12/12/2025
Let’s Dive In 💨 with H-ZAC
Carbon Monoxide (CO) can definitely be a scary topic—but knowledge is power.
My wife and I park our vehicle in our garage too, and because of that, I personally keep low-alert CO monitors in both my garage and our bedroom, just to be safe.
Here’s something most homeowners don’t realize 👇
Most modern CO/Smoke monitors designed to UL2034, don’t alert until 70ppm is detected for up to 4 hours. Meanwhile, the fire department will evacuate a building at 30 PPM.
That means a home can sit between 30–69 PPM—levels that can still cause symptoms—and your standard CO alarm may never alert you.
This isn’t meant to scare you—just to share the reality of how CO detection works 😊
⚠️ Things to Watch For
• If you ever feel dizzy or nauseous out of nowhere, step outside for 10 minutes. If symptoms clear up, CO could be the cause.
• Never warm up your vehicle inside the garage. If you need to let it run, pull it outside and close the garage door.
😴 Things to Help You Sleep Better
• Vehicles produce the most CO in the first 5 minutes of operation. While you should never leave a car running in the garage, pulling in and shutting it off within a minute—especially with the door open—does not create a deadly CO situation.
• Any ventilation in a garage is supply air only (air blows out, not in). By code, residential garages cannot have return air ducts—so your HVAC system isn’t pulling garage air into your home.
✅ Smart, Simple Steps You Can Take
1️⃣ Leave the garage door open for 2–3 minutes after parking to let any CO naturally disperse.
2️⃣ Set your furnace fan to “ON” at the thermostat. This keeps air circulating and pushes air out of garage supply ducts, reducing any chance of infiltration.
3️⃣ Check your CO/Smoke alarms. Most last 5–10 years—the expiration date is on the back of the unit.
4️⃣ Schedule annual furnace maintenance. At Mr. Breeze, we test CO levels on every maintenance visit. Healthy homes typically read 1 PPM in breathable air (well below the concern range of 9–17 PPM).
5️⃣ Consider a low-alert CO monitor (like the TPI 780). These detect CO as low as 1 PPM and alert at 10 PPM. No installation required—just remove the battery tab and set it down. They last 5 years, and we keep them in stock for $149.
Your comfort and safety matter to us. If you ever have questions or want peace of mind, we’re here to help.
— Zack Grossenburg, H-ZAC Mr. Breeze Heating & Cooling 💙
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