That time I found out my house was basically a sealed plastic bag

I was reading through some HVAC forums (my field, I know) and stumbled on a stat that said modern homes exchange indoor air only 0.5 times per hour compared to 1.5 times for older ones. That got me thinking about my own 1990s house, so I grabbed a carbon monoxide detector and set it in my basement workshop for a weekend while I was running a gas heater. After 8 hours, the levels hit 45 ppm, which is way higher than the safe 9 ppm limit. Anyone else check their air quality after sealing up drafts and windows?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicebarnes1d ago

45 ppm is insane, I can't believe your gas heater pushed it that high in just 8 hours. My dad used to run a kerosene heater in his garage all winter and I bet that thing was a death trap now that I think about it. So your house basically held onto all that bad air because of the caulking and weather stripping. Makes me wonder how many people are slowly getting poisoned by their own sealed up homes without even knowing it.

gonzalez.phoenix1d ago

Actually modern homes are way safer than drafty old ones. CO monitors exist.