Pressure Washers and Carbon Monoxide Hazards

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Many people using gasoline-powered tools such as pressure washers, concrete cutting saws (walk-behind/hand-held), power trowels, floor buffers, welders, pumps, compressors, and generators in buildings or semienclosed spaces have been poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO). CO can rapidly accumulate (even in areas that appear to be well ventilated) and build up to dangerous or fatal concentrations within minutes. Examples of such poisonings include the following:

A farm owner died of CO poisoning while using an 11-horsepower, gasoline-powered pressure washer to clean his barn. He had worked about 30 minutes before being overcome.

A municipal employee at an indoor water treatment plant lost consciousness while trying to exit from a 59,000-cubic-foot room where he had been working with an 8-horse-power, gasoline-powered pump. Doors adjacent to the work area were open while he worked. His hospital diagnosis was CO poisoning.

Five workers were treated for CO poisoning after using two 8 horse-power, gasoline-powered, pressure washers in a poorly ventilated underground parking garage.

A plumber used a gasoline-powered concrete saw in a basement with open doors and windows and a cooling fan. He experienced a severe headache and dizziness and began to act in a paranoid manner. His symptoms were related to CO poisoning.

These examples show a range of effects caused by CO poisoning in a variety of work settings with exposures that occurred over different time periods and with different types of ventilation.
Workers in areas with closed doors and windows were incapacitated within minutes.
Opening doors and windows or operating fans does NOT guarantee safety. CO is a dangerous poison. Operating gasoline-powered engines and tools indoors is RISKY BUSINESS.

If you must work in an enclosed or semi-enclosed area be smart, use an electric pressure washer.
If you don't own an electric pressure washer, rent one.

Remember, you have one life to live, don't blow it.

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