How do I know if my CO alarm went off because of Carbon Monoxide?

[Guest Mylene]

My Kidde CO detector went off last night. 4 beeps then another 4 beeps after a few seconds. I changed the batteries then reset. Never beeped again since last night. It was a new one our landlord installed a few weeks ago. What could have triggered it? Just want to add that I just finished showering and it was pretty hot inside our bathroom because I closed all windows and turned on a portable ceramic heater. Was it a spike of CO? What should I do? 

[Tom Sutton]

The beeping noise is used to alert you to unsafe CO levels.  It is usually in the form of 4 beeps, a pause, then 4 more beeps.  This pattern is repeated continuously until the CO level drops or until you press the “mute” button. So this would indicate it detected CO, but as it cleared after your actions, I would imagine that an unsafe level of CO did not remain and a spike had activated the detector which is now cleared. What I would do is monitor the detector and if any of your actions repeat the situation take appropriate actions to prevent the spike.

If you have any doubts contact the gas board and seek their advice.

[Guest Mickey]

Hello, me and my girlfriend moved into a new build flat in September, and every couple of weeks my co alarm goes off, with the other 2 smoke alarms which are all wired together I'm guessing. They are all kidde frenetic alarms. First time we thought it was a false alarm, couple hours later it went off, so next day we had a gas engineer come in and he couldn't find any problems with the gas/Combi boiler, so then we got someone to fit a new co alarm, but this still goes off every couple off weeks, but it's usually at night 1-3 in the morning, when the heating isn't on or anything, I think I'm going to remove the co alarm completely and get a fire angel battery one, thoughts???

[Safelincs]

It is certainly worth to get a second reading from a different CO alarm. The Fireangel CO9D will give you an actual reading and will record peak levels, so if there is an intermittent leak this will identify this.

Harry

[Guest Amywoo]

CO alarm keeps going off, 4 beeps then 4 beeps then 2 beeps. This does not fit any of the manufacturers descriptions for warnings. Continued to go off after 5 mins outside. 

Any advice?

[Safelincs]

Hi, what model is this alarm?

[Guest Guest N/A]

Hi,

5:30 this morning I woke up to my CO detector going off…once. It never went off again in I’m confused as to what just happened.  

[Guest Hilary S.]

Hello as the person above,  last night my CO alarm went off. It is hard wired /connected to other CO and smoke. fire alarms. So hard to tell where it originated. The gas furnace ( natural gas) was not running. It stopped on its own after a couple of beeps and announcement about CO. I did open window in a bedroom. It did not go off again. This happened about a month or so ago. It alarms then goes off on its own, moments later. One CO is brand new, the other older. Could this be a malfunction? can CO leak if the appliance is off/ What is the best way for me to check for CO levels in the house?

thanks, in advance, hilary 

[Tom Sutton]

It sounds like the detector, detected CO or other gasses, above the trigger point and gave a warning, but it dissipated quickly, which can happen. I would suggest you have the appliance, the CO detector is protecting, check out and tell the engineer what happened.

 I have heard of situations where exhaust fumes from a nearby road has been blow though a vent and actuated the CO detector inside, keep an eye on it.

[Guest Help me]

My alarm went off I took it outside nd it hasn't went off since I have no gas in my house at all only an open fire which isn't lighting , I'm a bit freaked out by it , do I need to call people in ??

[Tom Sutton]

It sounds like the detector, detected CO or other gasses, above the trigger point and gave a warning, but it dissipated quickly, which can happen.  I have heard of situations where exhaust fumes from a nearby road has been blow though a vent and actuated the CO detector inside.

It could be an intermittent fault on the CO detector, so if it happens again have the detector checked out. If you are concerned, then purchase another CO detector which you keep the two detectors close together and if both do not operate at the same time, you can assume a false alarm.

Check out  https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/help-and-advice/carbon-monoxide-poisoning/

[Guest Chris]

My alarm has gone off we have a 2year old condenser  boiler the kiddie alarm is saying fire could it be carbon monoxide 

[Safelincs]

Hi Chris 

Is this a combination smoke/CO alarm from Kidde 10SCO? 

Harry

[Guest Don]

Could a propane gas leak from our fireplace cause my CO detector to sound an alarm?

[Tom Sutton]

I would think it is unlikely, although propane contains carbon it needs to combine with a poor supply of oxygen and a means of creating a chemical reaction, like heat. Without heat, the propane will remain CH3 CH2 CH3 which should not activate the CO sensor.

Treat this explanation with caution I am not a chemist.

[Guest B Dubya]

Hi, I have 3 co detectors on one floor. One in my hall, and one on each bed room. The detectors in the rooms occasionally go off, but never at the same time or day, and only at night. Wouldn't all 3 go off if carbon monoxide was really detected?

[Guest Sarah L]

Hi there - I just noticed last night that my CO detector (KIDDE KN COB LP2) was flashing a red light last night. On the LED ALARM button, it was flashing red every 30 seconds, while simultaneously, the OPERATE LED button was flashing green. There was no beeping/chirping. I hit the test/reset button and the red light went away and the OPERATE button flashes green every 30 seconds. It really worries me because I wasn't home all day. Would the alarm sound all day if it did detect CO? I am getting a backup detector, but I'm just hoping that it would have sounded if it was high levels.

[Tom Sutton]

Without having detailed knowledge of all models it is impossible to answer your question and I doubt that anybody does. I would suggest you study your installation/user manual and if you cannot resolve your problem contact the manufacturer for their advice. 

[Guest Guest Denise]

Hi, my Carbon Monoxide alarm keeps going off & it & my boiler have recently been checked by the council about 3 months ago, can my drier set the alarm off as it is in the utility room with the alarm, I have a window which I open to put the pipe outside,

[Tom Sutton]

It has been reported that steam from a bathroom has actuated a smoke detector in a hotel bedroom so I suppose steam from your dryer could be responsible but it is anybody's guess. What you could try to resite your CO detector away from the dryer and see if that works  but if it does operate then treat it as a genuine alarm. 

[Guest Worried nanny]

Hi. CO alarm upstairs in daughter’s house went off once last Thursday. Stopped straightaway. Then lunchtime today it went off (max 10 beeps) and stopped. Same thing happened at teatime though at ground floor gas cooker was on for an hour. Windows were open as it’s been so hot. Didn’t see display on alarm at time of incidents but checked this evening and battery is ok, display reading is Zero. Any thoughts please?

[Tom Sutton]

I am afraid there is no answer, intermittent faults are notoriously difficult to solve. It could be electronic, dust, minute flying insects, a small CO gas cloud from a domestic appliance or car exhausts entered through an open window, I believe it is anybody's guess.

One way of solving the problem is to have two detectors  located some distance from each other and if both operated it is more likely to be a dangerous genuine leak of CO, but even that could not be guaranteed.

Have you contacted the manufacturer they may be able to help.

[Guest Andrew]

Hello. Our kiddle co alarm (KN-COPP-B-LS-UK with digital display) went off yesterday evening while using hot water to wash the dishes (possibly a coincidence). The red light flashed and 4 loud beeps were emitted with several seconds in between. However the digital display still showed a reading of 0. 

Batteries were replaced and the unit was taken outside for 5 minutes where the alarm continued to sound. 

Given that the alarm continued to sound outside we suspect a faulty unit and intend to get a replacement. Would anyone with experience if this product advise on more immediate action e.g. contact the gas emergency services? Thanks!

[Tom Sutton]

I know fire alarms detectors have been triggered by steam so it is possible that a CO detector could be also. I also agree your reasoning is sound and while you are getting a replacement buy a second CO detector, resulting having two detectors which makes sense in helping you decide if it is a false alarm, one operating needs investigating, two get immediately and call the gas emergency services.

I also know in an effort to reduce false alarms in fire alarm systems multiply detectors heads are used  and if only one detector operates the system will indicate a false alarm, it needs at least two, to trigger the fire alarm. I know when detecting a fire there are a number of methods that can be used, smoke, heat and CO and there is only one for detecting CO, so it is not quite the same, but it could be argued having two CO detectors kind of follows that reasoning.

As for immediate action that is for you to decide, everybody will see it differently.

[Guest Sarah]

My alarm, not even sure specifically what kind it is, but it’s gone off, now about 40/45 minutes ago, we just turned it off (not like took out batteries or anything, we just pressed the button to stop it sounding) and it only went off the once and hasn’t again, does anyone know why this might be? I’m very panicked. Not sure if I’ve said all the necessary info someone needs to tell me what I should do... but like? My family feels like since it’s been this long and it hasn’t gone off again, we’re fine! The dryer was on at the time too, but it’s been turned off now and everything else has been pulled out too