Tips to Safely Heat Your Home This Winter

Each year over 20,000 people end up in the emergency room due to carbon monoxide poisoning. This colorless, odorless gas is referred to as the silent killer because it’s virtually undetectable without a carbon monoxide detector. 

Carbon monoxide, according to the CDC, is put off by fireplaces, boilers, furnaces, stoves, and gas ranges so it only makes sense that carbon monoxide poisoning increases during the winter months when people are trying to keep their homes heated. To help keep you safe, Robinson Service Experts is here with a few tips to safety warm your home. 

• Install a CO detector on every floor of your home and change the batteries every year. 
• Keep all possible sources of combustion, such as paper, clothing, bedding, or rugs, a minimum of three feet away from space heaters, stoves, furnaces or fireplaces. 

• Before starting a fire in the fireplace, make sure you check to ensure the chimney damper is open and unobstructed. 
• Do not leave portable heaters or fireplaces unattended. Power off space heaters and make sure all embers in the fireplace are completely extinguished before leaving the area. 
• Space heaters should always be placed on the floor, and on a hard, incombustible surface, like ceramic tile. Keep children and pets away from space heaters. 
• When buying a new space heater, purchase a model that shuts off automatically if the heater falls over. 
• Do not use a oven to heat your home. 

• Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys and gas or oil furnaces professionally checked and cleaned every year. 

The ideal thing you can do for your heating equipment is to make sure it’s not only ready to keep you warm all winter but also safe, is to set-up your heating tune-up. During your fall tune-up, Robinson Service Experts will check to make sure your heating equipment is operating safely with a full multi-point inspection and cleaning. Call 847-306-8730 today and learn how you can save on a fall tune-up through November 25th.