Annually, over 20,000 people visit the emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning. The odorless, colorless gas is referred to as the silent killer because it’s practically undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector.
Carbon monoxide, as specified by the CDC, is put off by stoves, gas ranges, boilers, furnaces, and fireplaces so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning climbs during the colder months when people are trying to heat their homes. To help keep your family safe, Rob's Albertan Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety keep your home heated.
- Install a CO detector on every floor of your home and replace the batteries every year.
- Keep all likely sources of combustion, such as bedding, paper, or clothing, a minimum of three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces.
- Before igniting a fire in the fireplace, always check to confirm the chimney damper is open and unobstructed.
- Don’t leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Shut off space heaters and ensure all embers in the fireplace are totally extinguished before leaving either heating source unattended.
- Space heaters should always be placed on the floor, and on a hard, fire-resistant surface, like porcelain tile. Keep young ones and animals away from space heaters.
- When purchasing a new space heater, purchase a model that powers off automatically if the heater tips over.
- Do not use a oven to increase the temperature in your home.
- Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally examined and cleaned annually.
The ideal thing you can do for your furnace is to make sure it’s not only up to the task of keeping you warm all winter but also safe, is to set-up your heating tune-up. During your furnace tune-up, Rob's Albertan will check to make sure your furnace is operating safely with a total multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 780-800-9047 today and learn how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.