Each year over 20,000 people go to the hospital due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s essentially undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is put 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 warm their homes. To help keep your home safe, Calverley Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Place a CO detector on every floor of your home and change the batteries annually.
- Keep all likely sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, at least three feet away from furnaces, space heaters, fire places, or stoves.
- Before igniting a fire in the fireplace, be sure to check to verify the chimney damper is open and unblocked.
- Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Shut off space heaters and make sure all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before leaving either heating source unattended.
- Space heaters should always be situated on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like porcelain tile. Keep children and pets away from space heaters.
- When purchasing a new space heater, buy a model that shuts 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 ultimate thing you can do for your heating equipment is to ensure it’s not only all set to keep your family warm all winter but also safe, is to set-up your fall tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Calverley will check to ensure your heating system is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 817-380-5647 today and find out how you can save on a furnace tune-up through November 25th.