Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter

Annually, over 20,000 people visit the emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector. 

Carbon monoxide, as confirmed by the CDC, is produced by stoves, gas ranges, boilers, furnaces, and fireplaces 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, Roland J. Down Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety heat your home. 

• Place a CO detector on every floor of your home and swap out the batteries annually. 
• Keep all likely sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, at least three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces. 

• Before starting a fire in the fireplace, be sure to check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed. 
• Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Shut off space heaters and make sure all embers in the fireplace are completely extinguished before leaving the area. 
• Space heaters should always be placed on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like ceramic tile. Keep children and pets away from space heaters. 
• When buying a new space heater, purchase a model that powers off automatically if the heater falls over. 
• Do not use a stove 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 be sure it’s not only up to the task of keeping your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your heating tune-up. During your fall tune-up, Roland J. Down Service Experts will check to be sure your heating system is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 518-417-2938 today and ask how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.