Carbon Monoxide Testing in Hyattsville, MD

If your carbon monoxide alarm is sounding right now, or anyone in your home has headache, dizziness, nausea, or confusion, stop reading and act: get everyone outside into fresh air immediately, and call 911 from outside. Do not wait, do not investigate, and do not go back inside. Once the fire department or utility has made your home safe, we can find and fix the source. This page is for understanding and preventing carbon monoxide problems — not for handling an active emergency, which is always a 911 call first.

Why Carbon Monoxide Is So Dangerous

Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, which is exactly what makes it deadly — you cannot detect it with your senses. It is produced whenever fuel burns incompletely, so any gas-burning appliance in your home — furnace, boiler, water heater, range, or fireplace — is a potential source if something goes wrong. When inhaled, CO binds to the blood far more readily than oxygen does, starving the body of oxygen. Low-level exposure causes headaches, dizziness, nausea, and fatigue that are easily mistaken for the flu; higher levels cause confusion, loss of consciousness, and death. Because you cannot see or smell it, detection depends entirely on working CO alarms and on the combustion appliances themselves operating and venting safely.

Detectors First: Your Essential Warning System

Before anything else, every home with gas appliances or an attached garage needs working carbon monoxide detectors — on every level and near sleeping areas. This is non-negotiable and it is your independent line of defense regardless of your equipment’s condition. Detectors have a limited lifespan, typically five to seven years, after which the sensor degrades and they should be replaced, not just have their batteries changed. If you do not have working CO detectors, install them today; it is the most important step, and it is inexpensive. Our testing and safety work complements your detectors by finding problems at the source — but the detector is what protects you in real time.

What Our Carbon Monoxide Testing Covers

Our testing focuses on the combustion appliances and venting that are the potential CO sources in your home:

Combustion analysis — measuring the actual flue-gas composition of your furnace or boiler to confirm it is burning cleanly and not producing excess carbon monoxide.
Heat exchanger inspection — checking for the cracks that let combustion gases, including CO, leak into your home’s air. This is the most common furnace-related CO source; see our heat exchanger page.
Venting and draft verification — confirming exhaust gases are actually leaving the home, including checking for the orphaned-water-heater and backdrafting problems common in this housing stock.
Gas appliance check — evaluating the safe operation of gas-fired equipment.
CO measurement — using instruments to measure actual carbon monoxide levels around appliances.

The Venting Problems That Cause CO in This Housing Stock

Two venting issues are especially common in our area’s older homes, and both can cause carbon monoxide to spill indoors. The first is the orphaned water heater: when a high-efficiency furnace replacement leaves a gas water heater alone on a chimney that is now oversized, the water heater’s exhaust can fail to rise, cool, and spill CO back into the home — a problem a proper furnace installation prevents. The second is general backdrafting, where tight homes and powerful exhaust fans create negative pressure that pulls combustion gases back down a flue instead of letting them vent out. We check for both, because they are exactly the kind of hidden problem that a CO detector catches only after gas is already spilling.

When to Have Testing Done

Beyond responding to an alarm (which is a 911 situation first), carbon monoxide testing is worthwhile in several situations: as part of an annual furnace or boiler tune-up, when you have an older gas heating system, after any furnace replacement or major venting change, when buying a home with gas appliances, or any time you have vague, recurring symptoms — headaches or nausea that improve when you leave the house — that could point to low-level CO exposure. Regular combustion-safety testing as part of maintenance is the proactive way to catch a developing problem before it becomes a dangerous one, which is why our furnace tune-up includes it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my carbon monoxide alarm goes off?: Treat it as a life-threatening emergency. Get everyone out of the house into fresh air immediately, including pets, and call 911 from outside once you are safely away. Do not stop to investigate the source, do not open windows and stay inside, and do not re-enter the home until the fire department or utility confirms it is safe. If anyone has symptoms like headache, dizziness, nausea, or confusion, tell the 911 dispatcher. Only after the emergency responders have made the home safe should you arrange for a professional to find and fix the source, which is where we can help.
What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?: Low-level exposure causes symptoms that are easily mistaken for the flu: headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath. A telling sign is that symptoms improve when you leave the house and return when you come back, and that multiple household members or pets feel ill at once. Higher exposure causes confusion, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, and can be fatal. Because carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, these symptoms may be your only warning if you lack working detectors. If you suspect CO exposure, get everyone into fresh air and call 911.
Where does carbon monoxide in a home usually come from?: From fuel-burning appliances when something goes wrong with combustion or venting. The most common furnace-related source is a cracked heat exchanger, which lets combustion gases leak into the air supply. Venting problems are also frequent in this area’s older homes, including an orphaned water heater left on an oversized chimney after a furnace upgrade, and backdrafting where negative pressure pulls exhaust back indoors. Other sources include gas water heaters, ranges, and fireplaces, and never-vented devices like generators or grills used indoors. Our testing checks the combustion appliances and venting to identify and eliminate these sources.
Do I still need CO testing if I have detectors?: Yes — they serve different purposes and you need both. Carbon monoxide detectors are your essential real-time warning system, alerting you the moment CO reaches a dangerous level, and every home with gas appliances must have working detectors on every level. Testing, by contrast, is proactive: it checks your combustion appliances and venting to find developing problems before they produce dangerous CO in the first place. Detectors warn you after gas is already present; testing helps prevent it from happening. Together they provide both prevention and warning, which is the safe approach with any gas heating system.
How often should carbon monoxide safety be checked?: Combustion-safety testing should be part of your annual furnace or boiler tune-up, which is one reason regular heating maintenance matters beyond efficiency. It is also worth testing after any furnace replacement or venting change, when buying a home with gas appliances, and any time you notice symptoms that could indicate low-level exposure. Separately, replace your CO detectors every five to seven years, since the sensors degrade — a detector past its lifespan may not alarm properly even with fresh batteries. Building CO testing into annual maintenance is the reliable way to keep a gas heating system safe.

Protect Your Home From Carbon Monoxide — Hyattsville, MD

For prevention and testing of your gas heating system, call us. For an active CO alarm or symptoms, call 911 first.

Phone: (227) 249-1654
Address: Riggs Building, 7411 Riggs Rd #224, Hyattsville, MD 20783
Email: info@swellfortheatingairconditioning.xyz
Maryland HVACR Contractor License: #01-148326
WSSC Water Gasfitter License: #GF-72241

Office Hours

Monday – Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
Emergency Service: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Carbon Monoxide Testing | Hyattsville, MD | Swellfort