Garage and Vehicle Tips to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an extremely toxic gas. It’s caused by fuel not burning completely. The average internal combustion engine in most vehicles can produce very high concentrations of CO. And, while you likely know how dangerous it can be to run your car in a closed garage, even for a brief period of time, even leaving the garage door open or parking your vehicle in the garage after shutting off the engine could still release CO. So, to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, here are some garage and vehicle tips to follow.

  1. Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Make sure you have several working carbon monoxide detectors in your home, particularly near the areas you sleep and even in your garage. Twice a year, replace the batteries to ensure it continues working and every six to 10 years, replace the detectors.

  1. Check Your Vehicle’s Exhaust System

Each year, have your vehicle’s exhaust system looked at. As mentioned, don’t leave your car running in the garage, even with the door open and if it has a tailgate, roll down the windows when you’re driving with the tailgate down. Carbon monoxide can get sucked into your vehicle if you don’t.

  1. Practice Safety Cautions in Your Garage

Some garage tips are:

  • Always warm your car up outside of the garage.
  • Never run snowblowers, lawnmowers or other gas-powered engines in garages, sheds or other confined areas.
  • Never use grills or ovens to heat your garage or home.

  1. Practice Vehicle Safety Cautions

Some vehicle tips are:

  • Never hesitate to have a fender bender checked out (or save it for later). Even a minor collision could cause a break in your vehicle’s exhaust system and allow CO to enter the passenger area.
  • If you end up on the side of the road stuck in snow and consider staying in your car with your engine running to stay warm, make sure your exhaust pipe is cleared away of snow. Snow can also block your exhaust pipe and lead to CO backing up into the passenger area.

  1. Install a Garage Exhaust Fan

Use a garage exhaust fan to ventilate your garage. With a garage exhaust fan, like the Garage Exhaust Fan QuietCool GA ES-1500, you can do a couple of things to help improve the quality of indoor air. You can first remove pollutants from your garage since the fan will exhaust them outside. And, also the fan puts your garage under negative pressure, therefore, when opening the door between your home and garage, there will be better chances of the air flowing to the garage from your home instead of to your home from the garage.

Contact us here at WholeHouseFan.com at 1.888.229.5757 if you have any questions about garage exhaust fans.