I was talking to an Heating, Ventilation, & A/C contractor who was a friend of my dad’s.
I told him we had a gas heating system that was getting older, & asked what the probability of our getting carbon monoxide in our condo was.
He looked at me like there was something wrong with me. He told me that in order to have carbon monoxide poison in the house, he had to have a cracked heat exchanger. As long as the heat exchanger was in great condition, there was little likelihood of there being carbon monoxide. I asked him what had to happen for formaldehyde to get into the house. He told me the heat exchanger was where all the off gasses usually came from, but you could get formaldehyde & carbon monoxide from an oil heating system, a coal heating system, or any heating source under the right conditions. I asked him if he had ever seen someone with carbon monoxide poisoning. He told me he had seen one once, & then he turned his full attention on me. He asked why I had so multiple questions, & I asked him to follow me… My neighbor’s door wasn’t totally shut, & he was kneeling in his chair. The Heating, Ventilation, & A/C contractor told me to call an ambulance & then the fire company. He went in & dragged the person outside. His face was an strange shade of red, & the Heating, Ventilation, & A/C contractor told me that is what someone with carbon monoxide poisoning looks like. Luckily, our acquaintance is okay, but he needed a current heating system for the house.