary seek medical attention, treatment is very important. Have the heating system and the chimney checked and serviced by reputable professionals as soon as possible.

Why is Carbon Monoxide poisoning on the rise?

1) Todays houses are more air tight due to energy conserving measures. Consequently there is less fresh air coming into a home and not as many pathways for stale or polluted air to leave it. When fires and boilers are starved of the oxygen needed to burn fuels completely, carbon monoxide is produced. Many newer houses are so airtight that powered exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom can overcome the draft in the boiler chimney and literally pull the toxic gases into the living space.

2) The new high-efficiency gas and oil boilers, when hooked up to existing flues, often do not perform at an optimum level. The differences in performance create conditions that allow combustion by-products to more easily enter home living spaces.

3) The above conditions join a number of older, ongoing problems including damaged or deteriorating flue liners, soot build-up, debris clogging the passageway, and animal or bird nests obstructing chimney flues.

Why is Chimney Maintenance Important?

When gas and oil burn in vented heating systems, the dangerous fumes that are the by-products of combustion - including carbon monoxide - are released into the chimney through a connector pipe. Funnelling these fumes out of the living area is the primary purpose of a chimney. In addition to carrying off toxic gases, chimneys also create the draft (flow of air) that provides the proper air and fuel mixture for efficient operation of the heating appliance. Unfortunately, many chimneys in daily use in homes throughout the country either are improperly sized or have conditions that make them unable to perform their intended function.

GAS - Natural gas is a clean-burning fuel, but today's high-efficiency gas boilers pose special problems. The fumes they produce are cooler and contain high levels of water vapour, which cause more condensation than older models. Since these vapour's also contain chlorides picked up from house-supplied combustion air, the flues are subjected to more corrosive conditions than before and can quickly deteriorate or plug up completely.

OIL - Oil flues need to be cleaned and inspected annually because deposits of soot may build up on the interior walls of the chimney. The amount of soot depends on how well tuned the boiler is and whether the house provides sufficient air for combustion. Excessive soot causes problems ranging from inefficient boiler operation to completely blocked chimneys.

To the extent that problems with either of these heating systems interfere with the flow of toxic gases and particles out of the house, they may also force carbon monoxide into the home. They may cause a one-time, high-level exposure situation or release smaller amounts more regularly over a longer period. These problems should never be ignored.

Preventing Problems