Each year over 20,000 people end up in the emergency room as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is referred to as the silent killer because it’s essentially 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 increases during the winter months when people are trying to warm their homes. To help keep your home safe, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning is here with a couple tips to safety heat your home.
- Place a CO detector on all floors of your home and change the batteries every year.
- 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 lighting a fire in the fireplace, make sure you check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Shut off space heaters and be sure 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 porcelain tile. Keep kids and furbabies away from space heaters.
- When purchasing a new space heater, buy a model that shuts off automatically if the heater falls over.
- Never use a cooking range to heat your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally checked and cleaned annually.
The best thing you can do for your furnace is to ensure it’s not only all set to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your fall tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Service Experts will check to make sure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 954-736-4314 today and learn how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.