At Valley Oil, our goal is to help our Hudson Valley customers pay less and smile more. We also care about the safety of our customers. If you have a furnace in your home, it’s important for the health and safety of your family that you understand the risks carbon monoxide (CO) gas poses and how you can mitigate those risks.
Carbon monoxide kills hundreds of Americans every year. It is an odorless and colorless gas that is produced when any fuel is burned. Unfortunately, it’s also poisonous. Because your furnace burns a fuel (heating oil), it produces carbon monoxide when it’s running. That is a normal part of its operation. Problems arise if that carbon monoxide is allowed to build up inside your home due to poor ventilation or malfunctioning equipment. Exposure to carbon monoxide can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which in turn can cause any of the following: illness, disorientation, and even death.
Even if you take every precaution, it’s important to be able to recognize the symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure and poisoning. The longer the exposure to carbon monoxide, the worse the symptoms are likely to be.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a medical emergency. If you think someone may have been exposed to carbon monoxide, get them into fresh air as quickly as possible and then get them to an emergency medical care facility or call 911 immediately. All fuel-burning appliances in the home should be inspected until the cause of the leak is identified and resolved.
You can visit the Mayo Clinic website for additional information on carbon monoxide poisoning.
There are a few simple but very important things you can do to protect your family from carbon monoxide poisoning. Remember, you won’t be able to see or smell it if it’s filling the rooms of your home.
At Valley Oil, we care about your family’s safety. You can also count on us for quality, affordability, and dependability in New York’s Dutchess and Ulster counties.
Contact us today to order oil, register for one of our budget plans, or sign up for automatic delivery.