Help Carbon monoxide poisoning in a car

[m3nhera]

I heard you can get carbon monoxide poisoning just from sitting in your car for a long time without opening a window, or maybe I'm stupid.

But I heard something about how if you leave the engine on and just sit in the car in your garage(garage is the important part, heard if it's outside it's unlikely to work) or something, it can kill you. This sounds too good to be true, is this true?

And if this is actually true, if someone were to do this in the middle of the night would the engine be loud enough to wake up others in the house or would no one know?

I have no current plans just curious. I don't know why I feel the need to say that, maybe it's the paranoia society gives you in fear of the psych ward or being snitched on etc etc.

 

[cheaptrick]

If there are other people in the house they'll probably smell the exhaust and wake up. No garage is hermetically sealed and that engine will probably have to run for a hot minute. Also modern houses tend to have CO2 detectors which will probably go off before you reach fatal concentration s. Best case you get a scolding for being ignorant in their eyes worst case you get whisked off to the psych ward. Personally the risk of brain damage with this one is too high for my liking but from the sound of it, it is a fairly reliable and painless way to die if you got the right conditions.

 

[m3nhera]

If there are other people in the house they'll probably smell the exhaust and wake up. No garage is hermetically sealed and that engine will probably have to run for a hot minute. Also modern houses tend to have CO2 detectors which will probably go off before you reach fatal concentration s. Best case you get a scolding for being ignorant in their eyes worst case you get whisked off to the psych ward. Personally the risk of brain damage with this one is too high for my liking but from the sound of it, it is a fairly reliable and painless way to die if you got the right conditions.

Are you sure they'd smell it from all the way inside??? Really? Sorry I'm just upset because this sounded so wonderful. I want to have hope. There has to be a better way. Can you explain why this wouldn't work outside? In this situation I'd be willing to wait hours if that's what it takes.

 

[cheaptrick]

I suppose it does depend on the layout of your house, the size of the garage, the size of the engine of the vehicle and the rate which air is exchanged between the inside and the outside. Definitely doable I'm just not sure it's very reliable if there are people in the house to potentially interrupt you. I've never attempted this method but I know you need to build up some concentration of CO2 in your blood. That means you'll pass out a while before you die. Between the critical and sub critical levels of CO2, if you are resuscitated you run the risk of permanent brain damage. It's just a lot to risk if you ask me. I know this method is popular in Asia. If I was going to do this, I would try the charcoal tent method instead.

 

[m3nhera]

I suppose it does depend on the layout of your house, the size of the garage, the size of the engine of the vehicle and the rate which air is exchanged between the inside and the outside. Definitely doable I'm just not sure it's very reliable if there are people in the house to potentially interrupt you. I've never attempted this method but I know you need to build up some concentration of CO2 in your blood. That means you'll pass out a while before you die. Between the critical and sub critical levels of CO2, if you are resuscitated you run the risk of permanent brain damage. It's just a lot to risk if you ask me. I know this method is popular in Asia. If I was going to do this, I would try the charcoal tent method instead.

This method just seems physically easier though than the rest. The true risks only come from being caught. I don't even know if there are carbon monoxide detectors in garages.

One important question, let's say the exhaust wouldn't wake anyone. My house is kind of big but the garage isn't far from some bedrooms. Would the carbon monoxide be enough to harm anyone in the house too?

I don't want that, I don't want to hurt other people I just want to die in peace. If it seeps into the house isn't that dangerous? But I'm not sure if it would be nearly enough, with the garage door closed after all.

And maybe I could leave a note just in case someone decides to go in there in the middle of the night for some reason, telling them not to enter and explaining and such. That risks being saved but what's worse is if they didn't know and walk into a toxic space.

But anyways my house is kinda big, two floors, the garage door is REALLY close to one bedroom on the first floor, and the second floor bedrooms I assume are too far away for people to wake up from the exhaust. Maybe the sound of the engine? But I'd hope not. Based on this info would I get caught?

 

[cheaptrick]

I don't think there would be any real chance of it harming anyone else in the house unless there is literally no ventilation in the house. But that's too specific for me to say with certainty. As far as detectors go, they are probably in the house not the garage so you could take the batteries out and unplug them before you start. Also I'm not sure how long before it starts producing CO instead of CO2, which i don't think any residential sensors can detector. A note would definitely be a good idea. High concentrations of either gas could definitely be fatal to someone entering-- I've heard of people dying almost instantly after entering confined spaces full of inert gases.

I would assume a high chance you get interrupted. Exhaust is a gross smell and it's pretty unusual to smell inside your house so there is a decent chance someone wakes up. If everyone sleeps on the second floor maybe not.

 

[m3nhera]

I don't think there would be any real chance of it harming anyone else in the house unless there is literally no ventilation in the house. But that's too specific for me to say with certainty. As far as detectors go, they are probably in the house not the garage so you could take the batteries out and unplug them before you start. Also I'm not sure how long before it starts producing CO instead of CO2, which i don't think any residential sensors can detector. A note would definitely be a good idea. High concentrations of either gas could definitely be fatal to someone entering-- I've heard of people dying almost instantly after entering confined spaces full of inert gases.

I would assume a high chance you get interrupted. Exhaust is a gross smell and it's pretty unusual to smell inside your house so there is a decent chance someone wakes up. If everyone sleeps on the second floor maybe not.

If the detectors are probably in the house and the carbon monoxide that gets inside won't be enough to hurt anyone, doesn't that mean it won't be enough to set off the alarm?

Not everyone sleeps on the second floor unfortunately and honestly you're right I'd probe get caught, I just don't want to accept it. I need a way out.

I wish I didn't have to stress or leave a note and people could just understand and they could just move up to the second floor and let me die in the garage, but life doesn't work like that. Honestly a family who would be that nonchalant about my death would freak me out anyway. So I don't really want that. But you know what I meant.

Thank you for being honest and taking the time to reply.

 

[xXiloveyouXx]

Can you wait to do it until you're going to be the only one home for a day or so?

 

[cheaptrick]

Yeah one last thing. From my experience the tolerance for failure is pretty low on this forum. This is most certainly a viable method, I've heard of people accidently dying to this on multiple occasions. That being said im pretty sure this would fall into the category of suboptimal method or even potentially method that should not be attempted. Obviously my desired method is jumping so don't take anything I say as gospel. I just don't want anyone to end up a vegetable because I wouldnt want to end up one myself.

 

[Forveleth]

I heard you can get carbon monoxide poisoning just from sitting in your car for a long time without opening a window, or maybe I'm stupid.

But I heard something about how if you leave the engine on and just sit in the car in your garage(garage is the important part, heard if it's outside it's unlikely to work) or something, it can kill you. This sounds too good to be true, is this true?

This does not work on modern cars thanks to a catalytic converter which removes 90% of the carbon monoxide from the exhaust. Running a modern car in a garage is just going to fill it with nasty smelling fumes. You are going to cough a lot, but not die and people in the house will most likely smell it.

 

[overthrone]

Yes, with old cars, carbon monoxide poisoning can happen easily if you leave your engine running in a confined space.

However, this is a terrible method to CTB.

Depending on where you live, using this method could kill several people living around or near you.

 

[Kabalite]

I would not recommend this with anyone else in the house. It does have the potential to hurt them as well depending on how the ventilation of the house works.

Modern cars do have catalytic converters that reduce the output of CO, but speaking from experience I can say that they will still produce a potent amount if allowed to run for long enough inside a garage. Last year a family member of mine forgot to turn their car off in the garage and it was left running for about 12 hours, and it absolutely affected everyone else in the house. Some of my family could barely stay conscious and we all went to the hospital. The car was a newer model too, at least a 2018 or newer. I can't recall.

That said, if you were serious about this you'd need to block off any gaps in the doors, leave the car (or more than one of possible) running for quite a while and make sure nobody is in the house at all. A difficult scenario to set up I know. You'd probably need a full day or so with nobody around.

 

[hazelmoon]

It won't work. Modern cars have catalytic converters which pretty much wipes out the chance of carbon monoxide poisoning. There are ways around it, though. But they're kind of difficult things to do especially if you're a woman with no help and don't know how to work with your hands or work on cars.

Also, most modern cars automatically shut off after idling for a while. For example, my car shuts off after like 45 minutes to an hour of idling. You might pass out before it shuts off, but you might not die. Then you're left with brain damage and psych ward stays.