Annually, over 20,000 people go to the emergency room because of carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is put off by gas ranges, furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, and boilers so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning climbs during the heating months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep you safe, Epperson Service Experts is here with a couple tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Place a CO detector on each floor of your home and swap out the batteries annually.
- Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, a distance over three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.
- Before starting a fire in the fireplace, always check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Turn off space heaters and make 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, incombustible surface, like ceramic tile. Keep young ones and animals away from space heaters.
- When buying a new space heater, invest in a model that shuts off automatically if the heater tumbles over.
- Never use a oven to warm your home.
- Have fireplaces, chimneys, gas or oil furnaces, and coal and wood stoves professionally examined and cleaned yearly.
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 family warm all winter but also safe, is to call for your fall tune-up. During your heating tune-up, Epperson will check to be sure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 843-619-3781 today and find out how you can save on a furnace tune-up through November 25th.