CO meters being irritating.

[randomness]

So the extremely loud and annoying CO meter in the basement of the house I'm visiting started going off. "Evacuate! 58 ppm!" and a loud warning squawk is not a calming thing.

I opened a basement window and then the front door to the house. This caused the level to drop down to 56 ppm, according to the loud and annoying meter, and then caused the stairwell CO meter to start going off with its own, different sound.

Cacophony! So peaceful.

I opened the back door to the house, and the garage door, and opened the bathroom window wider than it already was open. After a few more minutes, the squawking from both meters stopped.

I can't really open more than this as one of the two feline residents likes to go explore the big room and make it his territory whenever he gets the chance. (The screen doors are keeping him from taking advantage of the situation, so far, but this is not for lack of his trying.)

I am unfamiliar with what devices in the house are generating CO, so I have not attempted to address the causes. I have also not called the emergency services.

The homeowner is away from desk (probably at lunch) and not responding to telephone calls.

What else should I do?

(I would prefer not to abandon the cats, as the younger female cat is already traumatized from the loud noises made by the workmen installing insulation in the attic this morning. The male is entirely unruffled and continuing his single-minded pursuit of an escape route.)

ETA: The homeowner just answered my voicemail and told me to leave the house. I am sitting on the front porch with the laptop.

Comments

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

The vent pipe on the side-vented gas boiler/hot water heater was not installed correctly. No hose clamp, no cement. Which means it's been doing this since it was installed in December. But the attic was much leakier until today when the insulation people air sealed it and quintupled the amount of insulation up there so I guess now it was detectable by my alarms!

Some days being a homeowner sucks.

[contrariety.livejournal.com]

Well - at least you had effective CO monitors (which probably means this is the first time it's reached dangerous levels?) So that's good! I have no idea if any of the houses I've lived in have CO monitors...

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

In MA, it's code for rental properties with gas appliances to have them, so you probably have lived in places with them. :)

[cerridwynn.livejournal.com]

Though in most of the places i've lived, including this one, that means there's a CO monitor in a package sitting on the counter that we stick in a drawer somewhere.

Hmm. I think maybe i'll go dig that out and find some batteries now. Yikes!

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Yes, get it installed. In my old apartment building the hardwired CO detection system was mandated a few years ago, but I don't know if that applies to smaller two-family situations like yours. While I'm glad I wasn't here while the meters were going off, I'm really pleased that the hardwired meter was actually _announcing the PPM_ because that is totally cool.

Battery operated meters were required when my house was sold to me, and the hardwired meter was required when my boiler was replaced. MA law is all over this.

[nathanjw]

Also code for home sales now - fire department has to sign off on the fact that adequate numbers & types of smoke and CO detectors are present or you can't close.

[karakara98.livejournal.com]

First, I am SO GLAD everyone is OK. CO poisoning is not a happy thing.

Second, as soon as r_ness said that the attic was insulated today, I figured that it was something like that.

Venting: don't mess with it.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

The airsealing around the chimney is FINALLY accomplished. That's a major source of venting from basement to attic, and it just got blocked.

I think it's pretty impressive that we detected a CO problem within 3 hours of the insulation being added, _and_ that the system could be leaky and still not build up CO that fast, all winter.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

aiee, scary -- SO glad that you had the alarms and that it's fixed!!!

[marginaleye.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear everyone involved is okay (including the cats) and that the problem has been diagnosed and dealt with. I agree, b.t.w., about the sometime-suckfulness of homeownership. I have zero interest/aptitude for D. I. Y., and often wish I had a "super" to mind the physical plant so I could ignore it completely.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

It's a headache, but I like getting to make the damn decisions. Renting always made me uncomfortable. Having to live near strangers also made me uncomfortable-- I grew up with one dude living across the street and nobody else within a quarter of a mile.