The second Sunday in March triggers daylight saving time, when we set our clocks 1 hour ahead. It is also the best day to change the batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors— even if the batteries are not dead.
If you do not have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, your family is at risk. The detectors loudly warn you if smoke or gas is present in your home so you can get out.
Carbon monoxide is a clear, odorless gas that is deadly but hard to detect. If you don’t have a detector, it is unlikely you will know if your home has a carbon monoxide leak.
Carbon monoxide does not come just from cars. Your gas furnace or stove is a potential source.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers these tips:
- Properly adjust gas appliances.
- Use electric space heaters, not gas space heaters.
- Install an exhaust fan, vented to the outdoors, above a gas stove.
- Open flues when wood-burning fireplaces are in use.
- Choose properly sized woodstoves with tight-fitting doors certified to meet EPA emission standards.
- Every year, have a trained professional inspect, clean and tune up your central heating system, including furnaces, flues, and chimneys. Repair leaks promptly.
- Do not idle your car inside the garage.