Each year over 20,000 people go to the hospital as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, as specified by the CDC, is put off by stoves, gas ranges, boilers, furnaces, and fireplaces so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning climbs during the colder months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep you safe, Air Engineers Service Experts is here with some tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Place a CO detector on all floors of your home and change the batteries annually.
- Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as bedding, paper, or clothing, 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 unobstructed.
- Do not leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Power 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 situated on the floor, and on a hard, fire-resistant surface, like ceramic tile. Keep young ones and furbabies away from space heaters.
- When purchasing a new space heater, purchase a model that powers off automatically if the heater tumbles over.
- Do not use a cooking range to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned every year.
The best thing you can do for your heating system is to make sure it’s not only all set to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to set-up your heating tune-up. During your heating tune-up, Air Engineers will check to make sure your heating system is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 904-450-5672 today and ask how you can save on a heating tune-up through November 25th.