# Fermenting fumes hazard?



## sdelli (Nov 24, 2013)

Never came across any info on this subject but just wondering.... Are the fumes that a primary fermentation giving off have any hazard to breathe by humans or animals? Sometimes it can stink up my basement pretty good!


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## dralarms (Nov 24, 2013)

Well it is CO2 so in concentated enough doses it is not good, matter of fact CO2 can kill you. If you are worried get a co2 detector from lowes. It will go off long brfore you are in danger.


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## Runningwolf (Nov 24, 2013)

sdelli said:


> Never came across any info on this subject but just wondering.... Are the fumes that a primary fermentation giving off have any hazard to breathe by humans or animals? Sometimes it can stink up my basement pretty good!



Your concerns are very real. If your basement is that heavy and you have a lot going (15-30 carboys), air out your basement. When I am doing a lot of fermentations at the winery I can smell it before I even open the door. As soon as I unlock it, I dash through and open up two other roll up doors as quick as I can. Yes it is that strong in there. There are times when I am standing over a tank when I start to get light headed or dizzy and I know I need to move outside and get some fresh air. Many years ago when we were doing additional fermentations in a room in a barn we would have one person go in and open things up and one stayed outside to make sure he was ok . 

With that said, I've had up to 25 or more pails in my basement fermenting with no issues. If they were in a living area with young children or elderly I might be worried.


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## BernardSmith (Nov 24, 2013)

CO2 does not have any smell. So if the issue is about the volume of CO2 being produced I am not sure that a powerful smell of fermentation is a good enough indicator of the actual volume of CO2 in the room or where that CO2 may be collecting if it has no way of escaping. A struck match or a burning candle will be snuffed out in CO2 and that would indicate a critical lack of oxygen. 
I don't know what adverse health effects the vapors carrying the smell of fermentation may have in an enclosed space.


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## seth8530 (Nov 24, 2013)

It all depends on how well ventilated the area is. I personally like to err on the side of caution. But, it is possible for CO2 from wine to build up to the point where it could potentially be dangerous espicailly in confined spaces such as fermentation freezers.


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## the_rayway (Nov 24, 2013)

I ferment all of my wines in my library, and we generally keep the door closed. I used to work on my laptop in there until I noticed I would end up with a horrific headache after a fairly short time.

'Light bulb' went on when someone in another thread mentioned the dangers of CO2


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## LoveTheWine (Nov 24, 2013)

the_rayway said:


> I ferment all of my wines in my library, and we generally keep the door closed. I used to work on my laptop in there until I noticed I would end up with a horrific headache after a fairly short time.
> 
> 'Light bulb' went on when someone in another thread mentioned the dangers of CO2



Are you sure the headaches weren't from the giant straw you brought in there with you?


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## sour_grapes (Nov 24, 2013)

dralarms said:


> Well it is CO2 so in concentated enough doses it is not good, matter of fact CO2 can kill you. If you are worried get a co2 detector from lowes. It will go off long brfore you are in danger.



I think you may be confusing CO and CO2 (carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide).

Small amounts of CO can harm or kill you. CO2 _can_ kill you, but only by asphyxiation -- i.e., lowering the amount of O2 in the air to unsafely low levels.

One thing we have going for us is that we _do_ have built-in CO2 detectors in our bodies. The condition that causes you to feel short of breath and makes you want to breathe (like when you are holding your breath underwater) is not lack of O2 in your blood, but rather an excess of CO2. 

If you went into a room that was low in O2 because it was filled mostly with N2 or Ar, you wouldn't feel it -- you would just eventually faint (from lack of O2) and then die. But if you went into a room that was low in O2 because it was filled with CO2, you would be gasping for breath. Thus, although you can be asphyxiated by CO2, it is the hardest substance in the universe to be accidentally asphyxiated by.


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## sdelli (Nov 24, 2013)

sour_grapes said:


> I think you may be confusing CO and CO2 (carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide). Small amounts of CO can harm or kill you. CO2 can kill you, but only by asphyxiation -- i.e., lowering the amount of O2 in the air to unsafely low levels. One thing we have going for us is that we do have built-in CO2 detectors in our bodies. The condition that causes you to feel short of breath and makes you want to breathe (like when you are holding your breath underwater) is not lack of O2 in your blood, but rather an excess of CO2. If you went into a room that was low in O2 because it was filled mostly with N2 or Ar, you wouldn't feel it -- you would just eventually faint (from lack of O2) and then die. But if you went into a room that was low in O2 because it was filled with CO2, you would be gasping for breath. Thus, although you can be asphyxiated by CO2, it is the hardest substance in the universe to be accidentally asphyxiated by.



Good point! Thanks....


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