Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter
Every year over 20,000 people go to the ER due to carbon monoxide poisoning. This odorless and colorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, as specified by the CDC, is given off by stoves, gas ranges, boilers, furnaces, and fireplaces so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning rises during the winter months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep your family safe, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning is here with a few tips to safety warm your home.
- Place a CO detector on every floor of your home and change the batteries yearly.
- Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as bedding, paper, or clothing, a distance over three feet away from fireplaces, furnaces, stoves, or space heaters.
- Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, always check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces neglected. Turn off space heaters and confirm all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before leaving either heating source unattended.
- Space heaters should always be placed on the floor, and on a hard, nonflammable surface, like concrete or tile. Keep young ones and pets away from space heaters.
- When investing in a new space heater, invest in a model that turns off automatically if the heater falls over.
- Never use a cooking range to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have fireplaces, chimneys, gas or oil furnaces, and coal and wood stoves professionally checked and cleaned yearly.
The ideal thing you can do for your furnace is to be sure it’s not only up to the task of keeping you warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your heating tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Service Experts will check to make sure your heating system is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 407-329-7661 today and learn how you can save on a heating tune-up through November 25th.
