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If this past year showed us anything, it's how much we love our families and our pets and want them to stay safe! We wear masks and social distance, wash our hands and use sanitizer regularly. We even stopped getting together with friends for a time. Why? Because we love our people and want them to be around for a long time!

But how many of us are unaware of the real dangers of carbon monoxide exposure? Today, I want to educate you a little with the most important facts that every homeowner should know about this silent killer. I have been personally affected by CO and I'll share a little more about my story in a bit.

5 Facts Every Homeowner Should Know About Carbon Monoxide and First Alert Alarms

1. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is odorless and tasteless

You might think you'll know if your home is slowly filling up with CO but the truth is that it's invisible and completely odorless and tasteless; that's why it's known as the silent killer.

Protecting your family from CO exposure is easy when you have the proper carbon monoxide alarms installed in your home, on every level and in each bedroom.

2. Household appliances can leak CO gases

Carbon monoxide is produced from any fuel burning device in your home. This includes both gas and oil-burning appliances such as your furnace, boiler or stove (including wood-burning) as well as your dryer, water heater, charcoal grill and your cars!

If you have a generator, you should never use it inside your home, even with windows and doors open!

Everyone knows you should never start a car inside a closed garage. But did you know that you should never even work on a car's engine in a closed garage? That's how my dad lost his life in February of 2009. He was tinkering with the non-working engine of his Corvette, and I'm sure he never imagined that any CO was being emitted into the air around him. He died alone in a cold garage, overcome by poisonous CO gas. The saddest part about his death was that it was completely preventable!

Keeping on top of appliance maintenance is part of being a responsible homeowner. It's important to have your oil or gas furnace inspected every winter before you turn it on for the first time! Did you know that two out of every five exposures to carbon monoxide happen during the winter months?

Here are some things you can do to ensure your appliances are in good working condition:

• make sure your chimneys, flues and vents are clear of debris
• check your gas appliances periodically to make sure they're properly vented and operating as they should
• do not use unvented gas and wood stoves or charcoal grills indoors
• do not permit cars or other gas-powered equipment (power tools, lawn equipment) to run indoors without proper ventilation

If your equipment or appliances are clogged up and not running properly, higher concentrations of CO are produced.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are very similar to the flu and they vary from person to person so they can be confusing to detect. What happens when you breathe in carbon monoxide, is that the poison replaces the oxygen in your bloodstream. Your heart, brain, and body will become starved of oxygen.

The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. CO symptoms are often described as 'flu-like.' If you breathe in a lot of CO it can make you pass out or kill you.

Those at high risk include young children, older adults, people with lung or heart disease, people who are at high altitudes, and smokers.

It's important to note that animals can also be poisoned by carbon monoxide. People who have pets at home may notice that their animals become weak or unresponsive from carbon monoxide exposure. Often the pets will get sick before humans.