Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter
Each year over 20,000 people visit the hospital as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s practically undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is produced by gas ranges, furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, and boilers so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning rises during the colder months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep you safe, Stevenson Service Experts is here with some tips to safety warm your home.
- Install a CO detector on each floor of your home and replace the batteries annually.
- Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as clothing, rugs, or bedding, a distance over three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.
- Before igniting a fire in the fireplace, always check to verify the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Do not leave portable heaters or fireplaces unwatched. Shut off space heaters and be sure all embers in the fireplace are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
- Space heaters should always be situated on the floor, and on a hard, fire-resistant surface, like concrete or tile. Keep young ones and pets away from space heaters.
- When purchasing a new space heater, buy a model that powers off automatically if the heater falls over.
- Don’t use a cooking range to warm your home.
- Have all stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and all types of furnaces professionally checked and cleaned every year.
The best thing you can do for your furnace is to be sure it’s not only all set to keep your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your heating tune-up. During your heating tune-up, Stevenson Service Experts will check to ensure your heating equipment is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 614-334-3192 today and find out how you can save on a heating tune-up through November 25th.