Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter

Annually, over 20,000 people end up in the emergency room because of carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is called the silent killer because it’s essentially undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.

Carbon monoxide, as specified by the CDC, is produced by gas ranges, furnaces, fireplaces, stoves, and boilers so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning increases during the winter months when people are trying to warm their homes. To help keep you safe, Wesley Wood Service Experts is here with some tips to safety heat your home.

• Install a CO detector on all floors of your home and replace the batteries yearly.

• Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, at least three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.

• Before lighting a fire in the fireplace, always check to verify the chimney damper is open and unblocked.

• Never leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Shut off space heaters and ensure all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before leaving the area.

• Space heaters should always be placed on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like porcelain tile. Keep children and furbabies away from space heaters.

• When purchasing a new space heater, buy a model that powers off automatically if the heater tips over.

• Do not use a oven to increase the temperature in your home.

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

The ideal thing you can do for your furnace is to be sure it’s not only up to the task of keeping your home warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your furnace tune-up. During your fall tune-up, Wesley Wood will check to make sure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 484-401-7577 today and ask how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.