As the temperature begins to drop, home owners depend more and more on various heating equipment to keep them warm. This usually is a combination of their home’s HVAC system, fireplace or even space heaters. With that being said heating equipment is the leading cause for home fires. Almost fifty percent of all heating equipment fires occur during the winter months. Here Fritts Heating & Air talks about several fire safety tips that will help you heat your home safely this winter.
Test Your Equipment
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors can save your life and the lives of your family if a fire does break out. Make sure you replace old batteries and test each alarm and detector to make sure that they work properly at the beginning of the winter season. To be safe, you should have smoke alarm alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors on every floor of your home.
Clear Space
Make sure you have nothing flammable stored beside your furnace, fireplace or space heaters. To be cautious it is recommended to keep at least three feet of clear space all around your heating equipment. Remove any household items that are suddenly sitting on top of or in front of your air ducts and return vents.
Inspect Your Fireplace
If you only use you fireplace during the winter seasons, that means it remains untouched for most of the year. Before you begin depending on it to heat your home, have a professional come inspect the fireplace. You’ll want to make sure that there’s no damage to the chimney and that any debris buildup is cleaned out to prevent a potential chimney fire from occurring.
Clean & Seal Your Ducts
Clean your air vents and ducts. Remove the vent covers with a screwdriver. Use the extension hose of your vacuum to remove the dust. Inspect ductwork for any air leaks, and seal with either a liquid sealant or heavy-duty aluminum foil HVAC tape. Anything you can do to close the system makes a furnace more efficient.
Space Heaters
Space heaters are a great way to provide heat to a single room. This in turn saves on the cost of heating the entire home. However, you need to make sure you don’t forget to turn the space heater off when you leave the room or go to bed.
Call Us Today!
There’s no way to avoid using your heating equipment during the winter but there are ways to prevent fires from breaking. Is your heating system broken or in need of maintenance? Fritts Heat & Air can help! Contact us to learn more about our high efficiency gas furnace repair and installation. Our office is convenient to Canton, GA and services the entire north metro Atlanta area. Don’t wait another minute; contact us today for all of your heating repair, installation, and maintenance needs.