Carbon monoxide is invisible. It has no smell. You can’t taste it. And if enough of it builds up while you’re asleep, you won’t wake up.
Here’s the thing people get wrong: they hear “never run a generator indoors” and they think that means outside equals safe. But that’s not the full picture. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, even when a generator is outside, it needs to be at least 20 feet away from any doors, windows, or vents. Twenty feet. That’s not a few steps off the porch — that’s most of a typical backyard.
Why does distance matter so much? Because carbon monoxide doesn’t just disappear into the air. The exhaust drifts. And if it drifts toward a vent, an open window, or even a small crack in your home’s siding, it can slowly work its way inside. You won’t feel it happening. One of the early symptoms is actually feeling kind of drowsy — which, if you’re already asleep, means you’ll likely never notice at all.
The garage door myth is a big one too. A lot of people run generators in the garage with the door open, thinking the ventilation is enough. It’s not. Open garage doors don’t move enough air to safely clear exhaust fumes.
Between 2004 and 2013, portable generators were responsible for 526 carbon monoxide deaths in homes — and only 15 of those involved machines that were actually being used outside. The rest? Indoors or too close to the home. That tells you a lot about where the real danger lives.
If your family uses a generator — especially during storm outages when power is out for days — here’s what actually keeps you safe:
– Keep it at least 20 feet from the house, with the exhaust pointing away from any opening
– Never run it in a garage, even with the door open
– Install a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector on every floor of your home, especially near sleeping areas
– If anyone in the house starts feeling dizzy, nauseous, or gets a sudden headache while the generator is running, get everyone outside immediately and call 911
The detectors are the real safety net here. Since CO is undetectable by your senses alone, a working alarm is the only thing that gives you a warning before it’s too late.