How long does it take for carbon monoxide to dissipate?
How long does carbon monoxide last? Carbon monoxide infiltrates your entire body when you breathe it, including your blood, brain, heart and muscles. CO leaves your body when you exhale, but it can take up to a day [1].
For starters, any source of the CO must be turned off. Next, all windows and doors must be opened to facilitate airflow and dissipate the CO. Carbon monoxide is lighter than air, and it will gradually flow from the enclosed space to the open atmosphere.
How long will it take to remove the CO from the garage? Carbon monoxide does not attach to surfaces in the garage, so a complete air change will remove all the CO. With doors on opposite sides of the garage open, this will probably take 5 minutes or less.
Most people who develop mild carbon monoxide poisoning recover quickly when moved into fresh air. Moderate or severe carbon monoxide poisoning causes impaired judgment, confusion, unconsciousness, seizures, chest pain, shortness of breath, low blood pressure, and coma.
Opening windows does not provide enough ventilation to be protective. CO is an invisible, odorless gas that can be fatal. If you breathe in a lot of CO gas, it can make you pass out or kill you. People who are sleeping or drunk can die from CO poisoning before they have symptoms.
What are the symptoms of CO poisoning? The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. CO symptoms are often described as “flu-like.” If you breathe in a lot of CO it can make you pass out or kill you.
At higher concentrations, CO poisoning can make you pass out and can even be fatal. If you experience any of the symptoms listed above — or suspect that there might be a carbon monoxide leak in your home — you should leave your home immediately, get fresh air and call a poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
Carbon monoxide can build up in a garage and leak back into the house. Even sitting in an idling car in an open garage can be dangerous.
Most people with a mild exposure to carbon monoxide experience headaches, fatigue, and nausea. Unfortunately, the symptoms are easily overlooked because they are often flu-like. Medium exposure can cause you to experience a throbbing headache, drowsiness, disorientation, and an accelerated heart rate.
Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea and vomiting, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, seizures, chest pain, disorientation, and loss of consciousness. CO poisoning needs to be treated right away by getting outside to fresh air and calling 911.
What is often confused with early stages of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Early symptoms of CO poisoning include irritated eyes, headache, nausea, weakness, and dizziness. They often are confused with seasickness or intoxication. Move anyone with these symptoms to fresh air immediately. Seek medical attention—unless you're sure it's not CO.
Get into fresh air immediately and call 911 or emergency medical help if you or someone you're with develops signs or symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. These include headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, weakness and confusion.
Does carbon monoxide rise or stay low? When placing your CO detectors, keep in mind where carbon monoxide gas tends to settle in the air. Because CO is slightly less dense than air, it rises. It then can cause CO poisoning because it stays in the air over an extended period.
Some believe letting cold air into your room increases your chance of getting sick. However, “You'll catch your death of cold,” is just an expression. Viruses aren't spread through winter air.
Most carbon monoxide exposures happen in the winter. The most common source of CO poisoning is unvented space heaters in the home. An unvented space heater uses combustible fuel and indoor air for the heating process. It vents the gases it makes into the room, instead of outdoors.
Sleeping with an open window can negatively impact your health as well. While cold air itself can't make you sick — colds and flus occur because germs overwhelm a person's immune system — it can potentially dry out nasal cavities, resulting in increased mucus production and a possible sinus infection.
- Yellow or orange flames coming out of your gas appliances instead of the usual blue flame.
- Dark and sooty staining on or around gas appliances.
- Pilot lights that frequently blow out.
- Increased condensation on windows.
- Solid fuel fires burn much slower than usual.