Every Kansas home that heats with gas, propane, or oil produces carbon monoxide as part of combustion. A healthy furnace vents it all outside. A compromised one can leak it into your living space — and because CO is colorless and odorless, you won’t know without a detector.
Why Winter Is the Danger Season
CO incidents spike in heating season for a simple reason: that’s when furnaces run hard and houses stay sealed. A cracked heat exchanger, a blocked flue (nests and debris are common culprits), or backdrafting from negative pressure can all turn a working furnace into a hazard.
Know the Symptoms
Low-level CO exposure mimics the flu: headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue — but without the fever, and it improves when you leave the house. If multiple family members feel it at once, or pets seem lethargic too, get outside into fresh air and call for help from there.
Detector Placement That Actually Works
One detector per level, outside sleeping areas, and never right next to the furnace (nuisance alarms) or in dead-air corners. Test monthly, replace batteries annually, and replace the unit itself every 5–7 years — sensors wear out. Combination smoke/CO units are fine; dedicated CO units at knee-to-eye height are even better since CO mixes with air rather than rising cleanly.
The Furnace Side of Prevention
Annual professional maintenance is the other half of the equation. A tune-up includes a heat exchanger inspection — the component whose failure causes most furnace-related CO exposure — plus a combustion check and venting verification. It’s the same visit that protects efficiency and warranty, and it’s the one appointment no gas-heated home should skip.
If Your Alarm Goes Off
Don’t silence it and go back to bed. Get everyone outside, call 911 or the gas utility from outside, and don’t re-enter until the house is cleared. Then have the furnace inspected before it runs again.