to want my son to have a carbon monoxide detector with him on holiday

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18 YO DS is travelling around Europe staying in assorted accommodations, most of them for just the one night before he moves on to the next destination. Am I silly to want him to have a small portable carbon monoxide detector with him?

It's probably a bit silly. But if I asked my ds to do it he would under a rule my children invented called HMP-Humour Mum's Paranoia.

DH lost a friend (and friend’s girlfriend also died) many years ago to CO poisoning, so we always take CO detector when we go away. They are small units, light. I would take one.

@Magneta those cards wouldn’t wake you up if there was a leak at night

I did have a wobble when when DS went on holiday this year with mates and when looking at the apartment details they didn’t have smoke alarm or carbon monoxide monitor

It seems sensible but I'd imagine it will remain at the bottom of his bag the entire trip.

Oxygen saturations measured with a pulse oximetry (ie what an Apple Watch or Fitbit uses) will appear normal in carbon monoxide poisoning, even if they are actually very low. The devices can’t differentiate between oxygen bound to haemoglobin, and carbon monoxide bound to haemoglobin, so it mistakes the carbon monoxide for oxygen and produces unreliable results, so shouldn’t be relied on if you’re worried about carbon monoxide poisoning.

Personally, I would encourage him to take a little portable monitor with him and I’ve done similar when staying in slightly dodgy places in the past.

They’re very small and easy to pack so I don’t think it would be unreasonable.

I bring a monitor with me on holiday.

But I don't know if an 18 year old would be convinced.

He will ditch it at the airport / train station.

I do think it’s a bit OTT for him as others said a watch is an excellent alternative

tbh I’d expect mine to take detector to keep me quite and bin it at the first opportunity

I made my DS take one on his first holiday abroad with his mates when he was 18. He’s never forgiven me for it because he accidentally set it off by pressing the test button when he took it out of his bag in their hotel room and couldn’t make it stop. They eventually resorted to drowning it under a running tap! He said he was more likely to die of embarrassment than from CO poisoning!

Depends which countries as well, many don’t actually use gas routinely. We have no gas in our house or holiday let. I think only areas of country that might have are the main city.
On booking.com we mark rental as no co2 devices, but also can now mark ‘no co2 heating’. We have fire extinguishers, and alarms of course.

Don't carbon monoxide detectors have to be positioned perfectly in a room to work properly?

I have a portable one and have always made my sons take it with them on trips and we take it on holidays too. I will be getting one for my 18y old to take to uni halls, even though I'm sure they have plenty there. Why risk it?

My 22 year old has just spent a month backpacking around Thailand. From the stories I think carbon monoxide is pretty low down on the risk of potential hazards.

Good idea. It's small. Why not?

he might take it out in the first stop, and then leave it there by mistake
or it might be in the bottom of his back all the time. i guess that is useful.

This would literally never have crossed my mind, I've never encountered a single person doing this so I certainly don't think this is standard.

OP, I bought my 18 yr old dd one of these to take backpacking around Europe 2 months ago. She was staying in a mix of accommodation types. Not all accommodation is safety tested for carbon monoxide in every country and there are, from a quick look at the cheaper end of the accommodation market, some dodgy properties. Even hostel accommodation can be dodgy. My dd's 6 person small dorm at one hostel had the tiniest of windows which didn't open, no fan, squashed together bunk beds.

My dd said she did use it. Tbh, I just think 'what's to lose?' He may or may not use it but it's worth getting and talking sensibly to him about the importance of being alert.

We're taking it on holiday ourselves this year. Never have before but it's a 2 inch square unobtrusive bit of kit that takes up so little space.

Great idea!

Maybe tell him to open a window? I get your concern, but statistically there are things with much higher risk factors to worry about.

You won't convince him. He might take it to keep you off his back but it will never be used.

Not a terrible idea if her has the sense to position it correctly every single night.

There are huge posters on the tube at the moment suggesting that travellers take a carbon monoxide monitor with them.

Which? Did a quality test on the detectors a good few years ago and found many were dangerous so I’d be careful which one I got.

It doesn’t have to be gas, I think it’s any fossil fuel eg an open fire.

Or, crucially, it doesn’t even need to be the place where you are staying. It could be a neighbour.

Good idea. He’s 18 not 8 if you suggest it he may thank you for the suggestion after all sadly people have died from bad practice in holiday accommodation.