Ah, there’s nothing better than a warm and cozy home. It’s what most of us expect! We have become so accustomed to living in heated living spaces during the winter months that is almost impossible to imagine life without it. So what do you do if your furnace breaks and you are faced with a frigidly cold house?
Most of us call our local HVAC service professional to quickly come fix our heat. But if you are waiting for your HVAC service guy to come fix your furnace and perform a heating repair, you may be left to sit in a cold, dark house. Chances are you haven’t taken the necessary precautions to survive in a non-heated home while you await your furnace repairs and fixes to your heating system.
If your heat goes out, follow these 5 easy steps for surviving a broken furnace in the winter to keep yourself and your loved ones warm and healthy while you await your heating repair.
#1 Stock Up On Candles
Candles not only make for great natural and organic light, they also omit a lot more heat than most people realize.
Did you know.. One candle can raise the temperature of an average sized room by one degree.
This is a significant amount of heat if your home has dropped to cold temperatures.
What to do: Make sure you have ample amounts of candles on hand in your home’s storage, and use them in the highest priority rooms in the event of a broken furnace to help raise the temperature. Remember, every one candle lit can raise the temperature by one degree.
#2 Use Rugs
If your home’s floors contain hardwood or tile, use rugs to insulate from the outside and keep your feet warm when walking. Wool rugs, like wool clothes, are great insulators of heat and can keep the temperature in your home from dropping even further when your furnace and heating system fail.
What to do: Place area rugs under your bed, in cold tiled bathrooms, in the kitchen, and living spaces to keep the heat you left inside.
#3 Cook Something
Cooking on a gas/electric range or a gas/electric oven can produce serious heat for your home when your furnace is broken. Ovens are incredible insulators of heat.
What to do: Once cooking in them is complete, you can drop the door open for a makeshift furnace that will stay warm for hours. Cooking also meaning eating and the consumption of food warms our bodies up just by the action of consuming and digesting what we eat.
#4 Boil Some Water
At 212 degrees fahrenheit, boiling water can release a large amount of steam filled heat over a long period of time.
What to do: Fill your biggest pot three quarters of the way up with water, bring to a heavy rolling boil, then reduce the heat just a bit to keep the water near that 212 degree mark. Your water can simmer for hours on end, just make sure to check on it every so often to replenish the water as it evaporates.
#5 Get An Electric Space Heater
Electric space heaters come in every shape and size these days and are an extremely affordable way to warm a room or home for long periods of time should your heating system or furnace go out.
What to do: Purchase an electrical space heater at just about any hardware or meg-store, as well as online. They do not take up considerable space and are a good tool to have around in your home for a heating backup.
#5 Draw Your Curtains
Curtains are amazing insulators. They not only keep the warmth inside, but they also block the outside cold air that creeps in through your windows and glass. Drawing your blinds and curtains can reduce heat loss by 13-17%. That is a substantial amount of heat and energy if your furnace is broken and your home temperature has dropped.
What to do: Close your curtains!
My Heat Isn’t Working, Now What?
If your heating system or furnace breaks this winter season, it is imperative that you call a trained HVAC professional to come assess and repair your furnace issues immediately. A home with no heat in the cold winter months can become susceptible to structural damage, pipe damage, glass damage, and extreme discomfort for you and your family.
At Fritts Heat & Air, we’re not comfortable until you are. That means keeping you warm during the winter months and providing you with prompt and professional heating repair services when you need us. We repair all brands of residential and commercial heating systems. Let us keep your home or business warm with our expert heating repair services.
Call us at (678) 327-3897 or contact us online here for quick heating repair in the north Metro Atlanta area.