How to Test CO Detectors
- 1). Press and hold the test button on your carbon monoxide detector for 20 seconds. The detector should go off. However, this only tests the ability of the alarm to go off; it doesn't prove that it is detecting carbon monoxide.
- 2). Purchase a carbon monoxide detecting kit and use it. These tests consist of a bottle of carbon monoxide and a plastic bag to place over the unit. You put the bag over the detector and release the gas into the plastic bag. If the detector is working, it will go off. However, this kit releases a large concentration of gas, which does not test the sensitivity of the detector. You may become ill or die from smaller amounts of carbon dioxide.
- 3). Hold a lit cigarette or an unlit butane lighter with your finger on the gas within 6 inches of the carbon monoxide detector. All of these items emit a very low level of carbon monoxide, and when they are held close, they should trigger a digital carbon monoxide detector to go off.
