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 referred to as the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector. 

Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is given off 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 heat their homes. To help keep your home safe, Chief/Bauer Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety heat your home. 

• Put in a CO detector on each floor of your home and replace the batteries every year. 
• Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, a minimum of 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. 
• Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Shut off space heaters and make sure all embers in the fireplace are fully 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. 
• Never use a stove to heat your home. 

• Have all stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and all types of furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned yearly. 

The ultimate thing you can do for your furnace is to make sure it’s not only ready to keep your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your heating tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Chief/Bauer Service Experts will check to make sure your furnace is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 217-689-2469 today and ask how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.