5 Home Heating Safety Tips | Air Comfort HVAC

Winter is right around the corner and things are heating up indoors! Can your HVAC system handle the cooler temps outside? One of the most important aspects of a comfortable home during the winter is proper maintenance to keep safe and warm all season long. Air Comfort HVAC offers vital safety precautions to help ensure safety for your family, as well as comfort and lower energy bills. Check out these tips for your heating safety:

Always trust an expert.
Leave any major heating system or appliance installation or repair to your local HVAC professional. Trying to DIY major repairs can put you at high risk for injury, fire or further damage to the appliance you’re trying to fix. Your HVAC tech is trained and licensed to safely manage your heating system.

Be smart about space heaters.
If you choose to use a space heater, note that they should never be used as a primary heating source. Always leave three feet of clearance space around the heater to avoid nearby objects heating up and catching on fire. Even a portable space heater must be turned off when nobody is in the room.

Don’t use makeshift heat sources.
Remember that ovens should never be used to supplement heat in your home. Every year, there are house fires due to the use of a cooking oven as a heat source. Learn more about the makeshift heat methods you should never use.

Give your fireplace some TLC.
If your home has a working fireplace, it’s important to have it inspected by a professional every winter before you begin using it again. When using your fireplace, make sure the fire is completely extinguished before retiring to bed each night. You should never use a fireplace to supplement heat in the home overnight as you sleep. Also use a heavy duty fire screen to prevent problematic sparks.

Test your smoke alarms monthly.
Immediately replace the batteries in your smoke detectors as necessary, and also have a carbon monoxide detector installed in your home. Keep in mind that having your home closed up tightly in the winter also increases the risk of carbon monoxide buildup. Learn all about smoke alarms from the NFPA.

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