Carbon monoxide detectors - where to buy?

[88mph]

Staying in a friend's house at the moment and have noticed possible symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning. Difficult to say for sure as have been unwell this week anyway but a mild headache which seems to go when I'm out the house suggests this might be the case - only been boiling the kettle on the propane fuelled hob but there's no ventilation in the kitchen and having now read about carbon monoxide poisoning I am concerned. Amazing how ignorant I was of all this before.

I have opened all the doors and windows as I write this but want to get a carbon monoxide detector tomorrow.

Am I likely to find one at Home Depot (ideally) or Ace Hardware? Or if not, anywhere else in the south of Bali?

Also - how is everyone's kitchen set up with regards to cooking? At the place I have lived for a couple of years we have a propane canister in the kitchen connected to the hob, same as in this place, although our kitchen and living room is open plan and there is also a fan. However this also isn't an 'open kitchen' ie open to the outside - double doors were often closed in the evenings when cooking, though I never experienced any problems. Reading about indoor propane usage on the internet suggests this is a BIG mistake to make - the tank should be outside - but from my experience in Bali many people have this set up.

What gives? Is the key having a totally open kitchen? Are people generally aware of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning?

 

[soontobeexpat]

Im not too sure about anything except for the part where you said "having now read about carbon monoxide poisoning I am concerned".

Dr Google is a very troublesome doctor, avoid going their for medical issues prior to consulting a real doctor. You could have heatstroke or a brain tumour.. but in the end your worrying yourself over a vague search and the reality is most conditions that you can research has symptoms.. Those symptons are so generalised that you could apply them to most conditions..

Just to let you know, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, dengue, Shingles all have very similar descriptions for symptoms on the internet - fever, malaise (rash), headache, photosensitive, dizzyness, fatigue...

 

[pollyanna]

I agree with you about our tendency to go overboard letting ”Dr. Google” diagnose our illnesses, That is good, practical advice. And now I’m being pedantic but malaise isn’t a rash. It is that vague feeling of being unwell in ways that are difficult to describe. Hmmm. I think the next time I just want a day off I’ll just announce to the world that I have malaise and go to bed. I like that idea.

88mph also brings up a valid point that typical Balinese kitchens are probably not the healthiest places to be. I have lived in two houses with typical Balinese kitchens and in each there was a gas hob with the gas canister in the room and poor ventilation. Obviously this isn’t what western governments would call best practice. I’ve also been in many Balinese kitchens, again with very poor ventilation, with women working for long periods of time at an open fire. But now that I think about it, in two of the houses I have in mind the women are old, healthy, and happy.

 

[ronb]

Wikipedia says

Carbon monoxide is a product of incomplete combustion of organic matter due to insufficient oxygen supply to enable complete oxidation to carbon dioxide (CO2).

The oxygen in the kitchen can only be depleted if something is using it up. The gas cooktop will boil the kettle in a few minutes, so will not be able to lower the oxygen level of the kitchen in this time. So I doubt there would be a carbon monoxide problem.