Every year over 20,000 people go to the ER due to carbon monoxide poisoning. This odorless and 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 produced by fireplaces, boilers, furnaces, stoves, and gas ranges so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning increases during the colder months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep your family safe, Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning is here with some tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Put in a CO detector on every floor of your home and replace the batteries yearly.
- Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as bedding, paper, or clothing, at least three feet away from furnaces, space heaters, fire places, or stoves.
- Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, always check to verify the chimney damper is open and unclogged.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Turn off space heaters and be sure all embers in the fireplace are completely extinguished before leaving the area.
- Space heaters should always be positioned on the floor, and on a hard, fire-resistant surface, like concrete or tile. Keep kids and animals away from space heaters.
- When investing in a new space heater, buy a model that turns off automatically if the heater tumbles over.
- Don’t use a stove to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally checked and cleaned annually.
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 heating tune-up, Service Experts will check to ensure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 901-235-1196 today and ask how you can save on a furnace tune-up through November 25th.