Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter

Each year over 20,000 people go to the hospital as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s practically undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector. 

Carbon monoxide, as specified by the CDC, is put off 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 warm their homes. To help keep you safe, Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing is here with a couple tips to safety keep your home heated. 

• Place a CO detector on every floor of your home and change the batteries yearly. 
• Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, at least three feet away from furnaces, space heaters, fire places, or stoves. 

• Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, make sure you check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed. 
• Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Shut 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 positioned on the floor, and on a hard, fire-resistant surface, like ceramic tile. Keep young ones and pets away from space heaters. 
• When buying a new space heater, buy a model that shuts off automatically if the heater falls over. 
• Don’t use a oven to increase the temperature in your home. 

• Have fireplaces, chimneys, gas or oil furnaces, and coal and wood stoves professionally inspected and cleaned annually. 

The ultimate thing you can do for your furnace is to make sure it’s not only up to the task of keeping your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your furnace tune-up. During your heating tune-up, Service Experts Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing will check to ensure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 866-397-3787 today and learn how you can save on a heating tune-up through November 25th.