Daylight Savings Reminder: Check Your Carbon Monoxide Detector!

“Hi, Peoples! In my last bill, there was a flyer that talked about carbon monoxide and detectors. I had been thinking that I needed to get one, as my old one had been disposed of after reaching the end of its useful life. I set the flyer on my desk as a reminder and, last Saturday, I purchased a new detector. This week, that detector saved our lives. I wanted to thank Peoples for the reminder and to let you know that you helped to save our lives – as well as our dog and our cat! At about 6pm that night, our CO detector went off. After clearing it and resetting it, it went off again and I called 911. As soon as the firemen came in the front door, their alarms went off. The reading was 50 (below 9 is acceptable)! We grabbed the animals and waited for Peoples to come do their inspection. It turns out that, above the furnace, the reading was 1000! Peoples ‘red tagged’ the furnace and shut off the gas. After airing out the house, we put space heaters in the basement to prevent pipes from freezing (it was cold that night). Thank goodness for electric blankets and layers of clothing! I even slept with the window open, just in case. The HVAC person was at the house by 8:30 AM. It turns out that there were two issues causing the CO: the heat exchanger was clogged, and the part of the flue that went out through the basement wall was corroded. About 3pm, he restarted the furnace and we were at ZERO CO! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR – PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, GO GET ONE TODAY!! You cannot see, smell or taste carbon monoxide and it can KILL YOU! The firemen said that it was the best $35 investment that I’ve ever made. I agree!”