When CO Detectors Alarm At 70 PPM, A Sensitive Body Is Already Far Gone. TrueDetect Alerts Long Before A Sensitive Body Suffocates.
Standard CO detectors are designed for healthy young adults, alerting at 70 PPM. But for weak hearts, lungs, and brains, harm starts at 9 PPM. TrueDetect shows everything from 1 PPM. And pushes an alarm on the detector and your phone before an emergency, at 30 PPM.
On a mission to raise awareness about low-level CO and protect the people it hits hardest. Backed by a team of scientists, doctors, and engineers.
Your CO Detector Was Never Designed To Protect a Body Like Yours
Here's what the research says, and why it matters for anyone living with a heart, lung, or memory condition:
Carbon monoxide latches onto your blood's hemoglobin more than 200 times harder than oxygen, and shoves the oxygen out. Every bit of CO a person breathes is oxygen their body doesn't get. A healthy body has oxygen to spare, so when a little gets taken, it feels almost nothing. But a weak heart, scarred lungs, or a brain that's already survived a stroke runs on exactly what's left. The same air that's a nuisance for a healthy person comes straight off the top of what's keeping a vulnerable body stable.
WHO Air Quality Guidelines; Bell et al., Circulation 2009
The 70 PPM alarm threshold wasn't written by doctors or public health officials. It was written after a wave of nuisance alarms overwhelmed emergency crews and gas companies in the early 90s — so UL raised the threshold to stop the phones from ringing. It was built for one job: keeping a healthy family from dying in a catastrophic leak. In the long gap between 9 PPM and 70, healthy people are mostly fine — so nobody looked. A person with COPD, heart failure, or a stroke history was never anywhere in that math. Manufacturers have lobbied to keep it exactly where it is, and it hasn't been updated since.
NCOAA Petition to CPSC, December 17, 2024; UL 2034 Standard Documentation
This isn't a theory. In 2013, researchers published a study in The Lancet analyzing 35 studies covering four million heart-failure events. They found that every rise of just 1 PPM of carbon monoxide came with a measurable jump in heart-failure hospitalizations and deaths — about 3.5% — strongest on the very day of exposure. Of every pollutant they measured, CO had the strongest link to heart failure. And in a landmark New England Journal of Medicine study, heart patients walking treadmills developed chest pain and measurable oxygen shortage sooner on the days they breathed low-level CO — a clean dose-response. The same displacement of oxygen is documented to worsen respiratory and neurological conditions too.
Shah et al., The Lancet 2013; Allred et al., New England Journal of Medicine 1989; WHO Air Quality Guidelines
Walk into the respiratory or cardiac ward of any hospital and look at the wall. There's a carbon monoxide monitor reading the air in real time, accurate down to 1 PPM — not waiting for an emergency. The World Health Organization puts the level where CO begins harming a human body at 9 PPM, and in that ward, 9 is taken seriously, because it's full of people for whom “begins to harm” can mean a crisis. So here's the question worth sitting with: if the people who know the most about this won't let a vulnerable patient breathe unmonitored air for a single hour inside a hospital — why is that same patient sent home to a house where nobody is watching the air at all?
WHO Air Quality Guidelines; hospital environmental monitoring standards
A CO leak doesn't need an old or obviously broken appliance. As a furnace, water heater, or gas range ages, fittings can work loose a hair at a time, seams can corrode, and a hairline crack can open where nobody would ever see it — sometimes the day after an inspection. It's not carelessness. It's what aging metal can do. And here's the quiet danger: if low levels ever did reach a vulnerable body, the decline would look exactly like the disease running its course. The breathlessness, the fatigue, the confusion — all of it gets written off as “their condition.” Nobody would ever think to check the air.
CDC CO Surveillance Data; Wright, “Chronic and Occult Carbon Monoxide Poisoning,” 2002
You Can't Prevent a CO Leak. But You Can Make Sure You Always See It Coming.
TrueDetect catches a leak while it's still a whisper — a number climbing on a screen, days or even weeks before it could ever become an attack, a hospitalization, or a setback you don't come back from. And if it ever does become an emergency, every phone in your home screams. For a body with no margin, seeing it coming is the only protection that was ever going to matter.
76% of CO poisoning victims had appliances that aren't older than 10 years.
Most people assume CO poisoning requires an obviously broken or old appliance. It doesn't.
New, well-maintained appliances can develop hairline cracks that even inspections can't check. And appliances can develop faults the day after an inspection.
CO leaks are unexpected. A furnace can run perfectly for years and then develop a crack. A flue can shift in a cold snap. A burner can come out of a service slightly out of tune and nobody notices.
Over 100,000 Americans are poisoned by carbon monoxide every year. Most of them walk out of the ER and recover — they were healthy, and their bodies had the reserve to absorb the hit. The ones who don't fully recover are the ones with no margin to begin with — the fragile hearts, the damaged lungs, the bodies already fighting for every breath.
The people this happens to weren't negligent. They serviced their appliances, they bought reliable ones, they did everything right. They just didn't have a detector built for a body like theirs.
What Every CO Level Below 70 PPM Means For a Body With No Margin
Based on peer-reviewed exposure data from the CDC, NIOSH, and the World Health Organization.
0-8 PPM
Clean air. The only acceptable number for a vulnerable body — and the one you'll be able to verify with your own eyes, every single night.
9-15 PPM
The WHO's harm threshold, crossed. A healthy body adjusts and feels nothing. But a weak heart has to pump harder for the same oxygen, scarred lungs fall further behind, and an aging brain gets less of the one thing it needs most. Every standard detector is silent here. Every store screen reads blank.
16-29 PPM
The load compounds, hour after hour. For a managed condition, this is the range that can quietly erode the stability you work so hard to hold on to — and it is still completely invisible to every detector sold in a store.
30-50 PPM
TrueDetect's emergency alarm has already fired at 30. Store “display” models only begin showing a number here. And for a body with no reserve, hours in this range can be the attack, the decompensation, the event that takes a baseline you were never going to get back.
51-69 PPM
Severely impairing even for healthy adults — disoriented, unable to think or move clearly. For a compromised body, potentially unsurvivable. And still, by law, every standard detector stays silent.
70 PPM
Your detector finally alarms.
With TrueDetect, you see the exact number from 1 PPM, your phone warns you the moment it crosses 9, and the emergency alarm fires at 30 — so a leak gets handled while it's still just a number on a screen, instead of a crisis for the one body in the house that can't absorb it.
Victims and associations have been fighting to change the law for years.
Doctors, lawyers, federal lawmakers, environmental advocacy organizations, and survivor associations have all formally demanded that the US government update the CO alarm standard. The standard still hasn't moved.
PDF
NCOAA & Earthjustice — Petition to the CPSC
December 2024
The National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association, represented by Earthjustice, formally petitioned the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to lower alarm thresholds and mandate accurate digital displays.
US Congress — The Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial CO Poisoning Prevention Act
Introduced 2021, US Senate Bill S.351
Named after two brothers killed by CO poisoning in their sleep. It referenced research showing that proper detector placement and alarm threshold near sleeping areas could prevent the majority of CO fatalities. It passed the Senate. It stalled in the House. Families are still waiting.
CPSC — UL 2034 Standards Technical Panel Meeting Log
January 13, 2025
An official meeting log from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission discussing proposed changes to UL 2034 - including lowering display thresholds below 30 PPM. The meeting confirms that regulators are actively aware the current standard is inadequate, and that the industry resistance remains the primary obstacle to change.
The First CO Detector Built for the People CO Hits Hardest. Not Just to Meet the Minimum.
Every other detector was built to satisfy a legal standard written for the average healthy body. TrueDetect was built for the people that standard left out — with a few specific features that, combined, give a vulnerable body the one thing it needs: complete visibility into the air, all the time.
Live Display From 1 PPM
Standard detectors show nothing below 70 PPM. TrueDetect uses the same electrochemical sensor hospitals trust, and displays the exact CO concentration in your home at all times — from 1 PPM. Not a green light that means “probably fine.” The actual number. So every night, you know.
Smart Health Warnings From 9 PPM
The moment CO crosses the level where it can begin affecting a vulnerable body, TrueDetect sends your phone an intelligent notification — telling you the level, what it means, and what to do. Long before anything comes close to an emergency.
Alarms at 30 PPM, Not 70
If levels ever climb toward danger, TrueDetect's emergency alarm fires at 30 — hours before a standard detector would make a sound — while everyone in the house can still think clearly, move, and get out. The backstop your current detector was never built to be.
10-Year Life, Zero Maintenance
No battery changes, no recalibration, no ladders, no testing. Plug it in once and it runs for a decade — and when it's finally time, it tells you. Standard detectors quietly expire after 5 years and never say a word.
Carbon monoxide is scientifically proven to worsen cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological conditions — and it begins harming the body at just 9 PPM. Your detector stays silent until 70.
A healthy body can absorb low-level CO and barely notice. A body with a heart, lung, or memory condition has no reserve to give — the same exposure comes straight off what's keeping it stable.
57% of the 30 most common CO detectors in US homes failed to alarm in time in peer-reviewed testing.
99% of detectors on the market follow the same 1992 minimum standard — written for the average healthy adult, never updated since.
A low-level leak doesn't require a broken appliance — as any furnace or gas appliance ages, hairline cracks and minor faults can produce enough CO to matter.
Over 100,000 Americans are CO poisoned every year. Most had a detector. The ones who don't recover are the ones with no margin.
Associations, lawyers, and federal lawmakers have formally petitioned to update the standard. It still hasn't moved. You need to act for yourself.
CO detectors expire after 5 years and never say a word. You may need to replace yours anyway — so switch to one that actually protects a body like yours.
The only home CO monitor that displays real readings from 1 PPM at an affordable price — the range that matters to a vulnerable body and is invisible to store detectors.
Uses the same electrochemical sensor hospitals trust to watch the air around fragile patients.
Sends intelligent phone notifications that tell you what the level means and what to do.
Backed by toxicologists, biomedical engineers, safety compliance directors, and medical professionals who tested and validated the device.
10-year lifespan instead of the standard 5 — plug it in once and it runs for a decade.
Alarms in an emergency at 30 PPM, and alarms on every phone in the home, even on silent.
Know, every single night, that the air isn't adding a single PPM to what your body is already carrying.
Catch a leak the hour it starts — while it's a number on a screen, not weeks after it could have done real harm.
Get phone alerts that tell you exactly what the level means and what to do.
Give a fragile heart, lungs, or brain the one protection hospitals already rely on.
Plug-in setup takes 3 seconds — no wiring, no technician, no ladders.
Trade guessing for certainty — and for a body that can't survive a bad surprise, seeing it coming is the only protection that matters.
Plug TrueDetect into any standard wall outlet — monitoring starts immediately, and you'll know what's in your air from that moment. Everything below is optional:
Download the free TrueSafety app on iPhone or Android, log in with the email you purchased with, and tap “Pair Detectors” — it finds TrueDetect automatically.
To add family members (or a caregiver): have them log into the same account on their phone — all detectors are already there.
Place it where the vulnerable person spends the most time — the bedroom is the highest priority, since that's 8+ hours of exposure a night. Then near gas appliances.
No battery replacement ever needed — TrueDetect is plug-powered and built to last 10 years.
No need to test the device — the app runs a self-diagnosis every day and tells you if there's ever an issue.
★★★★★4.9 stars · 1,500+ reviews · 250,000+ sold
Join 250,000+ Others Who Made The Switch
★★★★★
Peace of mind is the whole point
Bought it after reading how low levels affect people with health conditions. Plugged it in, it reads 0, and honestly that's exactly what I wanted — to know for certain instead of hoping. I check the number every night before bed now. Worth every penny for the certainty alone.
Susan R., Columbus OH Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Finally something built for the rest of us
Every detector I ever owned was built for a healthy 40-year-old. This one actually shows the low levels that matter when your body's already compromised. Reads 0 in every room. First time I've felt genuinely covered.
Gerald M., Tucson AZ Verified Purchase
★★★★★
The HVAC guy told me to get this exact one
Had a technician out for a tune-up and asked him what detector he'd put in if someone in the house had health issues. He said this is the only one that reads the low levels. Installed four the same week. All reading 0 — and now I'll know the moment that ever changes.
Patricia L., Rochester NY Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Not taking chances with my lungs
With COPD I can't afford a single bad exacerbation, and I read that low-level CO is exactly the kind of thing that can trigger one. This shows me the real number from 1 PPM. It's read 0 all winter so far — but if it ever doesn't, I'll know before it becomes an attack.
Raymond T., Cleveland OH Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Caught 11 PPM before it could touch his breathing
My husband has emphysema. The app flagged 11 PPM one morning from the water heater in the utility room. Had a tech out that weekend, fixed before it ever became a problem. For a healthy person 11 is nothing. For his lungs it's not. So grateful we weren't guessing.
Denise K., Springfield MO Verified Purchase
★★★★★
My pulmonologist asked for the name
I brought it up at my last appointment — that I'd put a monitor on the wall that reads from 1 PPM. My doctor actually wrote down the name. Said it's exactly the kind of thing his patients should have and almost none of them do.
Arthur B., Toledo OH Verified Purchase
★★★★★
My cardiologist explained why this matters
After my heart failure diagnosis I learned that CO makes a weak heart work even harder for the same oxygen. This monitor makes sure that never quietly happens to me. Both units read 0. I sleep knowing it — which, with a heart like mine, is not a small thing.
Eleanor W., Naples FL Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Bought it the day after his stent
My dad just had a stent put in and the last thing his heart needs is anything stealing oxygen. Plugged this in by his bed, connected it to my phone too, so I can see his air from my house. Reads 0. If it ever climbs, both our phones will know instantly.
Michael D., Scottsdale AZ Verified Purchase
★★★★★
No margin to gamble with
Congestive heart failure means my body has zero reserve. A leak that would give a healthy person a headache could put me in the hospital. This is the only detector I found that watches the levels that actually matter for me. Certainty every single night.
Frank O., Erie PA Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Protecting a brain that's already been through enough
After my stroke, my doctors were clear that my brain doesn't tolerate low oxygen the way it used to. Low-level CO does exactly that. This monitor makes sure it never sneaks up on me. Reads 0 — and I look at that number every day with real relief.
Barbara J., Wilmington DE Verified Purchase
★★★★★
For my husband's recovery
He's eight months out from a stroke and we do everything by the book. Adding this was easy — it just plugs in, and it watches the one thing no doctor visit can watch: the air at home, all night, every night. Both screens say 0. That's the number we want.
Carol S., Lansing MI Verified Purchase
★★★★★
The one variable we could actually control
So much about stroke recovery feels out of your hands. This was one thing we could just handle — make sure his air is clean and know it for certain. It reads 0, and if it ever doesn't, we'll be the ones who see it coming.
Thomas R., Akron OH Verified Purchase
★★★★★
She can't tell us if something's wrong — this can
My mother has Alzheimer's and can't report a headache or feeling off. That terrified me about CO. This monitor speaks for her — it reads the exact level and alerts my phone. It's read 0 since we installed it, and now I'm not relying on her to notice something she never could.
Janet P., Fort Myers FL Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Because he'd never think to check
Dad has memory decline and lives semi-independently. He'd never remember to check a detector or notice if he felt unwell. This one watches for him and pings me. I get the readings on my phone from across town. Total peace of mind.
Steven H., Boise ID Verified Purchase
★★★★★
One less thing that can slip through
With dementia in the house, the things a healthy adult would just notice and act on can slip right past. Having a monitor that sees the air and warns us automatically closes exactly that gap. Reads 0. If it ever changes, it won't depend on anyone remembering to look.
Linda C., Chattanooga TN Verified Purchase
★★★★★
I monitor my parents' air from my own home
Both my parents have health issues and live two states away. I put TrueDetect in their bedroom and living room and added their detectors to my phone. Now I can see their air from my kitchen. Reads 0 every time I check — and if it ever doesn't, I'll know before they would.
Rebecca M., Denver CO Verified Purchase
★★★★★
Bought four — one for every room he uses
My father-in-law has COPD and a weak heart. I wasn't going to cover half his house and hope. Four units, bedroom, living room, kitchen, and by the furnace. Every screen reads 0. For a body like his, that certainty is the whole reason I bought them.
Angela T., Charlotte NC Verified Purchase
★★★★★
The app is what sold me as a caregiver
Being able to see my mom's CO levels on my own phone, and get an alert the second anything climbs, is exactly what I needed. She has a heart condition and can't manage this herself. Now I don't have to call every day to feel okay about it.
David K., Sacramento CA Verified Purchase
Our Mission
Spreading awareness, one event at a time.
We don't spread this message alone. Changing how America thinks about CO safety requires doctors, first responders, and safety leaders who share the cause. That's why we show up at safety conferences, community events, and industry summits. Meeting the people who can help us get real protection into every American home.
Frequently asked questions
Because carbon monoxide works by displacing oxygen in your blood — and a compromised body has no oxygen to spare. A healthy person has reserve, so low levels barely register. But a weak heart already pumps harder for less, damaged lungs already deliver less, and a brain that's survived a stroke already runs on a thinner margin. The same low level that's a nuisance for a healthy person comes straight off the top of what's keeping a vulnerable body stable — which is exactly why hospitals monitor the air around these patients from 1 PPM, and why the 70 PPM home standard was never built for them.
No — and any product that claims to would be lying to you. TrueDetect doesn't treat anything. What it does is make sure carbon monoxide never quietly adds to the load your body is already carrying. It's not a medication or a therapy. It's certainty — knowing, every night, that the air isn't working against a body that has no margin to give.
Discovering your levels are 0 isn't a waste — it's the entire point. It gives you certainty that the air a fragile body is breathing is clean, tonight and every night. A leak can develop in any aging home at any time, and for someone with no reserve, the difference between seeing it the hour it starts and finding out from a crisis is everything. Reading 0 is the product working exactly as intended.
Start in the bedroom of the person you're protecting — that's where they spend 8 or more hours a night, which is the longest continuous exposure in the day. Then the main living area, and near any gas appliances (furnace, water heater, gas range). Most families protecting a vulnerable person use 3–4 units to cover every room that matters, which is why the multi-packs are the most popular.
If you bought your detector at a hardware store or big-box retailer, it almost certainly stays silent until 70 PPM — the legal minimum — and shows nothing below that. 99% of detectors follow that minimum. Even the ones with a digital display are legally allowed to read zero for anything under 30 PPM. So a screen showing “0” isn't telling you your air is clean — it's telling you CO hasn't crossed a threshold that was never set with a vulnerable body in mind.
Download the free TrueSafety app on iPhone or Android, log in with the email you purchased with, and tap “Pair Detectors.” It finds TrueDetect automatically. To add a family member or caregiver, have them log into the same account on their phone — all your detectors will already be there.
Yes. Plug TrueDetect into any outlet and it begins monitoring and displaying CO levels immediately. The app adds phone notifications, remote monitoring, and exposure history — but the protection starts the moment it's plugged in.
Yes, you can lower the brightness to multiple different levels. The lowest brightness level won't be noticeable in a dark room.
TrueDetect comes with a 10-year warranty covering manufacturing defects. This is how confident we are in the durability of the device.
Orders typically ship within 1-2 business days and arrive within 5-8 business days. Orders ship from Barberton, Ohio.
TrueDetect
Standard Detector
