Pack an alarm to stay safe whenever and wherever you travel
Always pack a carbon monoxide alarm to take you with you on your trip, whether travelling at home or abroad
Safer Tourism is on a mission to wipe out the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning wherever and whenever you travel.
Whether visiting family or friends or travelling for business or pleasure, packing a carbon monoxide alarm is a must, whenever you are staying away from home. And if you are the host, show your guests that you care by installing carbon monoxide detectors to keep your visitors safe.
A carbon monoxide alarm is the only proven method to detect the presence of poisonous carbon monoxide gas and give you time to take action and seek medical treatment to prevent serious illness and even death.
That is why Safer Tourism Foundation recommends buying kitemarked, approved and tested carbon monoxide alarms from specialist safety equipment retailers to bring with you whenever you travel.
We’ve joined forces with specialist retailer Safelincs - all of their carbon monoxide alarms are Kitemarked to British Standards and are CE and UKCA approved. Thanks to our collaboration, we can offer alarms to travellers at a discounted price.
Travellers can access a 10% discount here, using the code SAFETRAVEL10
Alarm details relevant to travellers:
Additionally certified for use in caravans, boats and when camping
Supplied with 2 x AA batteries
10 year life and 10 year warranty
Free standing (or wall mounted, but free standing is obviously better for travel!)
Digital display with current and peak CO level
Visual and audible alarm
A donation from the sale of every alarm helps fund Safer Tourism’s work to raise awareness of this deadly gas.
What is carbon monoxide?
Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas as you can’t see, hear, smell or taste it. It can be fatal.
It is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, paraffin, charcoal, coal and wood do not burn correctly. So if there are any fuel-burning appliances where you are staying, these must have been installed correctly, are well maintained and are in good working order. Carbon monoxide can also build up when flues, chimneys or vents are blocked, so these also need to be well maintained.
Appliances that can potentially produce carbon monoxide include boilers, cookers, gas fires, water heaters, camping stoves and open fires.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Being away from home and eating different foods can often take some adjusting to. But it’s important not to confuse covid symptoms, food poisoning, dehydration or a hangover with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can feel like flu but without the fever.
The six main symptoms are:
headaches
dizziness
nausea
breathlessness
collapse
Loss of consciousness.
If you or anyone with you show signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, or if your detector alarm sounds, think GAS:
G - go outside into the fresh air immediately.
A - ask for medical support, and tell whoever treats you that you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning and ask for a proper diagnosis.
S - service the appliances. If your tests confirm carbon monoxide poisoning tell the people who are responsible for your accommodation straight away.
All holiday property landlords should install carbon monoxide detectors to keep guests safe
Whether renting out your spare room for festival-goers, a city centre apartment for culture vultures, or a coastal holiday cottage for a family and their pets, installing a carbon monoxide alarm helps save lives.
All holiday homeowners and hosts listing property with peer-to-peer sites should do their part to help wipe out the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning for travellers who are looking for self-catering accommodation.
People have been killed or injured by the deadly carbon monoxide gas while staying in a tent, caravan, holiday cottage or boat.
At the Safer Tourism Foundation, we urge holiday property landlords and hosts to save lives by:
Installing a carbon monoxide alarm that complies with local legislation.
Updating property information sheets to include the symptoms of carbon monoxide so guests can recognise the signs and know what to do.
Get appliances serviced regularly and publish relevant certificates as part of the property information.
Safer Tourism Foundation has joined forces with specialist retailer Safelincs to offer discounted alarms to holiday home landlords which comply with all British Standards. These are available here, using the code SAFETRAVEL10.
Carbon monoxide – a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas – caused by incorrectly installed or poorly maintained household appliances – delivers a potentially lethal impact for anyone who inhales it.
Holiday home owners are advised to have a CO alarm in every room where there is a fuel-burning appliance (log burners, boilers, heaters, open fires etc.). CO can also travel through walls, so even if the property has no direct sources of CO, it could be vulnerable to CO exposure from adjoining properties. Holiday home owners should also ideally educate their tenants on any safety equipment they have installed so that they know what to do it the alarm goes off. Rather than simply ignoring it and removing the batteries!
Caravans, motorhomes, lodges and campers are also particularly vulnerable as bbqs and camp fires can give off carbon monoxide and if they are used near the caravan/tent/motorhome, CO can build up in that small space with devastating consequences.
Safer Tourism Foundation’s CEO Katherine Atkinson says:
“Whether you rent out a cottage, caravan, boat or campervan to visitors and guests in the UK or abroad, installing a carbon monoxide alarm that complies with local safety legislation is the only proven method to alert guests whether this toxic gas is present.”