Every year over 20,000 people end up in the ER because of carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s essentially 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 rises during the winter months when people are trying to warm their homes. To help keep you safe, A-PLUS Service Experts is here with a couple tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Install a CO detector on each floor of your home and replace the batteries annually.
- Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, a distance over three feet away from furnaces, space heaters, fire places, or stoves.
- Before starting a fire in the fireplace, be sure to check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unblocked.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces unwatched. Power off space heaters and be sure all embers in the fireplace are completely 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 young ones and animals away from space heaters.
- When buying a new space heater, buy a model that turns off automatically if the heater tips over.
- Don’t use a oven to heat your home.
- Have fireplaces, chimneys, gas or oil furnaces, and coal and wood stoves professionally inspected and cleaned yearly.
The ideal thing you can do for your furnace is to be sure it’s not only all set to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your heating tune-up. During your heating tune-up, A-PLUS will check to make sure your heating system is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 301-747-3140 today and learn how you can save on a furnace tune-up through November 25th.