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I am considering buying a place that has a garage directly below the living room/dining room. Starting a car in the garage, even for just a few seconds warm-up, gives off exhaust that goes upward - possibly through the ceiling. The carbon monoxide probably does enter the living area. Does opening the garage door prior to starting the car create enough ventilation for the exhaust to prevent it from entering the living area?
Carbon monoxide has nearly the same specific gravity of "air", it will travel along natural air currents in a house. You should of course avoid CO as much as possible but starting a car in garage and driving it out immediately isn't going to pose a hazard especially with newer cars that are running well. It takes quite while to build up levels that are truly dangerous. Make sure to pull into to the garage so the exhaust is pointing towards the door. Open the garage door, start the car and pull out...
Of course you should have CO detector in your house if you have any kind heat, stove etc that uses a combustible heat source. If you're concerned about the levels in the garage they make detectors that will tell you the PPM so you can monitor for elevated but lower levels that won't necessarily set off the detector.
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Doing a little more research even if you wanted to kill yourself it apparently isn't such a great method:
A 56-year-old man, an orthopedic prosthesis salesman depressed at a decline in sales, was brought to the emergency room by ambulance after a friend smelled exhaust fumes in the patient’s house. The unconscious patient was found lying on his right leg against his car. The motor was running, and a hose attached to the exhaust pipe was emptying into the cab of the car. The patient had been in the garage for 8 to 10 h.
This case is notable because after 8 to10 h of breathing exhaust fumes in a closed garage, the patient’s HbCO level was only 4.8%. The half-life of CO at 100% O2 at sea level is 80 min. Using extrapolation, this patient’s HbCO level at the scene would have been < 10%, well below the toxic level of 20%. The automobile in this case was a 1995 model equipped with a catalytic converter.
Most people that you see dieing from this other than the typical sources like a furnace is the nitwit that was running a generator or other small engine in the house. They produce a lot of CO, you could kill yourself faster with a lawnmower than a car.
Last edited by thecoalman; 05-06-2013 at 01:42 AM..
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You should never start a car with the garage door open anyway, the carbon monoxide can get you sitting in the car. It's no great task to seal up the garage and prevent fumes from getting into the house, you just have to locate the entry points, such as where a pipe goes in or cracks in the drywall and seal with a can of expanding foam. If there is no drywall in the garage then it will take more work, but that is something that could be added into the purchase agreement.
You should always OPEN the garage door before starting the car.
No exceptions!
Agree and you should always turn off the car once you pull into a garage. In this darn age where people like to have phone conversion, the last thing you want is to pull into your garage and get carry away with the phone conversation with the car running.
As for carbon monoxide detector. You should have one in your living room and each bedroom. It's necessary even if you don't use gas heat and live in a row home.
"3. Don’t run your car inside your garage. On cold winter days, it might be tempting to let your car idle inside your garage for a few minutes before leaving for work or a trip. But according to Angela Minicuci, a public information officer with Michigan Department of Community Health, doing so can increase the level of carbon monoxide inside your home, even if the garage door is open. “Don’t idle your car indoors, even for just a minute,” she said. Does your car have a keyless start? Then keep your car keys in a safe, secure location."
"A vehicle left running in a garage was the source of the carbon monoxide, said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief Scott Graham."
I am considering buying a place that has a garage directly below the living room/dining room.
How old is the house?
Newer construction makes some reasonable effort at safety.
Older construction doesn't even pretend to.
If you would NEED to use this garage for a car then be sure the space is made as safe as
reasonable per current standards and then NEVER have an engine running with the door closed.
Carbon monoxide has nearly the same specific gravity of "air", it will travel along natural air currents in a house. You should of course avoid CO as much as possible but starting a car in garage and driving it out immediately isn't going to pose a hazard especially with newer cars that are running well. It takes quite while to build up levels that are truly dangerous. Make sure to pull into to the garage so the exhaust is pointing towards the door. Open the garage door, start the car and pull out...
Of course you should have CO detector in your house if you have any kind heat, stove etc that uses a combustible heat source. If you're concerned about the levels in the garage they make detectors that will tell you the PPM so you can monitor for elevated but lower levels that won't necessarily set off the detector.
-----------edit------
Doing a little more research even if you wanted to kill yourself it apparently isn't such a great method:
Most people that you see dieing from this other than the typical sources like a furnace is the nitwit that was running a generator or other small engine in the house. They produce a lot of CO, you could kill yourself faster with a lawnmower than a car.
This was my thought when I read the initial post. Most don't realize it's not the CO that poisons you, but rather the displacement of oxygen level below a safe level of about 19%.
My understanding of building code tells me that a proper separation of occupancy should be inplace at least back into the 40's and maybe before. As has been mentioned the doors between the residence and the garage should remain closed, and the main garage door up while running. Doing this should keep oxygen levels elevated to a safe level between 20 and 23 %
You'll be fine as long as you don't keep the car running once it's in the garage. Common sense stuff.
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