Winter is upon us, and if you live in a colder climate, you know what that means. It’s time to get your heaters inspected and serviced.
Heaters are important for keeping your home warm during the winter months. But if you’re not careful, they can also be a fire hazard.
To help you avoid this unfortunate situation, we’ve compiled a list of five tips to help you keep your home safe and warm this winter:
1. Test Your Smoke Alarms
The first thing you should do is test your smoke alarms. Go around your home and press every button on every smoke alarm. If any of them doesn’t work properly, call your local fire department or electrician immediately to get them fixed.
2. Don’t Leave Space Heaters Unattended
Space heaters, unlike your home’s heater, are extremely dangerous because they are so easy to tip over and leave unattended — especially if there are children in the house. Make sure that everyone in the family knows not to use space heaters without supervision, and keep anything flammable away from heating elements.
3. Keep Anything Flammable Away From Heating Elements
The best way to prevent an indoor fire is to keep anything flammable away from heating elements. That means keeping drapes, curtains, and other fabrics away from heaters and fireplaces. Even if they don’t catch fire on their own, they can create enough sparks to ignite the carpeting or other nearby materials. Keep anything that might be flammable away from heating elements so that nothing catches fire accidentally during the cold winter months.
4. Watch What You Burn in the Fireplace
Fireplaces are great for adding ambiance to your living room or den but remember you can’t burn anything other than wood, paper, or cardboard. Never burn plastic bags or other types of trash in your fireplace. This is because they could cause a fire or create toxic fumes that make breathing difficult. You should also never use sooty creosote logs in your fireplace — these will also cause toxic fumes and can produce excessive amounts of smoke. This may cause respiratory problems such as allergies or asthma attacks.
5. Have Your Heaters Inspected
Heaters are a crucial part of keeping your home comfortable during the winter months. However, heaters can get damaged over time from dust buildup and poor airflow from clogged filters or vents. If you notice that your heater is running inefficiently or not heating up your house, have it inspected by an HVAC technician such as North Star Heating & Air Conditioning in West Jordan, UT. as soon as possible.
Heater Repair in West Jordan, Utah
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), about two-thirds of home heating fires happen in December, January, and February.
If you’d like to learn more about heater repair in West Jordan, contact North Star Heating & Air Conditioning and one of our HVAC techs will come out and determine if routine maintenance is enough to keep your heater running safely this winter season, or if you are better off having heater repair work done.
Call us now at (801) 285-9022 and let the professionals help ensure your home heaters are safe from possible fires this season!
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