The importance of a Carbon Monoxide Detector

[Mike Russo]

Hi all,

I want to share a story about the importance of having working carbon monoxide and smoke/heat detectors in your rentals. A friend of mine has a single family rental occupied by a mother and three children. He received a text from her that the carbon monoxide (co) detector alarm was sounding and that she was calling the fire dept. When the fire dept. arrived, they measured the co levels and found them to be very high. The cause was an older faulty oven. Had it not been for the detector, the results might have been deadly. Co, unlike natural gas is odorless which makes it undetectable by smell. Carbon monoxide detectors are code in many cities. Be sure to protect your renters and yourself.

Mike

[Ranga Ramanathan]

Great advice Mike, also a great warning for a lot of us who don't hear from our renters unless there is a leak and just see the checks every month, it is really good to schedule periodic checks on critical maintenance.

[Max T.]

[Andreas W.]

I absolutely agree. In my jurisdiction a CO monitor is mandated if you have a combustion source at your property, as is at least one smoke alarm per floor irregardless of a combustion source. The absolute minimum to do is to comply with your local laws. Better yet, have the monitors inspected regularly. Many tenants hate smoke alarms. They beep when the battery is about to die or when kitchen fumes are abundant. I see them taken down regularly. Have the tenant sign the smoke alarm form stating that you have provided all necessary alarms in working order.

[Mike Russo]

Thanks for your comments folks!

[Mike McCarthy]

Philly requires the newer 10-year sealed battery models.  After buying and installing, I wouldn't buy anything else for a rental (and likely myself too).  Imagine not having to worry about replacing a battery for 10 years!  Just the yearly cost in batteries make it worthwhile!

[Patrick Queisner]

This is a great reminder about the importance of the life safety devices (CO and Smoke Detectors) in the property. The 10 year sealed CO detector without a battery to change are a few dollars more but are well worth the extra cost because of no maintenance (such as changing the battery 2 times a year). In addition units with a readout of the ppm of CO is nice for the firefighters or yourself to be able to tell why the alarm went off in the first place in the event the tenant opens doors and windows to ventilate before you get there.

[Brandon McLean]

Excellent advice. Real smart.

[Thomas S.]

Cheep and easy for a landlord to install and a excellent excuse for the landlord to do their quarterly inspections with out tenants feeling they are being watched (which of course they are).

Our codes require they be installed and maintained by the landlord otherwise the landlord will be held liable in the event if death or injury.

[Mike Russo]

I really like the idea of a PPM readout Patrick. Thank you for that info. BTW, I have two detectors in my own home because I have experienced false alarms (one when I had 10 of my kids friends sleeping over). I use two to check each other in case of an event.