Carbon monoxide monitor 12ppm, need advice.

[HannahS]

Hi,
Not sure if I'm posting in the right place but need advice from a professional if possible please.
We've just moved house and have 2 carbon monoxide alarms - one in the kitchen which doesn't have a digital display and one in the living room which does.
The one in the living room has mainly been at 0ppm but 3 or 4 times over the last couple of hours has gone up to 11-12ppm for a few minutes. It hasn't alarmed, I'm just watching it. We have the heating on and obviously no windows open as it's freezing outside.
We took it into the kitchen when cooking and it went up to 17ppm - I presume this is normal with a gas hob on? The small window was open.
The house has an ancient boiler in the kitchen and 3 gas fires which we are going to get capped off and removed when we can afford it.
Is the monitor reading 11-12ppm now and again worrying? As the monitor doesn't display below 11ppm I'm worried our 'levels' are hovering around 9-10 and just occasionally going up to 11-12 and therefore showing on the display.
All the other rooms in the house seem to show 0ppm. My room was 11ppm for a minute then went to 0 again.
I've had a good look online and there isn't a clear answer - one website says constant exposure to 9ppm can be dangerous. Others say not to worry unless it alarms.
Thanks if you got this far and any advice would be massively appreciated. I might just be overreacting! Will get out a gas safe engineer if needed.

 

[Aire]

If I remember rightly, 70ppm is when you want to worry but to be on the safe side i would get an enginner in to check the house over. Even if the fires aren't removed, just capping them off won't take long so shouldn't cost too much and at least you'll have peace of mind.

 

[Aire]

Have you experienced any symptoms of CO exposure? Headaches, tiredness, dizziness or sickness?

 

[HannahS]

Thanks for your reply. We've only been in 4 nights, the first 2 mornings I did wake up feeling a bit groggy but we'd been that busy moving I just put it down to being knackered. No one else has complained of any symptoms. The website saying constant exposure to 9ppm has worried me I suppose, we have a 2 year old so she'd be more sensitive. Yeah I think we better have them capped off to be certain. Thanks again.

 

[Aire]

Thanks for your reply. We've only been in 4 nights, the first 2 mornings I did wake up feeling a bit groggy but we'd been that busy moving I just put it down to being knackered. No one else has complained of any symptoms. The website saying constant exposure to 9ppm has worried me I suppose, we have a 2 year old so she'd be more sensitive. Yeah I think we better have them capped off to be certain. Thanks again.

Good choice, I certainly wouldn't risk it. Trouble with co alarms is they go off when it's a get out the house now scenario, some people are more sensitive to prolonged exposure to low levels than others so while you may have mild symptoms, your partner may not.

 

[Scott_D]

Any pictures of the gas appliances?

 

[SJB060685]

I’m not GSR but work with oil and agree with Craig above. Carbon monoxide is measured in ppm (parts per million). Like he said at around 70ppm you could expect symptoms like he asked, the affects felt can vary between individual, their age and wether they have any underlying health conditions ie heart problems etc. Anything above that and symptoms will get worse and anything above 150-200ppm can result in death. These guys have a tag by their name for a reason, they know their stuff and their advice is top.

 

[HannahS]

Good choice, I certainly wouldn't risk it. Trouble with co alarms is they go off when it's a get out the house now scenario, some people are more sensitive to prolonged exposure to low levels than others so while you may have mild symptoms, your partner may not.

Yes good point. Thanks again!

 

[Chuck]

Thanks if you got this far and any advice would be massively appreciated. I might just be overreacting! Will get out a gas safe engineer if needed.

Has someone blocked any air vents to prevent drafts? Gas hobs give off carbon monoxide if the ventilation of the kitchen is inadequate or the humidity is too high. If the flames are yellow (not enough air) or orange (water vapour) then something is definitely wrong and you should not use the hob until it is fixed.

Your ancient boiler is another potential source as you obviously realise. Look for stains on the wall close to it and the flue. If there is an inspection window are the flames blue (good) or yellow (bad).

You are not over-reacting. You need to get a Gas Safe engineer to visit and check the boiler and ventilation as soon as possible. Meanwhile, try to ventilate the kitchen by opening the windows (and back door if you have one) for ten or twenty minutes to get some fresh air in and the CO out.

 

[garygvl]

when you say just moved house, have you moved into a rented property or have you bought the property

 

[HannahS]

Has someone blocked any air vents to prevent drafts? Gas hobs give off carbon monoxide if the ventilation of the kitchen is inadequate or the humidity is too high. If the flames are yellow (not enough air) or orange (water vapour) then something is definitely wrong and you should not use the hob until it is fixed.

Your ancient boiler is another potential source as you obviously realise. Look for stains on the wall close to it and the flue. If there is an inspection window are the flames blue (good) or yellow (bad).

You are not over-reacting. You need to get a Gas Safe engineer to visit and check the boiler and ventilation as soon as possible. Meanwhile, try to ventilate the kitchen by opening the windows (and back door if you have one) for ten or twenty minutes to get some fresh air in and the CO out.

Thanks that’s really useful. The boiler flames are definitely blue. I’ll check the hob tomorrow. Not sure about blocking up vents, I’ll check that tomorrow too. We’ll get an engineer out ASAP just for peace of mind. Thank you.

 

[HannahS]

when you say just moved house, have you moved into a rented property or have you bought the property

We’ve bought the property.

 

[garygvl]

We’ve bought the property.

So what checks did you have done before you moved in

 

[HannahS]

So what checks did you have done before you moved in

Well we didn’t have a formal gas inspection just the usual surveys. We already knew it needed a new boiler and the gas fires need removing and it will be one of the first things we do when we have some cash. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[firemant]

My advice to anyone with an open flues boiler is to have it serviced BEFORE using it as a new occupier. If faulty, they are lethal.

You are NOT over reacting, but I find it a little odd that you have concerns about CO and have not had the boiler checked. Frankly, that is ridiculous.

Go to the Gas Safe website, and locate the Find an Installer section. Enter your details, and you will get a list of local RGI’s. They are not necessarily able to give a quite, but ask HOW they charge, before engaging. And check if cost includes VAT. It is illegal to quote without VAT, if you charge it, but it is common practice to do so.

Finally, have you seen the CO chart here, I suspect that you have:


Detectcarbonmonoxide.com

 

[HannahS]

Well if being ridiculous involves having initial concerns on Saturday night and immediately seeking advice from professionals on here then so be it.

Yes in hindsight I should have had it checked before I moved in but I didn’t. We’ve been in less than a week. I will in future.

Someone’s been out today and everything is sorted.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[Aire]

Well if being ridiculous involves having initial concerns on Saturday night and immediately seeking advice from professionals on here then so be it.

Yes in hindsight I should have had it checked before I moved in but I didn’t. We’ve been in less than a week. I will in future.

Someone’s been out today and everything is sorted.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Pleased it's sorted, did the engineer give any info as to what the cause was?

I wouldn't read too much into the last comment. Most people won't even give the boiler a thought when they first move in. You did the right thing by fitting a co alarm and then seeking professional advice. You solved the problem before it became one so nothing ridiculous at all about you handled this.

 

[Gazzzz101]

CO will migrate, if you have a flueless appliance in the kitchen and you haven’t ventilated the room well then it’s possible the living room alarm will be picking up products of combustion from appliance in the kitchen, hence why it increased when you took it into the kitchen, as mentioned, definitely worth getting all appliances serviced / checked for safe operation before use.

 

[Last Plumber]

Someone’s been out today and everything is sorted.

Was it from the Boiler or something else?