Each year over 20,000 people go to the hospital due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is known as the silent killer because it’s practically 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 heating months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep your family safe, Kingston Home Services by Enercare is here with a few tips to safety warm your home.
- Put in a CO detector on each floor of your home and swap out the batteries annually.
- Keep all potential sources of combustion, such as bedding, paper, or clothing, a minimum of three feet away from furnaces, space heaters, fire places, or stoves.
- Before igniting a fire in the fireplace, always check to verify the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Do not leave portable heaters or fireplaces alone. Shut off space heaters and ensure all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before going to bed or leaving home.
- Space heaters should always be positioned on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like porcelain tile. Keep kids and pets away from space heaters.
- When buying a new space heater, invest in a model that shuts off automatically if the heater tumbles over.
- Don’t use a cooking range to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally inspected and cleaned annually.
The ideal thing you can do for your heating equipment is to be sure it’s not only all set to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to schedule your fall tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Kingston Home Services by Enercare will check to ensure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 613-817-1591 today and find out how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.