Winter home heating tips

10/25/2017 (Permalink)

Some common sense tips to keep you warm and safe this winter season.

Old Man Winter is fast approaching, bringing cold, snow, and miserable weather along with him.  The following are a few home heating tips to keep you safe and warm this winter season:

PREPARATION:

• Clean out your fireplace, placing the ashes in metal containers.  Always keep these containers away from your house.
• Have your chimney inspected and cleaned by a professional annually.
• Have your heating equipment checked by a qualified heating professional yearly.

DURING THE HEATING SEASON - GENERAL:

• Never use a stove to heat your home.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.  Pick a date (the 1st, the 5th, or whatever) and check your detectors that day each month.

DURING THE HEATING SEASON - FIREPLACES:

• Keep a 3' zone around fireplaces, portable space heaters, and wood stoves.  Keep items that could burn away from this zone.  Explain to children the meaning of the zone to keep them safe.
• Ensure fireplaces have a screen to prevent sparks or hot ash to fly out and catch the rug, drapes, or furniture on fire.
• Ensure fire is out, and ashes cool before attempting to clean fireplaces.  Place ashes in metal containers.

DURING THE HEATING SEASON - SPACE HEATERS:

• Place space heaters on a stable surface, like the floor.  Do not put space heaters on a tray table or ledge, where it can easily tip or fall.
• Turn off space heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Keep pets away from space heaters.

And remember, if you are burning candles this winter season, keep anything that can burn at least 1' away from a lit candle, and extinguish all candles when leaving a room or going to bed.

Stay warm and safe this winter season, from your friends at SERVPRO Bedford Park / Burbank!