Annually, over 20,000 people end up in the hospital as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s essentially undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is given off by fireplaces, boilers, furnaces, stoves, and gas ranges so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning climbs during the winter months when people are trying to keep their homes heated. To help keep your home safe, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning is here with a few tips to safety heat your home.
- Install a CO detector on each floor of your home and replace the batteries annually.
- Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, a minimum of three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.
- Before igniting a fire in the fireplace, make sure you check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unclogged.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Power off space heaters and confirm all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before going to bed or leaving home.
- Space heaters should always be situated on the floor, and on a hard, nonflammable surface, like porcelain tile. Keep young ones and animals away from space heaters.
- When buying a new space heater, invest in a model that shuts off automatically if the heater falls over.
- Don’t use a oven to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned yearly.
The ultimate thing you can do for your heating system is to make sure it’s not only ready to keep your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your furnace 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 440-252-1375 today and ask how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.