One Redditor recently shined a light on an apartment listing straight out of a horror film — complete with one of this era's silent killers.
"For $1285 per month, you can seal your fate with CO poisoning," the Redditor said.
Attached to the post were several images of the listing itself and the accompanying photos. The problem with the listing was immediately obvious: Despite the hefty price tag, the apartment was tiny, with the kitchen stove mere feet from the bed.
But this wasn't just any stove. This was a camp stove, clearly marked "for outdoor use only."
Ordinary gas stoves in the kitchen are bad enough. Although designed to minimize exhaust, they still pose severe health risks. Electric options are safer, as well as being better for the planet.
🗣️ Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to buy an induction stove?
🔘 Healthier indoor air 🏠
🔘 Superior cooking results 🍳
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 I wouldn't buy an induction stove 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
But in this case, the issue was even worse. Stoves designed for use outdoors have far fewer safety features for preserving air quality, so they produce lots of carbon monoxide, as Outdoors with Bear Grylls explained.
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an invisible, odorless gas. Breathing it causes headaches, weakness, dizziness, vomiting, confusion, blurred vision, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. Inhale too much for too long, and you'll lose consciousness, then die.
As the Redditor pointed out, a tenant in this unit would "face imminent death when cooking beside your bed." They also remarked on the "murder closet," an unfinished concrete and raw wood space under a staircase.
"Yes, I messaged them and will report," the user concluded.
This isn't the first time a landlord has been careless about hazardous carbon monoxide. One landlord in Pennsylvania was arrested for endangering tenants by ignoring a CO issue in January.
Reddit users were unhappy about the trend. "It's pretty common in cheap apartments nowadays, unfortunately," said one commenter. "I'd expect at least a carbon monoxide detector, though."
"If you could go back in time and show this to someone in 1993, they wouldn't believe it," said another user.
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