Never light candles in air-conditioned room!!!
-
I found this from another site.
Heard of a bad news regarding Charlene, who studied in MSMKL with some of us. She passed away last weekend due to carbon monoxide poisoning. It happened when she lit an aromatheraputic candle for the night in a room with air-conditioning on and all windows closed. Due to lack of oxygen in the room, the burning of the candle cannot fully oxidize & thus forming dangerous carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide will prevent oxygen exchange in the lungs, resulting the person dozing off to state of unconsciousness & eventual lay death in less than 1 hour, depending on the room size. I am sending this e-mail out to all of you so that you will be aware of such danger when lighting aromatheraputic candles in any unventilated rooms.
is it possible? -
heard similiar news before ..
-
rubbish la.
-
beautiful way to die .. better than jump from high buildings
-
what is MSMKL???Originally posted by dragg:I found this from another site.
Heard of a bad news regarding Charlene, who studied in MSMKL with some of us. She passed away last weekend due to carbon monoxide poisoning. It happened when she lit an aromatheraputic candle for the night in a room with air-conditioning on and all windows closed. Due to lack of oxygen in the room, the burning of the candle cannot fully oxidize & thus forming dangerous carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide will prevent oxygen exchange in the lungs, resulting the person dozing off to state of unconsciousness & eventual lay death in less than 1 hour, depending on the room size. I am sending this e-mail out to all of you so that you will be aware of such danger when lighting aromatheraputic candles in any unventilated rooms.
is it possible? -
care to explain?Originally posted by the.raven:rubbish la. -
ok i will never light candles in air-conditioned room again
haha
the carbon monoxide kills thing i believe is true..
breathing in too much of that will kill.. -
no idea. somewhere in KL.Originally posted by HENG@:what is MSMKL??? -
I think the body of the post is an extract lah. Only the first and last sentence is dragg's own words.Originally posted by HENG@:what is MSMKL???
But don't know if dragg knows what is MSMKL? -
whew...Originally posted by dragg:no idea. somewhere in KL. -
why is there lack of oxygen? aircon cycling the air what. besides, the amount of carbon monixide produced by a single candle cant possibly be lethal, unless the person was burning many candles at the same time, in a sealed room, then I dunno what will happen. but who the hell does that?Originally posted by dragg:care to explain? -
In any case, thanks for re-producing it here, dragg. No harm to know and perhaps keep tab about such actions.
I lit scented candles too but not for too long at a time. I place it near my stove so it deodorize my sambal and curry smell. -
more for reading...
Like most urban legends (such as the Glade plug-in and gel candles rumors), this one provides very little verifiable information. Only earlier versions contain clues to the supposed victim's identity. Unfortunately, it's incomplete and no indication of date, location or any other data that would help us track down reliable accounts of this alleged tragedy are given. Searches on the tidbits that are given return only reposts of the letter above.
The spelling of the friends name is alternately "Charliene" and her identity is often left completely out of newer versions of this chain. MSMKL stands for MAKTAB SAINS MARA, Kuala Lumpur, a technical college now known as the MARA Education Foundation College. That reference, coupled with the numerous peculiar spelling and grammatical errors seem to indicate that this "warning" originated in Malaysia and was translated into English.
No explanation is given for how the cause of death was ultimately decided to be asphyxiation by carbon monoxide - no authorities or other source of the conclusion are named. At best, what we have here is a lay person's supposition or misunderstanding of what might have caused the friend's death.
So, could it happen? It's possible, given a very specific, yet highly unlikely combination of factors. First, the room would have to be pretty airtight. Airtight facilities typically have oxygen exchange systems to remove toxins and keep the air breathable, so we'll have to assume this was not the case here. Second, most air conditioning systems can be set either to vent room air and replace or supplement it with outside air, or recirculate the room air (for maximum cooling). The tragedy described above could only happen if the latter was the case.
So, in an airtight, unventilated room with recirculating, unpurified and unsupplemented air, a burning candle could conceivably cause asphyxiation - a closed vault comes to mind. Such an environment would be an unhealthy place, indeed, with or without the burning candle. One's own breathing could be deadly in such an environment, as human respiration exchanges oxygen with carbon dioxide. Nonetheless, we're told that it was carbon monoxide produced by the burning candle which served to suffocate our victim. Just as humans need Oxygen to breath, candles need oxygen to burn. Most candles will suffocate themselves long before the levels of oxygen in a room get low enough to cause asphyxiation in humans.
A much more likely health risk from burning a candle in a poorly ventilated room is soot. Soot is the by-product of inefficient combustion. According to the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, however, not much is known about the risk of soot from burning candles: "Although researchers have studied the health risks of soot from diesel exhaust and factory emissions, no studies have focused specifically on residential exposure to candles." Drafts from an air conditioner or fans can reduce the flame's efficiency and increase the candle's soot output by as much as 50 percent. Accumulation of tiny soot particles in the lungs can aggravate respiratory illness, but there are no known cases of asphyxiation from soot.
Nonetheless, U. of F. researchers recommend several tips for safe, clean candle burning:
Burn only hard wax candles and avoid soft or gel candles.
Unscented candles produce less soot than their aromatic counterparts.
Look for thin, braided wicks that curl when burned and avoid thick or wire-core wicks.
Keep the wick trimmed to ensure a low, even flame.
Avoid candles poured into jars and ceramic containers - tapers and votives burn more cleanly.
Check multi-wick pillar candles periodically to ensure even burning.
Read the instructions that come with some candles, as some require special maintenance. -
Urban myth IMO. Unless it's one figgin big mofo of a candle & u live in a well-sealed matchbox! Too much O2 in a regular room to die of the lack of it.
TX -
huh? NOT TRUE. Cuz my mom always does that and i wonder why she's not dead yet?
-
then again ain't air conditioners supposed to filter the air?
if im not wrong, the carbon monoxide can be filtered out and oxygen in.. -
errr...charlene, arent u the person that died?Originally posted by charlene_:then again ain't air conditioners supposed to filter the air?
if im not wrong, the carbon monoxide can be filtered out and oxygen in..
EEK!!!!
*runs away* -
no.. airconditioners cool air only.. no matter what composition...
now, if only 1 candle is lit, not a problem...
if many, problem...
HOWEVER...
if like most doors, there is a bit of clearance between the door and the floor, most carbon dioxide will leave the room as it is denser than air...
also, carbon monoxide? usually it's carbon dioxide...
i'll put it under urban mythOriginally posted by charlene_:then again ain't air conditioners supposed to filter the air?
if im not wrong, the carbon monoxide can be filtered out and oxygen in.. -
How can oxygen comes in when the air is just circulating in the air-cond room?Originally posted by charlene_:then again ain't air conditioners supposed to filter the air?
if im not wrong, the carbon monoxide can be filtered out and oxygen in..
-
rofl n00b.Originally posted by the Bear:no.. airconditioners cool air only.. no matter what composition...
now, if only 1 candle is lit, not a problem...
if many, problem...
HOWEVER...
if like most doors, there is a bit of clearance between the door and the floor, most carbon dioxide will leave the room as it is denser than air...
also, carbon monoxide? usually it's carbon dioxide...
i'll put it under urban myth
and carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion, as said -
guess who's the noob
suck in?
not all
figure how things work
and incomplete combusion.. maybe but in candles? it'll probably go out firstOriginally posted by the.raven:rofl n00b. air con need to suck in air and blow it out.
and carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion, as said -
air-con sucks in air into the compressor.Originally posted by SnowFlag:How can oxygen comes in when the air is just circulating in the air-cond room? -
i wonder if u stay in a seal room and keep farting, will u die?Originally posted by True_Xerion:Urban myth IMO. Unless it's one figgin big mofo of a candle & u live in a well-sealed matchbox! Too much O2 in a regular room to die of the lack of it.
TX -
Originally posted by HENG@:i wonder if u stay in a seal room and keep farting, will u die?
-
is same as burning charcoal to suicide in a enclose enviroment