Where the Generator Goes When It's Raining (Hint: Not the Garage or the Porch)

It's pouring, the power's out, and the generator is sitting in the yard getting soaked. The garage is right there. The covered porch is right there.

That's exactly how people end up in the ER.

01This fall's reminders

On September 23, a short power outage in Conroe, Texas, sent firefighters to several carbon monoxide calls, with generators running in or near homes. Two days later, as a nor'easter moved in, the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers put out its own warning: one generator mistake can poison a whole household, pets included.

Every fall and winter the same stories repeat. Here's how not to be one.

02The rules

• Outdoors only. Not in the garage, even with the door open. Not in the basement. Not in a shed attached to the house. Not on a covered porch or under a carport against the house.
• At least 20 feet away from your house and your neighbor's.
• Exhaust pointed away from doors, windows and vents, yours and theirs.
• CO alarms on every level of the house and near bedrooms, tested before the storm.

03Why the porch still counts

Carbon monoxide doesn't care about walls. A roof and two sides trap exhaust, and it drifts in through doors, windows and gaps. An open garage door doesn't clear it either. CO can build up in a garage and seep into the house for hours after the generator is off.

04Keeping it dry the safe way

• A purpose-built generator cover or tent made for running generators. They're designed to keep rain off while letting exhaust and heat escape. Follow the maker's instructions.
• Set it on a dry, level spot, like a paver or a piece of plywood, so it's not sitting in water.
• Use outdoor-rated, heavy-gauge extension cords, with connections kept off the ground and out of puddles.
• Never run it under a tarp tied tight around it. That's a heat and exhaust trap.

05If you feel sick

Headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, especially in more than one person at once: get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911. Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222.

A wet generator can be dried out. A house full of carbon monoxide can't be undone.

Sources (2)

Montgomery County Police Reporter: Conroe outage brings CO calls · Newswise / NJ Poison Control at Rutgers: one generator mistake can prove deadly

Photo by JESHOOTS-com on Pixabay.

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