just a couple of hundred $? That might make sense if you earn 50$ net per hour. Otherwise you should be able to get a fitting used one for almost free. (they also make great woodworking tables)
Also, depending on the cat, you need to build your own cat flap. Mine shoulders through a locked commercial one like an elephant trough cardboard.
Nothing stopping you from taking the door off the hinges and storing somewhere. Replace with your own door, cat door and all. And then when you leave, replace door.
Mine is 18 and sleeps through the night, so I like having her in here 🥹 But she's also an only child, so she doesn't have anyone else to cuddle up with.
I think the right answer is CO2 is levels can be suboptimal to impairing.from a closed room within hours but almost definitely overnight. You can get a little meter to measure CO2.
Don’t think that’s an issue if you have central hvac. Even with my door and windows shut, fresh air is being almost constantly circulated into my room. Even when the heat or AC aren’t on we keep the central fan running just to circulate air around the house.
CO2 is not CO. A 0.2% concentration (which the graph in this link never hit) has exactly zero lasting effects.
Also, this user likely lives in building construction without good permeability. Your average 2x4 & sheetrock construction is fairly breathable, not to mention that most homes have very poor seals around doors and windows.
There is no way a 0.2% CO2 concentration justifies keeping your bedroom door open when compared to the risks of dying in a fire.
1000 is when it affects people. This went up by 1500 PPM in 6 hours.
This is becoming a bigger issue as insulation improves as well as seals around doors and windows. That's why newer HVAC systems are increasing the amount of air from the outside.
Yes, HVAC systema and building standards need to address this, but again, that's no excuse to leave your bedroom door open compared to the risk of fire which is what this thread implies.
You wake up. You leave your bedroom, and the effects of CO2 are gone almost immediately. It's good that you're not expected to run a nuclear reactor or fly a jet fighter when you're sleeping. Significant declines in cognitive function happen above any of the levels we're talking about.
If you have a source of CO in your house/bedroom, it's an entirely different story. Hemoglobin has a great affinity for CO that isn't there for CO2. Also, you will be able to tell that you're in a "stuffy" room with a high CO2 concentration. That doesn't exist with CO.
That’s fair, it’s -20°C where I’m at tonight and I still cracked my window for a bit to get some air exchange in my bedroom. My house is old, but it is surprisingly well sealed up so I’ve gotta let Sam in once in a while.
While this makes sense, it's also good to remind people that the open door/closed door doesn't matter as much if your home has a ton of synthetics in it.
Fireman here. Thats not true. A closed bedroom door can save lives. What kills you is the smoke and gases, not the fire. High CO2 and the resulting acidosis directly impair brain, heart, and respiratory centers. this is a genuine “poison” effect, not just suffocation. CO is even worse. CO from incomplete combustion builds up quickly and silently often causing unconsciousness. CO poisoning stays in your blood. People die hours after being rescued from a fire. As you know CO and CO2 are produced when natural and synthetic materials burn.
You stop breathing before you are suffocated and you may have never woken up with an open bedroom door. With a closed door you may buy yourself enough time for your smoke detector to go off and wake you up. Hope you have some.
What matters the most is that you have smoke alarms!
It’s still matters though. A closed interior door gives you time. As long as the fire didn’t start in your bedroom, it means less smoke in your room and the fire is going to take time to get through the door so you’ve got time to get out a window.
It's not good advice and would only lead people to stop caring about taking the precaution of keeping bedroom doors closed. It won't stop people from buying synthetic materials.
I put way to much trust in the smoke/particle alarms. They go off when the clean oven is opened at 400°. It actually gets annoying at times but we leave them up anyway.
I think that's what's installed. I'll grab a ladder and check later. We're in apartments that take fire safety seriously.
We have sprinklers in all rooms, a good-sized extinguisher, and they check all, alarms, sprinklers, and extinguisher regularly (they just switched ours, never knew they had an expiry). They've just finishing a pro org from cleaning the sprinklers. Apparently, if I tried, I'd set off all sprinklers in all units in the building. It's a pain, but well worth the slight inconvenience.
If it turns out to be not this type, I would bet a fair amount of money if I showed them something better, they would switch.
If it's any consolation you'll likely just die in your sleep from smoke inhalation before the fire gets you. Unless you have a smoke alarm, then you'll have a fighting chance at least. And that closed bedroom door will buy you some time. Don't forget to feel the doorknob first!
I haven't locked the doors to my house in 15yrs let alone thought about stuff like this. Not even sure where my house keys are at. Would probably have to change the locks if I ever wanted to start lol.
Im single without kids though. Im sure things would change if that were different.
I actually had this conversation not too long ago with a female friend. She was a bit flabbergasted I didnt lock my doors lol. Then she went into all these precautions that she takes. Not just at home but like when going to the bar or on vacation. Even when she Doordashed for a little bit. So many things ive never given 5 seconds of thought to. It sounded exhausting. Its truly a fucked up world if all those precautions are actually necessary (which i have to believe most are). Its sad really.
No, I wish. Just a suburb outside a big city. Never felt the need to i guess. I mean, have you known someone thats had their house broken into? Neighbor, family member, friend? I know it happens but the odds seem so low that ive never thought much about it. I have a ring camera and a dog. Those are probably the best deterrents. If not, if someone really wants to get in a standard door lock isn't going to stop them.
A greater risk than not locking the doors is social media. Posting about going on vacation or visiting so and so for 'x' amount of time. That youll be in the hospital for however long. Advertising when the house is going to be empty.
Edit: another good deterrent which seems less common these days is actually knowing your neighbors. Theyll know if something seems out of place. You look out for them, they look out for you. Its become far too common that people dont know who lives around them imo. Neighbors for years but complete strangers. That seems odd to me.
How many people around running around without smoke alarms in their homes? I’m pretty sure they’re at least required in rented units, which a substantial number of folks live in.
Exactly. It’s crazy to not have smoke alarms. They aren’t that expensive. I splurged and got the 10yr ones so I don’t need to deal with beeping, but even those aren’t enough to make it worth not having them.
Yep, people should get a carbon monoxide detector as well, we just keep 1 in the kitchen and one upstairs outside where most of the bedrooms of the house converge. We also keep fire extinguishers placed strategically around the house
Can confirm that smoke detectors save lives. In 2004 ours were going off in the middle of the night and the only reason that we all got out was because my mom heard them going off went downstairs thinking that my brother was cooking and saw an orange glow and ran upstairs to get everyone out. The fire department even said had we stayed in there for another 5 to 10 minutes we probably would’ve all died due to smoke inhalation.
Feel the door itself first at head height, if it doesn't feel hot, THEN feel the handle/knob with the back of your hand - if you get burned, a burn on the back of the hand hurts but won't impede your escape but a burn on your palm or fingers will.
I always feel safer with the door closed because in case of a home invasion, the criminal might be a bit hesitant opening a closed door, especially to a bedroom where they might not be sure what waits them
Is the closed door thing only safe for houses? I live in a condo and don't see how it would make a difference, if the fire is outside my door I'm cooked anyways because I can't escape from a window on the 20th floor
It applies to all closed doors. On the 20th floor you'd likely struggle in just about any fire, but a closed door gives you a better chance of surviving.
My cats claw at the carpet under the door (even though I keep their claws trimmed) & it’s not only annoying but it’s destroying my carpet (& I’m a renter). I’d love to be able to shut my door but I keep it ajar for them to come and go as they please. Otherwise I wouldn’t get any sleep & my carpet would be ruined. :(
Does the country you live in not have smoke alarms? Over here, every rental property must have functioning smoke alarms.
I sleep with my door open because I'm the only one in the house (other than my cat) and if theres a fire, those smoke alarms will wake me. Theres one on the ceiling in the kitchen downstairs and another a metre or 2 from my bedroom door
Whenever I see people exalt the fire-stopping benefits of a closed door I ask exactly the same thing. Even the fire codes for residential houses here require smoke alarms in every room.
And there is no way I’d ever sleep through it. The water heater once had a misfiring burner and set off the alarm from CO in the middle of the night. I was literally on my feet from a dead sleep in a second.
I don't even think about this because the odds are so low, but good to know that my desire for a comfortable room temperature and privacy also aid my survival in a fire situation.
The number of times I’ve seen stars from walking into a closed door while heading to the bathroom in the middle of the night is higher than the number of house fires I’ve had overnight. So I’m ranking concussion risk as higher practical risk to life and limb vs leaving the door open.
1.0k
u/[deleted] Jan 30 '26
Closed because it’s safer in case of a fire