carbon monoxide exposure///please help or advise

[taffywelsh]

So, the flame blew out on the stove burner last night and we thought it was off. But it wasn't. The gas was on for about two hours. All the windows were open, though, so I couldn't really smell it. I did smell it in one room but thought it was the neighbors smoking pot outside. Our detector was on the other side of the apartment, near the heater (stupid mistake on my part), so it didn't go off.
I had absolutely no symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, but I am still afraid. Am 32 weeks. Please let me know if you know anything about this.
thanks
TW

[kl5]

The gas that comes out of your stove is natural gas (methane), not carbon monoxide. Still not great to breath, but not the deadly silent killer you hear so much about. The windows were open, and you are feeling OK? I would relax and not worry about it unless you start feeling sick. We have a crappy old stove that came with our house and if you just bump or look funny at the knobs, the gas will flow. This has happened maybe three times during my pregnancy. Once I felt a bit light headed, but felt better as soon as I went outside and got some deep breaths of fresh air.

[finnegansmom]

You can't smell CO at ALL. Totally different.

Natural gas you can, i've had times when the pilot went out and the gas was on...I don't think the gas from the pilot is really all that much. You can smell it, yea but unless all 4 burners were on high and all the windows/doors are shut tight....

I wouldnt worry about it unless you feel dizzy or lightheaded.

[Amanda L]

Back when I was pregnant one of the three pilot lights went out on the commercial grill at my work. For the eight hours I was there I kept telling people that I smelled gas but they thought my "pregnant nose" was too sensitive. The next day when I went back in to work they said that I was right and it was fixed. The only symptom I had was a slight headache. My midwife said that if didn't make me sick, the baby should be fine.

So I wouldn't worry about it as long as you are feeling fine.

[taffywelsh]

Thank you for your help, ladies.
I called OTIS (my personal favorite place to call), and they said pretty much what you said. It was reassuring.
Then I called the gas company who said that only a small amount of CO was released with the natural gas, so thanks also for bringing the natural gas vs. CO idea up as well.
thanks and bye!
TW

[~Adorkable~]

I work around natural gas in a metalsmithing studio, and out of all the dangers in there I worry about breathing, the gas is low on the list, it will smell bad long before it's in very strong amounts. Exploding is the greater risk in a day to day place. As long as you aired the place out you should be fine.
The CO2 would come from having a burner on all naught with no exhaust fan, it's what's left over when the oxygen is burned out of the air as the excelerator on the other fuel, what it leaves is air that is higher in all non oxygen parts.
That is why heaters are a normal culprit, they burn for very long times. Your sensor would have not gone off near the stove in your case, only a gas sensor would have. Some modern stoves are fitted with a gas sensor that notices unburned gas and will trigger a shut down on the feed line till reset, I nice thing to have.

Hope this helps