Soddy-Daisy, TN- A mother, her boyfriend and two children are back home after their house filled with carbon monoxide Tuesday.
Police say it was all an accident caused by someone leaving a car running in the garage at the home on Brookplace Drive.
Guffey said it took hours for the home to air out.
“The levels were high in them. The levels inside the house were high. We had to ventilate the whole house. It took several hours to get all of it out of the whole house,” he added.
Police say a car was accidentally left running in the garage causing the home to fill with the odorless and colorless gas.
Carbon monoxide poisons people who breathe it in and can cause death; that’s why Guffey said it’s important to have carbon monoxide detectors on every floor, outside every bedroom and in the basement of your home.
“You only need those if you’re burning carbon-based fuel: natural gas, wood, propane. If you don’t have any of those appliances in your house, then you don’t really need one unless you have a garage where you’re parking your cars,” he said.
You can buy a carbon monoxide detector at your local hardware store for about $40. There are different kinds, and some detect smoke too.
“We have hardwired, which you’re going to wire directly into your house’s electrical system, battery powered, which is going to run on a regular 9-volt battery, and then there’s ones that plug into a regular wall outlet,” Samuel Bruns with Ace Hardware said.
It’s important to remember to change the batteries twice a year. Every 3-5 years, you should replace the detector completely.
“If you don’t remember when is the last time you replaced one, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and replace it,” Bruns added.
To learn more about carbon monoxide, visit the CDC’s website.