In light of the Iowa family that died in Mexico a few weeks back (likely due to carbon monoxide from a faulty heater https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2018/03/26/hot-water-heater-gas-stove-cause-gas-leak-killed-iowa-family-says-relative-mexico/457778002/ ), I decided to start carrying a plug-in carbon monoxide detector. It only costs 20-30$ and easily fits in my flight bag. I was only recently made aware of how many hotels have gas powered water heaters/furnaces, and it seemed like a small investment to guard against dying in my sleep at a crappy best western in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't take a large leak to start affecting you, and if you're asleep you won't be aware it's happening.

I try to not be paranoid about this kind of thing but it's cheap insurance. Recently several kids at a hotel pool party in my home town died from CO poisoning. Just wanted to remind everybody that this isn't an extremely uncommon event and it's very easy to guard against.

 

Probably a good idea in lower-end (ie regional) hotels and ANY foreign hotel.

 

Exactly. And I was shocked to find that many states don't require hotels to install carbon monoxide alarms, or they aren't required in every room (which means if you're in a room far from the detector you can be dead long before the alarm goes off.)

 

Most modern hotels don't have an combustion devices in proximity to guest rooms. In that case it wouldn't be any more useful than a nerve gas or radiation detector... ie highly improbable. Typically the only risk would be central gas heat, if that, but that would have multiple safety systems at the central point. Even if code doesn't require it, insurance sure would. It's the odd-ball fly-by-night and third world joints where things could get weird.

I remember one place years ago that had a small gas water heater in the closet. I turned that all the way off at night.

 

Look at a globe, the oddball, third world places don’t need heat, they have plenty of it, in my experience. Two nights in Petropavlovsk would be an exception.

GF

 

It's not just furnaces, it's water heaters too. Not to mention the handful of third world states in the US.

 

Need one for my airport car!