On Monday night, our smoke alarm/CO detector beeped at us at around bedtime. At first we were unsure what was being alerted. We actually noticed a gas smell in the laundry/utility area. Feeling somewhat befuddled, David asked to consult the manual for the detectors. Suddenly he said, "Wow. It's the carbon monoxide signal." We were instructed to get out to fresh air and call the gas company. We did all of the above, which required dressing the mostly naked 3 year old (he looked cute before and after), grabbing and waking the swaddled baby (who also looked cute and made some very funny "arrgh!" noises on and off to express his confusion), and thrust our little family into the (thankfully) not-too-freezing night air. Our wonderful next door neighbor loaned us the use of her phone and a blanket to keep the baby warm. Sophie was actually very excited about the whole thing. I don't think she understood that it was pretty serious.
It turned out that our water heater needed cleaning and (for scientific reasons I can't fully understand) was emitting large quantities of CO into our home. The measurement was 90 something or other. According to the very nice man who came, it starts looking bad at 10. If I hadn't been crying a lot that day, I would've guessed it was the cause of my yucky headache.
Anyway, we're grateful that our old smoke detectors went on the blink last year and that we, under the recommendation of a good friend, upgraded to the current ones we have. (The old ones didn't have a CO monitor as well). I had originally balked a little at the expense (all of the units together came to about $200, if I'm remembering correctly). I have no complaints at all now. We're also humbled to be reminded that, as expensive as the annual furnace and water heater check-ups are, they are a much better alternative to becoming a headline in local newspaper. I won't even make up an imaginary headline, because it would be creepy (and I've been a bit melodramatic already). Anyway, you get the point!
So - Carbon Monoxide Detectors - As Woody would say, "If you don't have one, get one!"
2 comments:
I am so glad that you and your cute family are ok. And grateful for your Carbon Monoxide detector as well.
And at least they didn't come over and tell you that they thought the smell was an air freshener. Do you remember when that happened to me at my old apartment? The nerve.
So thankful you guys are safe.
Both Kevin and I appreciated and enjoyed the message you left on our phone last week.
You guys are great friends!
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