• Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
  These small units typically cost about $40-$50. Car exhaust also contains carbon monoxide, so install a detector in garages. Always open the garage door before starting your car. You can also install CO detectors inside the vehicle. Consumer Reports regularly ranks both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
  
  Most residential carbon monoxide detectors sound a warning only after concentrations have risen above 30 parts per million (ppm). A more sensitive, low-level detector indicates when carbon monoxide concentrations exceed the nine ppm limit recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One source for these difficult-to-find monoxide monitors is the Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Referral & Resources.
  
  If carbon monoxide detectors show unacceptable levels of pollution, immediately turn off the suspected appliance and leave the house. Treat the incident as an emergency and call 911 to have emergency personnel check appliance.

• Maintain your gas appliance annually.
  Your gas stove, water heater, clothes dryer and/or furnace should be properly cleaned and adjusted every year by a qualified service professional. Have them inspect the appliance connectors, too, to make sure they are not corroded or leaking.
  
  Exhaust flues and chimney pipes should also be inspected and cleaned regularly to ensure that they are not blocked.

• Replace gas furnace filters regularly.
  Check and replace furnace air filters on a regular basis. Dirty filters make the furnace less efficient.

• Ventilate rooms with gas appliances.
  Tightly sealed buildings trap pollutants inside, where they can build up.

• Always switch on the exhaust fan when using a gas stove or oven.
  It’s particularly important to do so before firing up a gas stove since emissions are highest in the first few minutes of operation. The exhaust fan should vent properly to the outside. Unvented fans simply blow the air back into the house.
  
  If you don’t have an exhaust fan above your stove, crack open a window a few inches while cooking.
  
  Make sure the ventilation in your house is balanced. If you also have attic fans or are cooking while a dryer is in operation or a fire is burning in the fireplace, you must take care to have the same amount of air entering your house as is leaving your house. If not, a vacuum is created which results in backdraft–the air pressure prevents smoke and pollutants from exiting. If you notice this happening, crack open windows as necessary to alleviate the problem. And seek a building professional to assist you in rectifying the problem.

• Minimize use of gas stoves.
  For small cooking jobs, consider using electric appliances like a microwave, a toaster oven or a crock-pot instead.

• Check pilot lights frequently.
  An unlit pilot light on a water heater, oven or furnace leaks fuel.

• Don’t use a gas oven to heat the home.
  It's not only inefficient, dangerously large amounts of carbon monoxide can build up in indoor air.

• Never use barbecue grills or hibachis indoors.
  Outdoors, keep them away from open windows to prevent pollutants from entering the home.

• When buying new, look for direct vent or sealed combustion gas appliances.
  Though expensive, these are considered to be the safest – they provide the appliance with its own air supply coming into and leaving the unit so none of the products of combustion can enter the home.
  
  Unvented space heaters are banned in Canada and in some U.S. states. Where they are permitted, do not use without adequate ventilation. Operate the units only for a few hours at a time, and don’t leave them unattended.

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